Fill in a job comparison table before changing jobs: a worked example

A fictional, step-by-step example of comparing your current role with two candidate roles on one page.

Published: 10/29/2026 · Updated: 10/29/2026

WPTI-X Editorial Team · Reviewed by WPTI-X Review Team · WPTI-X Editorial Standard

Why fill in a comparison table

When you think about changing jobs only in your head, the frustrations of your current role tend to look large and a new role tends to show only its strengths. Writing the same criteria on one page separates feelings from facts and shows what you have not yet checked. This guide focuses on how to actually fill in the table. The person and details below are a fictional example for illustration and do not describe the real conditions or outlook of any occupation.

Fictional example: current role and two candidates

Imagine A, who has worked in customer support for five years. A compares the current role (customer support), candidate 1 (customer experience planning), and candidate 2 (in-house training). Keeping the list to about three options lets you research each one at the same depth.

Step 1: Describe each role by what you do

Replace job titles with representative tasks from official occupation information, such as the Tasks section in O*NET or occupation profiles in Work24 and CareerNet. A wrote: current role—answer inquiries, log cases, group repeat questions; candidate 1—analyze customer feedback, document improvements, coordinate across teams; candidate 2—create training materials, run onboarding sessions, check training results.

Step 2: List what you can bring from your current role

A listed building a response guide from repeat questions and informally coaching new agents. Linking each experience to tasks in the candidate roles showed that candidate 2 connects to more existing experience, while candidate 1 needs more data analysis practice.

Step 3: Write gaps and how you will check them

Mark gaps honestly as “unknown” or “gap” and add a way to check each one, such as a short introductory course plus a sample summary of real support logs, or volunteering to write one onboarding module at the current job. Record learning time and cost only from official training provider information.

Step 4: Add life conditions and mark the most uncertain row

Add schedule, commute, possible income gaps, and family commitments. Then mark the single row that could change your conclusion. For A, it was how much of a typical day in candidate 1 is actually analysis, so the next action was an informational interview with someone in that role.

Example rows for the finished table

Main tasks (three) · experience you bring · missing knowledge and skills · how and how long to check · work setting and life conditions · official sources and date checked · what is still unknown.

Checklist

□ Did I narrow it to two or three options? □ Did I use tasks instead of titles? □ Did I list transferable experience? □ Did I leave unknowns visible? □ Did I add a source and date for every number? □ Did I choose the most uncertain row and a next step?

Frequently asked questions

Q. How should I record pay or outlook? A. Use only clearly sourced data, such as official statistics or job postings, with the reference year, and label personal anecdotes as reference only.

Q. What if the table does not make the choice clear? A. That is common. The table is for deciding what to check next. Test the most uncertain row first, then update the table.

This guide was written on October 26, 2026, using publicly available information from Work24, CareerNet, O*NET, and CareerOneStop. The example is fictional; real decisions should combine your circumstances, official information, and professional career counseling when needed.