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How To Decide If A Job Is Right For You

- Sep 12, 2013

If you have been searching for a job for long and you finally get one, you might be tempted to jump into it. Many people do not think well enough before accepting job offers.

Your career is an important aspect of your life. There are many people leading miserable lives because they took wrong career decisions. They took on jobs that were not right for them. Don’t be one of these people.

In order to decide if a job is right for you, you should consider the following:

WHAT YOU NEED IN A JOB

Everyone should have career goals, dreams and aspirations. There should also be a reason for your taking on a job. Is it because of the money or because there was no alternative? Does the job fit in your long term plans? Can you achieve your career aspirations by taking on this job?

By understanding the job you are about to take and being clear with yourself on the reason you are taking the job, you would be better placed to make a decision on its suitability for you.

PAY ATTENTION TO THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS

You can often discern if a job is good for you by observing the recruitment process. The behavior of the human resources team/hiring manager would give you clues as to the type of environment you are about to work in.

The work environment plays a huge role in your successful performance or otherwise. So you should pay attention to the recruitment practices and process of the company and utilize that information in deciding whether to accept the offer.

WHO WOULD YOU BE WORKING WITH?

Following from the above tip, it is important to consider what your future coworkers are like. Use LinkedIn to check out current employees and see if you can communicate with some of them. Would you like to work with them? Do they sound excited about the company they work for? Communicate with them as they can give you the information needed to make your decision on whether or not to accept the offer.

CONSIDER THE ENTIRE PACKAGE

Money matters a lot in job offers but beyond the salary figure, it is also important to consider the entire package. Health insurance. Vacation benefits. Perks. Performance bonuses. Severance pay. You should consider all these and contrast with what you had like to get. You should only accept offers that you feel comfortable with. It is also important to consider salary progression. How soon would you get salary increases and on what conditions?

Before accepting the offer, you should also know the promotion policies of the company. You should only accept an offer that gives you the chance to progress when your performance merits it.

HOW STABLE IS THE COMPANY?

This does not mean that you should turn down an offer at a startup. However, you should consider your risk profile when taking jobs at companies that are not stable, have an unproven business model or do business under unstable regulatory environments. If you are risk averse and your personal circumstances would not allow you work in an unstable environment, then there is no use accepting an offer like that.

So consider how stable the company is and compare with your risk appetite. Then make your decision.

When next you are at a cross road concerning a job offer, you know how to go about it.

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