Ok - there's light at end of tunnelAfter being made redundant last year and applied for what positions seemed to be around with no success suddenly things seem to have turned. I have an offer in the bag, another on route and a final HR tick the box interview this week. However ater what has happened in the last year i am concerned on making the right decision.Stability is important but the company which i percieve to offer this is also the one with the lowest offer range is 80-120k for all 3. I would be interested in how people here came to decisions when they faced simlar circumstances On a bright note tho' those looking for roles the market appears to be picking up so don't despair.

There's a big difference between £80K and £120K. If you take the job paying the most money, surely you could put a considerable amount to one side to counter any future upheavals, compared to if you were only on £80K ? Why not just go for the biggest paycheck, assuming that is the job which interests you most in other ways.

2 years in a 120k job = 3 years in an 80k job, more or less. If you're disciplined enough to spend like you're on 80k I would say stability is overrated.

Good question MC Chisel. My only advice would be to consider if you are cautious by nature (no harm in that – thank god we’re not all bombastic alpha gorilla-types) or if your caution is primarily a symptom of your redundancy experience.As previous posters have already pointed out, a 50% range in salary is significant.If you are naturally cautious then you may find more enjoyment in a reliable environment. If your concern is simply not to be made redundant twice, then you should do what you can to set aside that concern and take the most interesting job.

Pick the job which you find most interesting/appealing then, assuming that this will likely not the the top paid one, use the higher offers to try and leverage an increase in the offer. You wont be able to close the entire gap between bottom and top, but just having taken control of this process will make you feel more in control (important when you are turning things around after redundancy) and invested in the decision. And congratulations on the success!

2 years @120k = 3 years at 80k?. in that case go for the latter as entirely possible he could be out of work for a year if it all goes wrong AND he's also then got a dodgy short term move on his CV to worry about. And the CV perhaps not at the forefront currently anyway gathering from the poor chap taking a while to find something

artoo, did you mean choose the former (120k) over the latter? 2 vs 3 years makes little difference on the CV (dodgy would be anything under a year IMO). If we are planning for the worst case scenario the higher salary would still win out as it gives him a better negotiating point for the next move. Also, I was being simplistic on the salary comparison - I would value an extra 40k in salary for various other reasons (better credit / mortgage, jam today vs jam tomorrow, having broken the six figure comp barrier) apart from the 50% difference.Show me da money!

I would consider working environment and culture as well as the attractiveness of the work, £ and perceived stability. Clearly in that offer range one is not likely to be doing some cushy 9-5 but still I think there is a great variety in companies' expectations and how they treat their people. Does the offer include bonus? All things being equal I would rate £ over perceived stability, but in my experience things are rarely equal. I think I would consider security if I were comparing offers between a start-up business and a more established one but otherwise not. It's a good idea to use a higher offer to negotiate upwards on the job you really want. Well done on turning your situation around but don't let your experience leave you so cautious you undersell yourself for something as nebulous as job security