Congratulations – you did really well in the job interview! The reference checks were positive and now the company you are interviewing with has offered you an open position. Naturally, you want to accept it right away – but why be in such hurry? Take some time to read through the contract, evaluate it closely and discuss it with others who might give you some good advice. The last thing you want to happen is to take on the wrong job, as that would mean going through the whole job search cycle again when you decide you’re too unhappy to stay. So before you give the big ‘yes’ or ‘no’, consider these following things:
1. Your excitement
The company may not be the one that you have always wanted, but think about the reasons that make you excited to work there. If nothing immediately jumps out at you, then something is up, and you may not be ready to spend a huge part of your life with this employer. You want to feel enthralled at the idea of stepping into something fresh and new. If the excitement isn’t there and it all feels just a matter of process, maybe the job or the company itself is not right for you. However, you can always search for the missing excitement by meeting your future colleagues, finding a new place to live close by or committing to adding more value to the company by working there, and inviting the challenge. Entrepreneur Derek Sivers once aptly said, it’s either a Hell yeah! or no.
2. The company’s culture
Find out the culture in the office of your next employer first. You can learn from your experience during the interview process. You should have gotten a feel for the attitudes and values of the workplace by being there, and you can use this to decide whether you are going working there or not. If that experience wasn’t sufficient, you can head over to company review sites such as Glassdoor to search for and retrieve reviews about the company. You are going to come across some good ones and some bad ones. Collectively they should give you a better idea of what the company is like in general, and what its current employees say about working there!
3. Your needs
Does the job offer provide for your needs? Always evaluate the contract’s options, from its compensation, bonuses, general benefits, health insurance, flex-time, allowance, travel reimbursement, the various form of leave entitlement, profit sharing and retirement support. If a job offer meets your predetermined bottom line, you could go ahead and accept it. However, make sure that the entire package is going to meet your demands. Remember the opportunity cost. If you are to take on this job, you won’t be able to take one another one for some time, so weigh it out meticulously. Will you be compensated correctly? It is worth proactively ask the hiring manager or HR about the full options available in the package. Sometimes it isn’t made clear, so you have to probe for details. It is important to discuss those matters before you accept the salary offer and sign the contract (and regret later).
4. The company’s promising future
Of course, you want to be proud of the company you are working for. Thus, ask and do some research about the company’s development plan. You have to be sure that their development path suits your career path. Also, figure out about the reason for people leaving the company as well as their turnover rate. A promising company will give you room to improve. It’s no wonder that having a clear path for your advancement is an important consideration to ponder over as well. Although you are not a fortune teller, you should understand the company’s direction and ensure it aligns with your goals. In addition, you would want to do some research on the industry as well. They could be the leading company in the floppy disk drive industry, but it isn’t going to end well seeing as the industry will die sooner or later.
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