money at work

The offer you are about to accept may be hiding a third of the raise.

For people who changed jobs this year, base pay rose 4.7% but total pay rose 7.3%. The difference is bonus and variable pay, and an offer that quotes only the base is showing you part of the number.

You asked for the offer comparison sheet. It is below, as the slides from the post, then the one move, then the tool the chart points at.

Slide 1 of 7: The offer you are about to accept may be hiding a third of the raise.

Slide 2 of 7: For job changers, total pay rose much faster than base pay, and the difference is variable pay.

Slide 3 of 7: About a third of the increase people got from changing jobs did not come from salary.

Slide 4 of 7: Most people negotiate the base and accept a bonus target on faith.

Slide 5 of 7: How to ask about the bonus without sounding as if you are counting on it.

Slide 7 of 7: Save this for your next offer.

Three things to get in writing.

01
The bonus plan: target, timing, and the conditions.Ask for the document, not a summary.
02
Two years of actual payout, as a percentage of target.Recruiters can get this.
03
Value the offer on base plus expected payout, not base plus target.That is the number you are really being offered.

The tool this chart points at

A high-yield savings account

FDIC-insured, no monthly fee, no minimum balance. Where the emergency fund lives.

Open it

This link may pay Money in One Chart a referral fee if you open an account. Your price does not change. How that works.

Sources: ADP National Employment Report, August 2026.

All four tools Back to Instagram