You craft the perfect resume, attend interviews, go back-and-forth with the hiring manager until, finally, you are offered the job. After all that hard work, it seems obvious to immediately accept the offer. But there are some questions you need to answer before signing that contract.
What is the position? Is the compensation enough to sustain your day-to-day expenses? Will the company support opportunities to grow? Here are nine things to consider before accepting a job offer.
Responsibilities
Job posts list the responsibilities of a position. So even before applying, you are likely to already have an idea of the responsibilities you are getting yourself into. However, some duties, especially the everyday tasks, are not often laid out in plain sight. You must ask these during your interview, then consider them before accepting the offer.
Ask yourself: “Can I see myself doing these functions every day?” “Am I ready to assume responsibility for my actions on the job—both good and bad?” “As a manager, can I lead my team effectively and efficiently?”
Salary
Salary is one of the biggest—if not the biggest—factors people think about when applying for a job. The best way to consider your compensation is to reflect on your expenses and lifestyle. Can this job pay for all your bills, allow you to spend on some luxuries, and still leave you with enough money to save? If you find yourself wishing for more compensation, either because you need it or because you know you deserve better based on your expertise, you can try negotiating for better salary options. You might just find yourself signing a contract with higher pay.
Benefits
Benefits are sometimes disregarded when considering a job offer. But these are not just extras that you should happily accept when you land the job. A great benefits package is advantageous because it gives you health plans and vacation or sick leaves. (That said, not all companies offer all of these—some even have more; you must ask for benefits information from the hiring manager to know exactly what is included in your employment.) You will have to consider what is on the table, though, to see if these are what you currently need or what you would want to help secure your future.
Whether a company offers benefits or not is also telling of a company’s health. More often than not, companies that give health benefits are more stable. Otherwise, the company may still be small, just starting, or struggling financially. So this is something to think about, as well.
Perks
Aside from the usual benefits, some companies offer additional perks such as four-day workweeks, free meals at the office, or training and travel opportunities. These perks are meant to make the job more appealing and are often given as rewards to employees. You need to consider perks as part of the whole package and not the entire weight of your offer; do not be blinded by them.
People
It is important to consider the people that you will be working with before you join a company. Granted, it will be difficult to measure this before experiencing their presence first-hand. But you can ask questions about the team during your interview. Sometimes, hiring managers even allow potential employees to take a tour around the office and meet a few team members.
You can do some research by maybe looking up employees on LinkedIn or even just taking a look at the people you have talked to during your application process: the recruiters, a direct boss, etc. Were they friendly? Did they seem to have a good relationship with one another? Do you think that you will feel comfortable working with these people?
Environment
The general environment of the workspace is also something you should consider before accepting a job. This includes the physical space where you will be working. The office and your desk, cubicle, or work area are important because you will spend most of your time there. You need to know that you will be comfortable and that space is somewhere you can work without unnecessary distractions. Beyond the office, you may need to consider the area where you work, as well. Is it in a central business district? Is it accessible to commuters (or do you have parking if you can bring a vehicle? Are there restaurants nearby?
You should also consider the environment in the workplace itself—also known as the work culture. Is it a competitive or a collaborative workplace? Do people have a good work-life balance? Are the bosses reachable? If you can, it would be great if you could ask someone who works in the company about their experience.
Longevity
You would think that landing a job already means that you are on a stable career path. But different factors may throw you off track. It is important to consider your longevity in the company, both in your own willingness to stay for the long-run and the company’s capacity to keep you on their roster. Do you see yourself staying in the company for a long time? Can the company afford to keep me if the economy goes down? Am I easily replaceable?
Opportunity
Consider the different opportunities that you can avail of, or you may be granted should you accept the job offer. A good job should be able to open you up to new opportunities. This does not necessarily mean that you should only think of it as a stepping stone to something bigger. You can also look for advancement opportunities within the job, such as training and travel opportunities and continuing education. That said, if you are treating this job as a prequel to something else, then you should consider how this job will look in your resume and if it will give you what you need to further your career in the field.
Personal Sacrifice
There is much more than just time and skills that you have to give when working. You must consider what, how much, and how willing you are to sacrifice for this job. Are you ready to devote yourself to the growth of the company? Can you work weekends if it means finishing an important task? If the job requires you to move to a different location, are you willing to uproot yourself (and maybe your family) just so you can work closer to the office?
Before you can even begin to consider all these things, you must be able to land a job offer. LingualBox can help you by teaching you the necessary English skills to open you up to job opportunities that require English-speaking applicants. Book a class today to get started!
