6 Important Factors To Consider Before Accepting That Job Offer

iStockphoto.com | Feodora Chiosea

Oh, happy day! A job offer just rolled in and it’s everything you’ve ever wanted. Right?

A job is a long-term commitment that should not be entered lightly. It’s in your best interests to do some due diligence and really weigh all the different factors that make up a new job. Before signing on the dotted line, here some questions you may want to ask.

1. What is the true value of your compensation package? In the absence of a formal written offer that breaks down the various components of an offer, you’ll want to find out 1) the salary, 2) benefits, 3) 401K plans, 4) bonus structures, 5) vacation/sick time policies, 6) parking, 7) travel, and 8) other incentives. Look beyond the salary at the entire financial web the new job will bring. Be sure to research salary ranges on a validated compensation site (such as Payscale.com) for your job title and geography to ensure the offer is equitable and that you are being treated fairly.

2.  What is the reputation of the company? This may require some homework, but the more you know about where you are going the more informed your decision will be. Does the company have reputation as a springboard for rising stars, or as a vanguard of seasoned veterans? Think about how the company fits into your overall career plan. Ask around – you can probably find somebody you know who’s worked there or knows somebody who has. And be cautious about what you read in reviews online on sites like Glassdoor.com; you’ll get a sampling of people’s feedback, but not necessarily a representative data set – take what you see with a grain of salt.

3.  Do you want to do this job day-to-day? It’s difficult to predict what the routine of a new job will be until you’re doing it, but make all possible efforts to understand what your day-to-day duties will be. It’s possible to go through an interview process and field an offer for a job without knowing much beyond the job title. Or perhaps the job is at a prestigious company or firm, and you were so blinded by the firm’s reputation that you neglected to focus on the duties. You spend more time awake at work than anywhere else, make sure it’s not an unwelcome grind.

4.  Are you sure you want to deal with the commute? You’ve got to get there somehow, and it may take a while. Your monthly gas bill may double, as could your tolls and parking fees. If your offer comes with a serious commute, map it out, and give sober consideration to how it may affect your work-life. The worst commute can kill the enjoyment of even the best job.

5.  Are you willing to relocate? Some people will move in flash for a new job, but before you start packing ask yourself, “Where do I want to wake up every day?” Maybe you want to be close to family, or you’re the big city type. Maybe you’ve always wanted to live on the coast, or go place to place. Whatever your thing is, if possible, stick to it. If the relocation satisfies that primary question, keep in mind that smaller towns with a lower cost structure may allow a higher standard of living, but may have fewer professional options in the future; and let’s say you end up taking that position in a one-company town and the job fizzles out, you’ll likely need to move again. Conversely, a big city has more opportunities and tends to be more culturally vibrant, but tends to be much more expensive.

6.  What is the career growth and personal development potential? No, growth and personal development doesn’t pay the bills like say, your salary, but that allow for internal upward mobility and/or professional development can be intangible investments that pay dividends. A high-paying job without room to move may be less valuable than a job that pays less but creates the potential for greater accomplishments. Take a candid look at where the job may take you, your skills, and your ambitions.

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

My Job Offer Was Rescinded Due To The Economy! What Do I Do?

iStockphoto.com | RomarioIen

It’s a nightmare scenario for any job seeker. You’ve accepted an offer to work for your dream company. After signing and returning the offer letter, and cancelling interviews with other firms (or, worse, given notice to your current company), you get a mysterious message from the human resources team at your new employer asking you to give them a call as soon as you can…

And it’s horrible news. They tell you that due to no fault of your own, the company is rescinding the offer, and you’re left without any job at all.

There are myriad reasons a company will go through the painful process of cancelling a job offer after acceptance, but in most such cases, it boils down to one of three reasons:

1.     A major economic downturn. When economies go bad, aggressively companies cut cost to compensate for the grim market outlook. And to many companies, it’s more palatable to eliminate the role of the person who hasn’t started yet, rather than an existing employee. 

2.     A sudden and dramatic change in fortune of the specific company involved. Internal scandals enveloped Enron and Theranos, driving them to extinction. But even in less dramatic cases, companies that need to rapidly eliminate overhead will turn first to labor.

3.     A change in corporate strategy. The folks in the C-suite are constantly playing chess with the different departments and products, trying to optimize the P&L. It might mean that a project you were going to join gets cancelled unexpectedly, resulting in excess staff.

These situations all stink, and they put the job seeker in a horrible position. Whether you’re a recent graduate, or a professional who wants to make a jump to a bigger better job, or an unemployed professional who’s been aggressively pounding the pavement for a while, you’re still caught in Limbo. And under COVID-19, this has happened with more and more frequency.

Your options to mitigate the damage are limited, no doubt. But there are steps you can take to try to make the best of the situation (please note - this is not legal advice; for solid legal guidance, always consult an attorney):

• Keep Your Cool: When you receive the news, don’t unleash your anger on the company representative that reaches out to you. It’s in your best interest to maintain a collaborative dialogue to try to squeeze the best possible outcome out of the situation. A combative tone risks an emotional backlash from HR or hiring authority. It’s in the company’s best interest to resolve the situation as smoothly as possible - use that to your advantage.

• Ask For Details: If you’re able, by all means press HR for as many details as possible as to why your role was eliminated. The reasons given may help you understand the degree of support you may be able to obtain from the company in resolving the situation. A full company closure obviously has less potential for another opportunity than does a situation in which a small group is impacted.

• Find The Hidden Opportunities: Your dialogue with HR might uncover the potential for the company to follow through with a job opportunity or other outcomes. Consider asking:

  • If business returns to “normal”, might the job be reinstated?

  • If so, how would I be considered and prioritized?

  • Am I eligible and qualified for any other open position with the company?

  • Is the company offering any sort of severance payment in consideration of what’s happened?

• Understand Your Rights: If you have a signed/counter-signed employment agreement, review it carefully, and consider having a good labor attorney review it, to see if you may be entitled to some form of compensation or other consideration.

• Find A New Job: Y However, you are now in a more unique situation that may benefit you during your new search. You had a job; you just never had the chance to perform it. In interviews, use this as a selling point, especially if the company that rescinded the offer was a well-known brand that carries prestige in the talent market.

• Rebuild Bridges: If you were fortunate enough to have multiple job offers, do not hesitate to reach out to the companies you turned down. Likewise, if you’ve given notice to your current employer, they may be willing to keep you on.

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

How Do I Choose Between Two Job Offers?

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You’ve slogged through a competitive interview process at multiple companies and you’re ready for the job offers to start rolling in. Even better, you’ve been told you’re a finalist with two employers. Company A (we’ll call them Beam Me Up, Inc.) is a start-up developing the first teleportation machine, while Company B (We Make Flying Cars, Inc.) makes the most popular flying cars in the world. Great choices, right? It’s a great situation to have – how should you handle the multiple companies vying for your talents, and how do you decide which is the right for you? 

Consider the following scenarios: 

Scenario 1 – You receive an offer from the Beam Me Up, Inc., which is clearly your first choice. Many people use a situation like this to see if they can wrangle a better deal by pitting the two offers against each other. Think carefully before engaging this approach – the outcome of such negotiations can be unpredictable and might even work against you if it feeds a perception that you’re trying to incite a bidding war. If the offer comes up short of your expectations, you’re certainly well within your rights to try to sweeten the deal, and taking a collaborative approach with the person who extended the offer (something like, “I’d love to see if we can get to yes, I’d love to work with you!”) can help. If, on the other hand, the offer fell squarely within your expectations, it could very well be in your best interest to accept the offer outright and end your interviews with We Make Flying Cars, Inc. Start off on a positive note.

Scenario 2 – You receive an offer from We Make Flying Cars, Inc. (your second choice). But you really, REALLY want an offer from Beam Me Up, Inc. (your clear first choice). This is a delicate dance. You don’t want to settle too early on a company that, while perhaps great in its own right, is still your runner-up. Here are some steps you can take to move the process along.

Step 1: Align your expectations with We Make Flying Cars, Inc. who extended the job offer, to see if you can buy some additional time. You need to this in as collaborative and professional a manner as possible; keep it simple, thankful, and reasonable. Reach out to Human Resources and say, “Thank you very much for your offer. I do have some other factors to consider. May I have a little extra time to talk to my family and make a decision?” Then gauge the situation carefully. They may or may not be willing to extend your deadline, so proceed accordingly. Missing a hard deadline could result in a withdrawn offer.

Step 2: Reach out to the Human Resources department of Beam Me Up, Inc. to see if you can give the process a nudge. Be direct and honest. For example, “I just wanted to let you know that I received an offer from another company, but Beam Me Up is still my first choice. I believe the work you’re doing is more challenging and rewarding, and that I am an ideal cultural fit. Were the company to make an offer in the range we discussed, I would happily accept it. I look forward to hearing from you, and thank you!” The wheels of corporate bureaucracy move slowly, but a call like this can provide the essential momentum.

3. You receive simultaneous job offers from both companies and you have no clear preference. Make no mistake, receiving two competing offers puts you in an advantageous bargaining position and certainly provides a nice ego boost. You are indeed in a prime position to lure the two employers into a bidding war.

That said, rather than risk your good fortune and potentially jeopardize your relationship with each employer by trying to sweeten the pot, it may be better to compare each offer on its own merit and make a decision accordingly. Consider the following factors:

• The Work Itself. Which role will be the most rewarding, and will help you achieve your long-term career goals? Don’t just look at the job title, since these may mean different things at different companies. Focus on the specifics of the job description, and the specific work experience and skills you will gain. We devote most of our waking hours to work – maximize the ROI on your precious time with a fulfilling career.

• Total Compensation. The salary figure presented by an employer is almost always the primary consideration, but compensation is much, much more than just salary. Total compensation can include medical insurance, paid time off, bonuses, 401k matches, employee discounts, car allowances, and other benefits. Run the numbers – a job that pays a high base salary but makes you pay for the bulk of your medical expenses out-of-pocket or gives you minimal vacation time may be a bad deal in disguise.

• Company Culture. Where are you going to going to feel good heading to work every day? Which employer shares your professional values? Even if all other factors of their offers are equal, company cultures and work environments – even in the same industry – can dramatically different. And don’t forget to factor in work/life balance. Get as much information as possible.

Once you’ve worked through the details and compared the offers, proceed carefully. Beam Me Up, Inc. and We Make Flying Cars, Inc. both believe you are lucky to get an offer from them. If you try to negotiate with the companies and come across as demanding, unreasonable, or ungrateful, or if you appear to be fostering a competition, an employer may believe their offer was a mistake and consider withdrawing it – especially if they feel like they are being played off against each other. Have your salary market data ready (pay a visit to compensation site paysa.com), do your homework, and be reasonable in your request. If you’re already being offered a compensation package above the market average, requests for more may not be well received; the converse is also true, where if you do your homework and discover you’re being offered below market average, you may have room to negotiate and improve your standing. But it’s still a precarious situation.

If Beam Me Up offers you $5,000 less than We Make Flying Cars, and you ask Beam Me Up to match their offer, you must be prepared to accept the revised offer if they meet your request. A back-and-forth between yourself and both companies will only engender ill will and may result in no offers to choose from. Keep in mind that how you handle the negotiation will be a reflection of your integrity.

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercareerstrategies.com.