How to Evaluate Job Offers and Zoom In On the Right Opportunity for YouWritten by Ann Wilson
You’ve been successful in your job hunt and have received a job offer. Maybe you received more than one offer. That’s great. The next question is, how do you evaluate an offer to see if it is right one for you? Let’s look at some real answers. The first step is to identify your priorities. Many people make mistake of evaluating just offer. They look at salary, work content, benefits, etc but not what they themselves value in a job. Unfortunately, if you don’t know what satisfies you, you’re evaluating in a vacuum. So how do you identify your priorities? First, make a long list of all possible factors you can think of. Here’s a sample list: match between job responsibilities and your interests, work environment & culture, skill utilization / development, supervisor, coworkers, stability of organization, potential for growth, salary, benefits, perks, hours you are expected to work, length of commute, location, options for formal training, opportunities to learn new skills, personality fit with type of work, outstation travel requirements. Add more factors that interest you. Next, rate each criterion on a scale of 1--10, where 10 indicates that a factor is extremely important to you. Ideally, you should have just a few criteria with ratings of 8, 9 and 10. Those are critical things you should look for in a job. If you rate most criteria at 8--10, do a rethink and come up with a shorter list of factors that are really key for you. And never mind what your coworkers or friends think are important. Focus solely on what YOU think is important.
| | Evaluating Job Offers -- Eleven Warning Signs You Must Watch Out ForWritten by Ann Wilson
Moving into a new job always involves some degree of uncertainty. You should do your best to find out all you can about a prospective employer, starting right from pre-interview stage. Here are some things to look out for. If one or more of these warning signs are present, you need to be doubly careful about joining that organization. 1. The company is in midst of mergers and acquisitions, or there is a major reorganization taking place, staff cutbacks are on anvil or some other major flux is occurring. 2. The company you are considering is not undergoing problems like those described above, but many other companies in that industry are. That could be an indication that trouble may spread to your prospective employer sooner or later. 3. The person who will be your boss has a bad reputation. This is something you should find out about from your network. 4. Your prospective boss has joined organization very recently and his or her reputation is generally not known. 5. You asked to meet with and speak to your new colleagues and this request was refused. What are they afraid existing employees will say to a prospective new hire? 6. This is a non-profit organization that has had funding problems several times before. In such cases, think twice before taking up a position.
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