🎧 Smarter Career And Business Moves Podcast

10 Things You Need To Consider BEFORE Accepting A Job Offer

October 06, 2020 Season 1 Episode 18
🎧 Smarter Career And Business Moves Podcast
10 Things You Need To Consider BEFORE Accepting A Job Offer
Show Notes Transcript

Evaluating a new opportunity isn’t easy. Even your dream job will have fewer exciting aspects. Things that are downright boring. I speak from experience.

After graduating with a degree in English and a minor in Media Studies, I landed my dream job: assistant editor with a national 4-color magazine. Within the first 30-days I was writing the news column and shortly after feature articles. 

I loved every minute of it.

Almost.

Every month I was responsible for packing up the products which had been used in photo shoots and typing shipping labels, sometimes dozens of shipping labels. 

Even after knowing about the boring stuff, I would have accepted that job in a heartbeat. 

 However, someone else might not have.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself before beginning your job search, certainly before accepting a job offer. The answers will help you evaluate each company, position, and offer before saying yes.

#1 Does the organization’s business or activity align with your interests and values?

It’s often easier to be enthusiastic when your employer shares your values. 

#2 How will the size of the organization affect you? Whether large or small the size of the company often directly affects you.

Larger firms may offer training programs, opportunities for advancement, and better benefits. smaller companies may offer more autonomy and responsibility.  

#3 Should you work for a relatively new company or a well-established one? 

Working for a new business can be exciting. However, new businesses have a high failure rate. If you want, or need, more security it may be just as exciting and rewarding to work for a young firm that already has a foothold on success.

#4 Does the job match your interests and allow you to use your skills?

Even if you love the company and your coworkers, you might be unhappy if you don’t like the overall day-to-day duties. You can overcome a few distasteful tasks, as I did with my writing job. However, you need to like the overall scope.

#5 Does the employer offer professional development?

Professional development comes in many forms. It might mean company training, attending conferences, tuition reimbursement, etc. 

#6 How important is the job to the company or organization?

Finding out where you fit in the organization and how you will be contributing to the company’s overall goals will give you an idea where you’ll be if the company downsizes. 

#7 What are the hours? Is there flexibility?

Despite our 24/7 society, most jobs involve regular hours during a typical workweek; other jobs require night, weekend, or holiday work. 

#8 How long do most people who enter this job stay with the company?

This can be tricky. High turnover can mean employee dissatisfaction with the work or the company, long-term may signal employee complacency. Ask questions to clarify. 

# 9 What opportunities does the company offer?

Good jobs offer opportunities to learn new skills, increase your earnings, and move up.  A lack of opportunities c

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Annette (00:07):

Hi, welcome to the smarter career moves podcast. I'm Annette Richmond, executive resume writer and principal of career intelligence, resume writing and career services. Hi, thank you for joining me in this episode. I want to talk to you about some questions that you should ask yourself before accepting a job offer. Evaluating any new opportunity isn’t easy. Even your dream job will have less exciting aspects. Things that are downright boring. And I speak from experience. I was what is known as a nontraditional student. That means I worked a full-time job and took my classes in the evening. As a 20 something, I did my best to find time for a social life, the occasional date or evening out with friends. It took me almost seven years to get my bachelor's. After graduating with a degree in English and a minor in media studies, I landed a job as an assistant editor with a national four-color magazine.

Annette (01:23):

Within the first 30 days, I was writing the news column. Since it was a really small publication, in a few months, I was writing feature articles and helping the photographer with cover shoots. And I had the best boss ever. It was really, really an awesome job and I loved every minute of it. Well, almost every minute. One of the less demanding jobs, intellectually demanding that is, was packing up the products which we'd use during photo shoots and typing up shipping labels, sometimes dozens of shipping labels. And since it was a publishing company with a low budget, I was actually having to use a typewriter. Would I have accepted that job offer if I knew about these less thrilling tasks? In a heartbeat. However, someone else might not have. Here are a few questions that you should ask yourself before beginning your job search, certainly before accepting any job offer some of these won't be as important as others pick the ones that are relevant to you.

Annette (02:31):

The answers will help you evaluate each company, each position and job offer before saying yes. Remember, these are questions, to ask when you’ve received a job offer. These are not questions for your first interview. The first one, number one, does the organization's business activity aligns with your interests and values. It's easier to give a hundred percent to the job if you're enthusiastic, about what the organization does. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to work for a nonprofit. The key is that the company's values align with your values. Number two, how will the size of the organization affect you? Whether it's a large company or a small company, the size directly affects you. One of the benefits of working for a large firm can be a greater variety of training programs and career paths, more manager level positions, more opportunities for advancement, and maybe even better employee benefits than those offered at smaller firms.

Annette (03:39):

They also may have more advanced technology. The downside is that many jobs in large firms tend to be highly specialized. For example, a talented graphic designer I worked with at that small magazine left to work at a much larger, more glamorous publication with millions of readers. He soon found that instead of working on five magazines each month, he would be working on one page of one publication. Turns  out he didn't like it very much. One of the benefits of working for a small firm is often more autonomy and even more responsibility, a closer working relationship to the senior management and a chance to clearly see your contribution to the success of the organization. Number three, should you work for a relatively new company or a well-established one? Working for a new business can be exciting. However, new businesses have a high failure rate. Still helping to create a company

Annette (04:45):

and the potential for sharing success may more than offset the risk of job loss. However, if you want or need more security, it may be just as exciting and rewarding to work for a young firm that already has a foothold on success. Number four, does the job match your interests and allow you to use your skills? Even if you love the company and your coworkers, you might be unhappy if you don't like the overall day to day duties, you could overcome a few unpleasant tasks as I did with my writing job. However, you need to like the overall scope of the job. While determining in advance whether you will like the work may be difficult, the more you find out about the work, the more likely you are to make the right decision when accepting or rejecting the offer. Make sure the day to day responsibilities are explained in enough detail during the interview process.

Annette (05:47):

Number five, does the employer offer professional development? Professional development can come in many forms. It might mean attending accompany training program or industry conferences. Some employers offer tuition reimbursement programs, which allow you to earn a degree and further your career on their dime. Depending on where you are in your career professional development opportunities may be less important. However, the opportunity to learn and make connections at conferences and other events is beneficial at any career level. Number six, how important is your job to the company organization, finding out where you fit in the organization and how you will be contributing to the company's overall goals will give you an idea of the job's importance. The value of holding a vital position and having transferable skills can make a difference if your company downsizes. Number seven, what are the hours? Is there flexibility? Is there an opportunity to work remotely?

Annette (06:53):

Although we work in a 24 seven society today, there are some guidelines for work hours. Most jobs involve regular hours during a typical work week. Other jobs require a night weekend or holiday work on a regular basis. Some jobs routinely require overtime to meet deadlines or sales or production goals or to better serve customers. So consider how the jobs work hours will affect your personal life. Number eight, how long do most people in this job stay with the company? This can be tricky. High turnover can mean employee dissatisfaction with the work or the company. However, long-term employment can also signal employee complacency. Ask exploratory questions, like why is this position open? And pay attention during the interview process. Look around when you're invited in for an interview. Do the people look happy there? Number nine, what opportunities does the company offer? A good job offers you the opportunity to learn new skills, increase your earnings and rise to positions of greater authority, responsibility, and even prestige.

Annette (08:10):

A lack of opportunities can dampen your interest in the work and result in frustration and boredom. If you're seeking advancement, look for companies that have a career path and maybe even a training program for you. Find out, if you can, what skills you may be able to learn in your new position. Number 10 Is their advancement? And speaking of advancement, the employer should give you some idea of promotion possibilities within the organization. Here are a few questions to get you started. What would be the next step in my career here? Is the position you're hoping to fill open due to promotion? Does the company promote from within, before opening the search to external candidates? Number 11 is a bonus question which will teach you a lot about a company's culture. Ask the interviewer, where do people eat lunch? If everyone eats at their desks every day, that tells you one thing.

Annette (09:09):

If the staff regularly goes out to eat together, that says something else. The type of environment that you prefer depends on you. Some of the things on this list might be relevant to you. Others probably are not. If you're already an SVP, you might not be as concerned about having a career path as someone 15 years into his or her career. These questions are just to get you thinking. Focus on the ones that are important to you. Add any that I've missed. The most important thing is to carefully consider each job offer before saying yes or no. Thank you again for joining me today and good luck with your job search. Thanks again for joining us for this episode of the smarter career moves podcast. If you enjoyed it, please subscribe. Thank you. [inaudible].