Eight of the biggest incentives offered to graduates

To compare job offers, you'll need to weigh up the whole package, not just the starting salary. Sarah Richardson from the Guardian wrote an article about this. See what you think:

1. Pension provision:
As graduates leave university with mounting debts, few will give much thought to contributing to a pension scheme. In fact, the bad press surrounding falling values of pension funds and the ludicrous hikes in the property market may make you feel that a mortgage, rather than a secure old age, is your priority. However, some schemes offered by oil companies for instance offer graduates on permanent contracts access to their non-contributory, final salary pension schemes. And get this - you don't need to pay these pension funds, which will pay you a percentage of your final salary when you leave the company for every year you've worked for the firm. Will final salary pension schemes still exist when you hit 70? Only time will tell. But if they do, it'll be a perk worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

2. Joining bonuses:
An unsophisticated approach but one that's still wowing cash-strapped students up and down the country. According to a survey published by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), 25% of its members now offer a signing-on bonus or 'golden hello'. Payments range from £500 to £11,000 with a median payment of £1,500 and you're most likely to get one from the financial and legal sectors. More than one in four (29%) of those that offered joining payments pledged £1,000. Many recruiters see such a provision as altruistic: a way to help with your deposit on rented accommodation - particularly when you are relocating, to help you buy appropriate work clothes or help you pay off some of your graduate debt. Lareg consultancies and accountancy firms continue to offer the largest joining bonuses - for example £10,000 in two instalments: £6,000 when you sign up and the balance if you stay the course over two years - to all of the 400 graduates taken on this year.

3. Sponsorship for further training:
Some of us leave university with the intention of never taking another examination again. But there are undoubtedly big long-term prizes for those prepared to put in the work and study for further professional qualifications. Your employer is effectively paying for you to become more employable. For those who impress the recruiters, one of the most common perks for wannabe solicitors is sponsorship through law school, which can include the fees for a year's Common Professional Examination (CPE) for non-law graduates, a year's Legal Practice Course (LPC) for all graduates and appropriate living expenses. It's a perk worth up to £30,000 - and that's before you even walk through the door and start earning fees for your firm as a trainee solicitor.

But beware: if you decide later on that law's not for you, you could find you have to have to pay some or all of this sum back to buy your way out of your contract. Similarly, most accountancy firms will pay for their graduate intake to achieve their chartered accountant status. The company will pay for tuition and examination fees and grant you study leave during this three year programme, which you are expected to combine with full-time work. The perk's worth around £20,000, but can be costly to those who fail any of the nine exams.

You could find you're using your holiday for study leave, you're paying for your own resits and revision courses - or you could simply lose your job. Most blue chips employers encourage staff to take qualifications relevant to their role in, say, marketing or human resources. But those who last the distance in a top-flight management consultancy might be eligible for sponsorship through an MBA. Evening classes and one-year programmes are on offer and could be worthwhile courses. But high-flyers might find that within two yeas of joining a management consultancy, for example, their firm is prepared to sponsor them through a stellar MBA programme at say, Harvard, Stanford or Wharton. Cost of this perk - Up to £100,000 over two years.

4. Company car:
One moment you are walking to lectures and coveting a bus pass. The next you are driving an Audi A4 or a Mini Cooper branded in corporate colours. Many blue chip sales and marketing roles entitle you to a company car - and your job would be difficult without one. It's a perk that offers instant one-upmanship, but there's a catch - you may be stung for a truly vast tax bill. In fact, you might be better off opting for a car allowance paid to you monthly like a salary and then buying your own car.

5. Opportunities abroad:
One of the joys of working for an international blue chip is that you could work overseas early in your career as a secondment or as part of your training. Some law firms, for example, say that it's "very likely that you will be able to take up an international seat" - that's one of the four six month placements on its training contract. Oil firms and some consultancies may similarly stick you on a plane to somewhere exotic - but be aware that your hotel room and the airport lounge may be the only sights you take in. An obvious early sweetener from firms who recruit internationally is getting all the global graduate intake together to train them for four weeks in, say, Chicago or New York. Many graduates emphasise their desire to travel during the course of the milk round but you may find that by the time an opportunity presents itself you're settled in a house or in a relationship. Suddenly the prospect of six months in Hong Kong isn't so appealing.

5. Free food:
Sometimes it's just the little things that make a difference. And some employers are so keen to have you work every hour that God sends that they offer free in-house catering (they charge it to clients), free on-site gyms (keeps you fit - less sick leave), free neck massages and free eye tests, for example. With a pretty basic gym membership costing around £50 a month and a pretty modest grocery bill costing, say £20 a week, these perks are worth around £1,500 a year. And this, potentially, on top of private medical insurance: BUPA membership for a healthy no-smoking 23-year-old is around £450 a year. Most retail companies will offer staff discount cards. Some will have clothing allowances.

7. Mentoring:
It's a jungle out there - and sometimes you'll want someone to watch over you. Ask the HR department whether the firm operates a 'buddy' scheme pairing you with, say, someone who joined in the firm year before you. Their role will be to offer you friendly advice on dress codes, placement choices and office etiquette, for example. Mentoring programmes, through which you get to discuss your progress or concerns with some who isn't a direct line manager, are also helpful and can help you to make key decisions at important stages in your early career.

8. Unpaid leave:
By law you're entitled to four weeks' paid holiday a year and some employers will offer you more. However, human resources departments are becoming increasingly open to staff sabbaticals - allowing members of the firm to take unpaid leave to travel or pursue a pet project for a few months. As a recent government survey demonstrated, many of us appreciate the opportunity for flexible working more than a pay rise and offering this opportunity can help companies to retain talent.