Dive Brief:

• Robert Half's 2018 Salary Guides show that five factors drive today's job seekers before they accept a job offer — and money is only one of them. The guides feature salary information on the finance, technology, accounting, creative, legal and administrative support occupations.
• The five factors highlighted are: compensation, which the agency says should include benefits, perks and incentives; corporate culture, which determines whether people like working in an organization; career path, including whether there are opportunities for advancement; cost of living, whether candidates can sustain a comfortable living standard; and commute, which, if long, can be alternated with a flexible work schedule.
• Robert Half compiled data from thousands of placements, job searches and negotiations. The guides exclude ongoing salaries because those figures are determined by variables such as seniority, job performance, training and other factors.

Dive Insight:

Salary will always be an important focus of the job search, even though it's no longer the sole reason people either accept a job offer or leave a position. However, demonstrating the value of benefits as part of the compensation package can be an attractive job feature to candidates, especially if they expected a higher annual salary. Basically, they might be willing to accept a good benefits package in place of more money.

A transparent corporate culture, for example, may help attract workers from Generation Z, who value a work environment in which they can envision themselves being in the future. 

Rajeev Behera, CEO of Reflektive, warned employers in an interview with HR Dive that those who lack career development, or advancement opportunities, as their core focus will have a hard time retaining good new employees, let alone attracting them.

Cost of living varies across the country, but it is a significant factor among job seekers who are willing to relocate for the right opportunity. Wade Foster, the CEO of Zapier, a San Francisco-based startup specializing in workflow automation, was so concerned about the high cost of living in the Bay Area, that the firm offered local employees $10,000 to "de-locate" to other areas of their choice. This unprecedented move by an employer addressed both the cost of living and long commute concerns of its employees.