You’ve survived the rounds of interviews, including a harrowing experience involving business lunch etiquette and a chicken wing special, and you’ve received a written offer.

But before you rush to sign, take a deep breath and review it, even if it’s for your dream job. Otherwise, you may end up in a position that sounded perfect, but wasn’t.

Whether dealing with a large company or a start-up, try the following tips to make your evaluation a little easier.

Evaluate the job offer as a whole
A job offer isn’t just about the salary. Jennifer Roggemann, a lawyer with Kitchener/Waterloo-area legal firm, cautions that many people are “excited to get a good salary and ignore everything else.” You should evaluate all aspects of a job offer, including:

Flexibility
Do you need flexible work hours because you are a single parent, or have to care for kids with special needs or aging parents? Look at your lifestyle and determine how well the potential employer matches it. A company that requires long hours and offers little flex time may not work for you, no matter what the salary.

Compensation
Salary is just one part of a compensation package. You should also consider and review other benefits, including vacation time, medical benefits, RRSP contributions, relocation expenses, and bonuses. Ask for a copy of the benefits package.

Termination clause
The offer may include a pre-arranged termination clause to circumvent the Ontario Employment Standard Act, says Roggemann. The clause may meet the minimum standard for the act or provide a more generous severance pay based on length of service.

Ensure you understand the details of any bonus plans
Understanding the intricacies of any bonuses in your job offer is critical. Three types of bonuses are:

Signing bonus
When qualified employees are scarce, you may receive a signing bonus. Typically you receive the bonus when you start the job—the bonus is not tied to the probationary period, although you should confirm this. If you are moving to take the job, the bonus can be tied to relocation expenses, which could mean more money in your pocket from a tax perspective than a straight signing bonus.

Profit sharing
Types of profit-sharing plans vary widely—individual, team, or company-wide formulas provide incentive for employees to contribute to the bottom line. The formulas used to distribute profits are infinite, and often difficult to figure out.

Ask yourself how subject the profit-sharing formula is to manipulation? Typically plans that are based on gross
revenue or gross profit are less subjective than those based on gross income.

Ask how often the bonus plan has actually paid out money to people in your position, and what the average bonus is.

Equity
Until the technology boom went bust, giving new employees equity in a company was a common practice. Now, profit-sharing plans are the route that technology companies take to attract and keep employees. If you are offered equity in the company, commonly you are either given straight shares or options.

Straight shares, normally only given to senior executies, give a percentage of the company on day one. Options, the flavour of choice for employees and management, give you the “option” to buy into the company at a future date, or vesting period, at a set price.

For example, after three years you have the option to buy 1000 shares at $10 a share. If the shares are worth $40 after three years, you have made a profit of $30 per share. Ways to set up options programs are myriad, so review this area carefully.

Decide what you want to negotiate
When you get the offer, ask for time to review it before you start any type of negotiation. Set a list of priorities to evaluate your job offer and determine what points you want to negotiate with the company.

Get it all in writing
“Make sure that the offer contains what you want,” says Roggemann. All of the details that you discussed during your interview process and the expectations you have about the job and working conditions should be included in the job offer. If you have negotiated anychanges to the job offer, these changes must be also be added. “You may amend the letter, but the employer must consent to the amendment by initialing it,” says Roggemann. Clarity is key.

Review the non-compete clause
Most people working in technology can expect to sign a non-competition clause. Often this clause is a separate document, so ensure that you review it along with your job offer. Note the conditions regarding working in the same industry or in the same geographic location. Would you be willing to change industries or cities if you left the job?

Sign on the dotted line and you’re committed
“Once both employer and employee sign off the letter, it has a legal binding effect,” says Roggemann. At this point, the job offer is an official contract.

Before you put pen to paper, keep these tips in mind.