According to a LinkedIn survey, most candidates evaluate a job offer based on the career advancement opportunity. However, there are a lot more factors that directly and indirectly affect said opportunity. If you are one of those who are about to job-hop, be sure to look into the following aspects of the future employer before accepting a new job offer.
Learning Opportunities
Companies do provide incentives for employees to gain additional skills to help them stay relevant to new challenges in the industry. So remember to ask if there’s any training program offered for the position.This will help you get a clearer picture whether the company is serious about investing in their people, not just to benefit the organisation but also for individual development…
Potential Career Path
What you’d want to know is whether there is a room for you to grow within the department or organisation. When designing a role, employers must have already laid out a specific growth plan in order to retain talents. Hence, without a clear direction of where your career is heading to from this position, it’s best to reconsider the offer. Simply ask yourselves these questions:
- Will the daily responsibilities help to hone my skills?
- Does the position restrict me to handle only a specific amount of tasks?
- Does working at this organisation help to strengthen my credentials?
- Does the job provide me with a better career prospect?
- Will I be able to expand my professional network here?
Performance Reviews
How frequent can you expect to receive feedback from the respective head of department or even from your peers?. Performance assessments are essential for your professional development and advancement. Traditionally, they are carried out as part of the increment evaluation but the ultimate goal should be to improve yourself. A feedback culture is what makes top employers like Google and Facebook a great place to work!
What Are the Compromises?
A perfect job doesn’t just fall from the sky, you’ve got to learn to love what you do. There will be certain aspects that won’t meet your expectations, hence you’ll need to compromise certain aspects of the job in order to fulfill its requirements, be it the office location, working hours, or even the people who you’ll be working with.
However, be clear about the working hours and out-of-hours communication Ask beforehand if the job requires you to be available at odd hours or you might end up getting burnout eventually.
Related: Here’s How You Can Apply for a Job You Are Not Qualified for
Cultural Incompatibility
Every individual has his or her own preferences of a great workplace. Some may enjoy the concept of working in open space office and there are those who prefer to work in their own cubicle. Suggest to your interviewer that you would like to take a tour around the office. This is a great way to see for yourself how the physical space, the noise level, demeanour and behaviour of the people in the company.
Do raise questions regarding the working culture. Here are some good points for your references
- What is the working environment like?
- What are the employee value propositions?
- Are there any social activities organised by the organisation?
- How is the collaboration and camaraderie among the office staffs like?
An ideal workplace culture is the one that supports various working styles while ensuring an enjoyable environment and harmony among all the staffs. What matters most is that your personalities make a good culture fit for the team or that you’re able to see yourself adapting to this new environment.