Three Things to Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer

Before accepting a job offer, there are some things you need to consider. Make sure you think about these things and ask questions before you commit to saying “yes”.

You’ve updated your resume, scoured through job postings, filled out countless applications and done several rounds of interviews. After this exhausting process you’re finally at the point where you receive that offer call or email. Pretty exciting stuff right?! We can be quick to jump on a job offer, especially if we’re ready to make a career move or are currently unemployed. I want to urge you to pause before accepting a job offer and consider three things. These are things that can be deal breakers or affect how you see your future at a company.

Opportunity for Growth

This is a huge deal! It may sound cliche to say, but you want to work for a company that has an opportunity for growth. Ask about your interviewer’s career trajectory with your company and how they nurture career growth. I also recommend looking at websites like GlassDoor where employees leave anonymous reviews to get an idea of how much room for growth there is for a company. Lots of companies say they encourage career growth but find out if they’re really walking the walk. You can get a good idea of what growth looks like by asking how long employees are expected to stay in a role before being promotion eligible. From my experience, a good time frame is 6-12 months. Any longer than that and you may want to avoid accepting that offer. Why? Because any longer than months is an indicator that they’re not interested in growing you, just keeping you as a “worker”.

Benefits

Let’s think of benefits as more than just health insurance. Before accepting a job offer, try to get the full scope of employee benefits a company offers. This includes but is not limited to: 401k matching, stock options, bonuses, vacation time and tuition reimbursement. Think about what’s important to your quality of life and ask questions about corresponding benefits.If you like to travel, having a good vacation package is something to ask about. Would you have to move to take this job? Ask about relocation packages. All of these things are considered benefits and they are very important as you grow in your career. If a company offers bonuses, ask how they’re calculated and if you’d be eligible to receive one. Depending on when you come on, you may not be eligible to receive a bonus just yet. It’s okay to ask these questions once an offer has been extended to you for clarity and to help you decide whether or not you want to accept the offer.

Company Culture

Company culture can be difficult to figure out before you actually start working someplace but you can get a general feel for it. This is another one that requires you to do some digging. Find out if they do company or group outings, charity events, etc. Do they have work from home privileges? Do they expect you to be available to them at all times? All things to consider about the company culture.Also find out if they have a time system where they expect you to clock in and out at a certain time or if they trust their employees enough to make the most of their work day. One way to assess the company culture is to take note of the office layout when you go in for your interview. Open office spaces with shared tables instead of cubicles can look odd at first, but that layout encourages conversation. An workplace full of cubicles and offices could be an indicator of a lack of access to peers and managers. This is not always the case but I’ve worked in both environments and I’ve experienced the differences!

I hope this post was helpful to all of my job seekers out there. It’s okay, actually encouraged, to be particular about accepting a job offer. You want to make sure that where you land is where you’ll want to stay for a while. Everything I’ve mentioned in this post plays a major role in that. What are some things that have made you decline a job offer in the past? Leave a comment below!