21 November 2016 /

Finding a job is tough but more gruelling is the decision to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to a job offer at hand. It becomes even more pertinent in today’s turbulent economic situations when companies offer and withdraw job offers instantly. Here are 10 things to check.

‘Job hopping’ is a popular topic at office. Changing jobs, joining new organisations for the sake of career enhancement or salary correction is normal these days.

The bigger question – rather concern – however is that what should a candidate check about the new workplace before taking up an employment offer? This becomes even more pertinent because changing economic situation is forcing many organisations – both large and small – to tweak or withdraw job offers at the last moment.

Asim Handa, CEO, Gi Group India, a multinational recruitment firm, shares his insights with us.

Here are the ten things to check before taking up a job offer:

  1. Role & criticality to business
    Check out if your role is interesting, and if it is crucial / inevitable to the business. If it is both, then you have surely struck gold. The more critical role, the less are chances of you getting fired in bad times.
  2. Financial health of the company
    You don’t want to end up with a company which is going down financially and whose future looks flimsy. You may have to look for a job then which may be even more difficult.
  3. Company’s brand value
    Your career prospects depend on how much industry value your employer has. A stint with a company below average market value will land you with similar companies in future.
  4. Work culture and environment
    Ask the interviewer about work practices, celebrations on events or how they pursue ‘employee engagement’. Since this is one thing that can be visually exhibited around, your employer will most probably show off these through photos /videos on the website or during your interaction.
  5. Salary, perquisites, designation and benefits
    This being the most direct result of your work, you should expect about 25-50 per cent hike on your current salary package. Check out your tax implications and if the new salary structure helps in saving taxes, it is all the better.
  6. Work-life balance
    Will this assignment need you to make lifestyle changes (travel, commute, work timings) and are you prepared for it? If it undesirably alters your lifestyle to a big extent, you should give the offer a second thought.
  7. Current team/ boss
    Ask proactively about the current team, team leader/ boss, a typical work day in the team, and any good practices they follow. This will give you an idea about whether you’ll like working in the team.
  8. Company’s growth and attrition rate
    Ask about company’s growth straightway to the interviewer. The growth can be measured in terms of employee size, increase in revenue/ turnover/ profit. Getting to know about the attrition rate is equally important. You would not want to part of that figure in short term.
  9. Learning and growth opportunities
    Your work experience of five years should not mean one year’s experience repeated five times. Only good learning opportunities ensure exponential growth of your career.
  10. Transnational opportunity
    Job seekers who are evaluating trans-national job opportunities should always do a thorough check on the location, compare the cost of living and evaluate career progression plans for the role, in case they want to come back home in the future.

Read from source 

See coverage screenshot