5 Things to Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer

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5 Things to Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer
August 23 2016 nfougere Job Offers 0 comments Tags: Bag the Job, Job offer tips, Offer

For many people, receiving a job offer means the end of their job search.  That said, there are still a few things to consider before signing on the dotted line.

  1. Total Compensation Package – although salary is an important factor to consider, there are other elements to your compensation package that should be examined. Annual bonuses, for example, could be viewed as optional as they are rarely guaranteed.  Medical benefits, for example, should be aligned with your family needs.  If not, you may need to ensure that your salary can offset any additional expenses you may incur.  If salary is non-negotiable, you may be able to come up with creative solutions such as asking for a signing bonus.
  2. Commute – likely you would have visited the office location during the interview process. This may well have been during off-peak hours. Consider doing a ‘dry run’ to the office location during rush hour as the commute time might be very different than it was during off-peak hours.  If the commute is significantly longer than you anticipated, then you may be able to negotiate a work from home arrangement.
  3. Travel – another thing to consider is the frequency of travel. It is not typical to have travel stipulations in an employment contract, however, it is important that you are very clear on the level of travel required for the role before you formally accept an offer.
  4. Hours & Over Time – in some cases, working hours will be stipulated in an employment contract. That said, it may be vague or not explicitly stated.  As such, it is important to ensure that you are clear on the expected hours as well as any overtime requirements and/or eligibility.
  5. Team – ideally, you would have met your future team members during the interview stage. If not, and where possible, ask to meet the team before you accept an offer.  Meeting the team will help you assess the culture, advancement opportunities, and working conditions.

When it comes to considering an offer of employment, clarity is key.  Not only will you be able to avoid any surprises, but you will also be better able to balance the benefits with the expectations.

Final Thoughts

Organizations assess candidates through to the time they start working.  In that spirit, you too should continue to assess the organization throughout the hiring process.  This includes the offer negotiation stage.  As such, it is imperative that both parties are honest and reasonable during this stage.  In the rare instance that you feel you are not being treated fairly, it is reasonable to decline the offer.  Keep in mind, the same holds true for the organization.

 

I hope you found this post helpful.  If you have any additional insights, or would like to share your experience, I’d love to hear from you.

For personalized advice, check out the services section here.

Until next time, happy hunting!

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How Job Hunting is Like Dating
July 17 2016 nfougere Job Search 0 comments Tags: Bag the Job, Job Application, Job Hunting

For many years recruiters have said that recruiting is like dating.  Although this is a lighthearted approach, there is some truth to this claim.  If recruiting is like dating, then so too is job hunting.

Although this may be a simplistic analogy, it may help to put some perspective around your job search journey.  Job hunting is a daunting task, but by looking at it through a more humorous frame, it may help to alleviate some of the stress.  I get it, some of you might be saying “but dating is a daunting task as well.”  Though this may be true for some, I hope you find that dating is at least a little bit more enjoyable than job hunting.

6 Ways Job Hunting is Like Dating

  1. Know what you’re looking for.  As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, if you don’t know what it is you’re looking for, how will you know that you’ve found it?  As an example, in the dating world, you may be looking for a long-term relationship or a short-term, casual relationship.  This is similar to your job search.  It would be the difference between a permanent and a contract position.
  2. The medium you use. Using online sources is quintessential to both job searching and dating.  That said, another critical medium is your own network.  You can almost think of this like being set up on a blind date.
  3. Looks good on paper. Once you’ve read through numerous job ads, you will decide to which roles you wish to apply.  Similarly, as recruiters sift through countless resumes, they too will decide which applicants they wish to speak with.  This will all be based on each parties’ criteria for pre-selecting a potential match.  Once a potential match is identified, then an initial screen is scheduled.  In the dating world, this could be a coffee meeting.  In the job search world, this could be a telephone interview.
  4. Interview. You can think of this as the courtship phase.  Courting in dating may take a much longer time than the interview stage in your job search.  That said, you still want to make sure that you are presenting the best version of yourself.  Making sure that you look your best and that you say the right things are just as important as being honest and authentic.  Keep in mind, this courtship phase is a two-way street.  You should be interviewing the potential employer as much as they are interviewing you.
  5. Probationary Period. Similar to the “dating exclusively” phase of your courtship, your probationary period begins when you start with the new organization.  It typically will last about three months from the time you start the new role.  During this time you are “feeling each other out” to ensure that what was presented during the Interview stage (or courtship stage) is true to life.  It is for this reason that it is critical that you are authentic and truthful during the interview stage.
  6. Full-Time, Permanent Employment. Once you have passed the probationary period, you would be considered a permanent employee.  Keep in mind, while in the probationary period, you too should be confirming that the employer is the right fit for you as well.  At this point, you are officially “going steady.”  As a point of note, although this stage may not be relevant for contract opportunities, it is still critical to be authentic during the interview stage and during the contract term.  The role may lead to a permanent opportunity or even future contracts.

Final Thoughts

Much like in dating, it is important that you broaden your horizons in terms of the types of organizations to which you wish to apply.  There are a number of organizations that are very popular and “sexy.”  As a result, there will be a lot of competition for roles within such organizations.  By keeping an open mind and looking for potential in different organizations, you will be broadening the playing field.  As such, you may even find an opportunity outside of the popular organizations which may be a better fit for you.

I hope you found this post helpful.  If you have any additional insights, or would like to share your experience, I’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, happy hunting!

For personalized advice, check out the services section here.

 

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How to Choose Between Multiple Job Offers
July 07 2016 nfougere Job Offers 0 comments Tags: Bag the Job, Job Offer

Having to choose between multiple job offers is a great problem to have.  If you find yourself in this situation, the simple solution is to create a pros and cons list.  As with most things, it is easier said than done.  There is a way, however, to streamline this process.

In a previous blog post about choosing a career path, a suggested exercise is to list all of the things that you value in a job or career.  Some examples include money, work-life balance, and travel.  You can prioritize or weight the list and overlay that with the elements of your job offers.

As an example, let’s say you have two offers.  One offer is for a role that is interesting and aligned with your career goals, but it is a long commute from your home.  The other is offer for a role that isn’t as interesting, but it pays more and is really close to your home.  Depending on how you weight your values list, you may come up with a clear winner.  If salary is of much higher importance than interesting work, then you may choose the second offer.  Alternately, if the commute is the most important element, then the first offer could be your selection.  It is recommended that you negotiate your offer, and in a previous blog post I discuss how to do just that.

Counter-Offers

If you are currently employed but receive job offers from other organizations, your current company may come to you with a counter-offer.  As tempting as it may be to consider this offer, there are a number of studies that have shown that accepting a counter-offer can be a kiss of death.  In my experience, many times when someone accepts a counter-offer, they end up leaving the organization in about 6 months.  The main reason is that the counter-offer doesn’t address the root cause of why a person was considering other offers in the first place.  The short-term gain of increased salary usually isn’t enough to keep a person in a role, team, or organization where they don’t want to be.

That said, there are people who have received and accepted counter offers who have stayed with their employer for many years.  This, however, seems to be the exception rather than the rule.

I hope you found this post helpful.  If you have any additional insights, or would like to share your experience, I’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, happy hunting!

 

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What Career Path is Right for You?
May 29 2016 nfougere Career Path 0 comments Tags: Bag the Job, Career Path, Job Assessment Tests

There tends to be three types of job seekers: those who know exactly what they want to do, those who are so overwhelmed by the choices that are available to them that they don’t know where to begin, and those who are underwhelmed by the choices available that they wonder if they will ever find something that will pique their interest.  If you fall into one of the latter two categories, then you know how difficult it is to even begin your job search.  There are questions you can ask yourself, however, that should help point you in the right direction.

Career Path Discovery

To begin, ask yourself these questions:
1. If you won the lottery and money weren’t an issue, how would you spend your time? Why? Many of us dream of winning the lottery and buying our dream car, dream home, or travelling the world. What I’m talking about here is what you would do once you’ve enjoyed your winnings. Would you want to open your own business? If so, doing what? Is there an educational pursuit you would like to accomplish? The key here is to ask the ‘why’ behind this question. What is it about opening a particular business or studying a particular subject that interests you?
2. When were you the happiest at work (or school)? What was the project/subject? What, specifically, kept you engaged?
3. Do my friends have an interesting career path? What is it about this career path that is interesting? As an example, say that you have a friend who is a firefighter and you think that is an interesting career. What is it about being a firefighter that intrigues you? Is it helping people? Being seen as a noble member of the community? Are you a thrill-seeker?
4. Have your friends or family members said that they think you would be good in a particular profession? What reason did they give? As an example, my father often told me that I would make a good teacher because he thinks that I have a keen ability to break down complex ideas and translate it to a diverse audience. (Thanks, dad!)
5. What do you want to be known for? For this question, picture your retirement party. Who would be there and what would they say about you. Examples would be that you pioneered a medical breakthrough, that you were an inspiration to entrepreneurs, or that you helped others achieve their goals through your coaching or guidance.

Once you have thought through these questions, see if you can start to pick out any themes. For example, are you more driven by helping others, solving problems, conducting research, or debating?

Reality Check

It is important to include a healthy dose of reality in the mix. Some of the questions you should ask yourself include:
1. Do you have the qualifications required for the career path of interest? What would it take to get the qualifications? Are you in a position to invest the time and money to get qualified? For example, if you are a marketer who is interested in becoming a lawyer, you will likely have to go back to school to get your law degree, and then pass the bar – a thought that strikes fear into the hearts and minds of most soon-to-be lawyers. If getting such qualifications is not possible (for whatever reason), what elements of the interesting career path could you infuse into your current career? In our example, is it debating a case, conducting research, or advising others of their rights?
2. Can you make a living from the interesting career path? You can always search job boards to see if/how many opportunities exist in this field, and what qualifications are sought. As an example, during my undergraduate degree, I was interested in the field of health care ethics. When thinking through the opportunities available in this field at the time, they were extremely limited. This made my decision to pursue other interests much easier. In addition to the availability of opportunities, you need to think about the earning potential you would have and if it will allow you to support yourself and the lifestyle you have or want.
3. Will this career path fit with my current lifestyle? You may need to consider the overall lifestyle required for the career and if this is viable for you. As an example, if you are interested in a career as a consultant, you may need to travel and spend extended periods of time away from your home and family. Would this fit with your family or lifestyle needs?

Try Before you Decide

Once you have a few ideas of interesting career paths, try to find opportunities to explore the career path:
1. Volunteer – not only will volunteering help you discover if this is a career path you would want to explore, you can gain valuable experience and make meaningful network connections, all while giving back to your community.
2. Take it up as a hobby – this would be a great idea if you are interested in changing careers to something artistic like baking, or being a painter. It is also a great way to explore activities like yoga or fitness instruction.
3. Freelance – you can try working in an unexplored field, such as writing, on a part-time, freelance basis. This is another great way to gain experience and to discover if this is a career path that you like and at which you can earn a living.
4. Interest Interview – leverage your network and speak with people you know, or that people in your network know, to learn more about the career path of interest. People generally like to share their experience with others, and can inform you of both the pros and cons of their job.
5. Mentor – similar to the interest interviews seek out the advice of a mentor. Mentors can sometimes provide you with key insights or ask you additional questions that you could consider while making your decision.
6. Job Shadow – if you are currently employed, seek opportunities to job shadow in roles that you wish to explore.

Pulling it all Together

As you are exploring the various options available to you, you should be able to see themes emerge. You can take some of these themes and categorize them by a) your likes, b) your abilities, and c) your values. The Venn diagram below illustrates how these categories overlap:

Career path venn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The closer your list of possible career paths checks all three of these categories, the closer you are to finding a career path that you will love.

Final Thoughts

In addition to going through this exercise there are several books that you can read to help you on your quest:

                                                  

Finally, there are several self-assessment tests that you can try to help point you in the right direction. One free test you can use is the MAPP self-assessment test. There is a paid option, but the free version is an excellent start.  This assessment test is aimed specifically at helping you uncover careers that would align to your personality and interests.

Knowing what you are looking for is the first step in finding your dream job. As I’ve said before if you don’t know what you are looking for then how will you ever know that you’ve found it? For some, this can be a long journey, but like most things in life, the more you put into this self-discovery journey the more you will get out of it.

If you have any questions about this or any other job search topic, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. If you have any questions, video ideas, or would like to collaborate, please feel free to contact me directly. For personalized advice, check out the services section of this site.

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How to Negotiate your Job Offer
April 24 2016 nfougere Job Screening 0 comments Tags: Bag the Job, Job Hunt, Job Offer, Job Search, Negotiations

There are 2 key elements in negotiating a job offer: what you are looking for, and what the organization is willing to pay.  Like most stages of your job search journey, it is vital to prepare for negotiating a job offer by doing your research!  Not only should you research the market salaries, but you should also take the time to think through what you would be looking for in terms of salary, benefits, and other contingencies.

There are a number of excellent resources online to help you with your research.  Here are a few that should help:

When thinking through what you are looking for, you should think about what your bottom line offer would be – after all, regardless of how enticing an opportunity may be, you still need to pay your bills.  Other factors to consider include benefits, vacation, bonus/commissions, percent of travel, flexible work arrangements, etc.  For all of these factors, think about the worst case, best case, and middle ground offers, and be sure to rank order each of the factors you are considering by importance.  For instance, if you are considering a role that requires travel, perhaps you would be willing to reduce your salary expectations if the amount of travel were reduced.  Going through this exercise will enable you to discuss multiple line items in the offer during your negotiation.

Timing – Initial Salary Discussion

Another aspect of negotiation is timing.  Sometimes the recruiter or hiring manager will ask about your salary expectations early on in the recruitment process.  This is a good time to make sure that your expectations are aligned to the role.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, but at least in the same ballpark.  It is always better to provide the recruiter or hiring manager with some sort of salary range, otherwise, they may question your preparedness and your business acumen if you are elusive in your expectations.  After all, negotiation can be an element in the role for which you are interviewing.

Sometimes recruiters will ask you what you earned in your last role (or what you are currently making), but that isn’t necessarily relevant, nor is it always an appropriate question.  A perfectly reasonable answer to this question, however, is to say that based on the role as you understand it, you would be expecting between $X and $Y (fill in the blanks).  Keep in mind: if you are elusive in your answer about your salary expectations, the recruiter may need to resort to asking about your previous salary.  As such, this question becomes increasingly relevant and appropriate for keeping the conversation moving forward.

If the salary discussion hasn’t been brought up by the hiring company by the time you finish your 1st round of in-person interviews, it is ok for you to broach the topic with the recruiter or hiring manager after the interview.  It is typically not appropriate to ask in the job interview itself, however.  Having a salary conversation in advance of a job offer can help you determine whether or not the role is a good fit for you, and it is also your opportunity to use the negotiation tactic of ‘anchoring’ – a cognitive bias whereby decisions are made based on the first piece of information that is revealed in a negotiation.

Timing – Job Offer

When you do receive a job offer, if you’ve done your research and thought through your needs, you should be prepared to talk about several line items in the one negotiation.  Although salary is an important factor, it’s usually not the only or even most important factor to consider.  Being able to look at the big picture in the overall offer should help you to better assess if there are areas where each side could potentially be flexible.  In addition, if there isn’t a lot of “wiggle room” on the employer’s side, you could suggest things like a signing bonus to help close any gaps in the offer.  In doing so, you will be able to demonstrate your reasonableness, flexibility, and creativity.  On the other hand, if you settle one item and go back to the employer later with other requests, you will appear to be indecisive, or even greedy.

Multiple Offers & Counter Offers

In the event that you have multiple job offers, and/or your current employer extends a counter offer – Congratulations!  It is important to remember that you must be honest in your negotiations with your current and prospective employers.  Disclosing that you have other offers or a counter offer on the table is valuable information to the prospective employer, but be careful not to use this as a “hardball tactic” in your negotiation.

Another important consideration is that you must be honest about your other offers.  Lying about a salary package is not only unethical, but you will also run the risk of breaching contract laws – thereby increasing the potential of having your job offer revoked or being terminated after you start.

Final Thoughts

Remember that you are negotiating with people.  Companies don’t negotiate, people do.  As such, it is important that you see things from the employer’s perspective.  They see value in you and are showing that by offering you the opportunity to join their team.  By being fair and reasonable in your negotiation tactics, you will be confirming with the employer that they are making the right decision in offering the job to YOU!  On the other hand, if the employer’s offer is insulting, then perhaps you would want to re-consider this organization as a potential employer.

Every step along the recruitment journey there are signs that indicate whether or not the organization you are entertaining is the right fit for you.  The negotiation is another way to screen a company in or out, just as much as it is a way for the company to screen a candidate in or out.  As such, the negotiation stage is just as important as every other step in the recruitment life cycle.  It’s important that each party is treated fairly and are happy with the end result.

If you have any other insights on successfully negotiating your job offer, please feel free to leave a comment below!

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