When we receive a job offer, we get excited and are ecstatic. However, not all job offers are as attractive as they seem to be. Thus, whenever you receive a job offer, ensure to take out the time to carefully evaluate it so that you make an educated decision of accepting, or rejecting it. Do not take a hasty decision which you may have to regret later on. This begs the fundamental question: How to evaluate a job offer?
Evaluating a Job Offer
Although salary is one of the most important aspects in evaluating a job offer, one should consider the complete compensation including other benefits, other perks, work environment and most importantly the paycheck. Weigh in all the pros & cons. A careful analysis which takes into consideration all aspects of the job (even if it takes quite some time to evaluate) is most important. When an employer offers you a job, they perfectly understand that you may require some time to consider acceptance and evaluate their offer. One can comfortably request some time (a day or two) to think about it.
Once you have the time at your disposal, you can evaluate the offer by considering the below five most important things. If, after the evaluation, you like the offer, then you can say “yes” to it:
1. The Compensation Matters
Compensation many not be the only thing to consider, however, it is one the important considerations. Is the offer at par with your expectations? Is the salary level acceptable to you? Will you be able to foot your bills comfortably? If the answer to any of these questions is a “no”, then DO NOT accept this offer. If the difference is not too much, you may consider negotiating the offer and if the difference is too high, then, you should reject the offer.
One more thing to consider :- Compare the compensation with what you feel you are worth and what average salaries other companies are offering for your kind of skills. If the offered compensation is not up-to-the-mark, highlight the fact and renegotiate the offer with your future employer.
2. Other Benefits and Perks
Apart from the salary, other benefits and perks need to be reviewed. Many-a-times, the benefits, and perks can be equally as important as your paycheck. If you are unsure about the benefits and perks being offered to you, you may query the employer for additional information and details. The important perks and benefits include life insurance coverage, health insurance benefits, vacation benefits, sick leaves, disability benefits and other perks. You may also ask about the employer’s contribution to these benefits and what they will cost you.
3. Hours of Work (including commuting time)
Before one decides in favor of or against a job offer, one should be clear on the hours of work and the work timings. Another important factor to consider is commuting time and if the job involves any kind of traveling. A normal full-time job involves 40 hours of weekly work. If, however, the offer in question requires 50 hours of weekly work, you may soon wear yourself off. Before accepting such an offer, consider whether you may have a difficulty in committing to a longer weekly schedule. On the other hand, if the job requires you to be moving around for 3-4 days a week and if you are not comfortable with so much of traveling, then, you should not undertake the job offer. Finally comes commuting to and fro from the work place. How much time does the commute take, is there an additional cost involved in commuting like tolls and parking fees. Ensure to weigh in all these aspects before committing and deciding in favor of taking up the job offer.
4. Timings, Flexibility and Company Culture
Do you have other responsibilities? Some of us have small children or elderly parents to take care of. Also, one may have many other similar considerations and may need more flexible work schedule. For many of us today, flexibility on work timings and the ability to work outside the normal office schedule is important. Also, it is equally important to evaluate and ensure that you will be comfortable in the new work environment. Once may query future co-workers or colleagues to understand the firm’s work culture and evaluate it to ensure that you will fit in comfortably.
5. Match Your Personal Preferences
Everyone one has a different set of preferences and liking. There is no one yardstick that you can use to evaluate a job offer. What may be a perfect job for someone may be an awful job for someone else. Match your personal preferences with the features of the job offer at hand and see if you are comfortable making some adjustments while other important aspects of the job are as per your liking.
Write down the pros and cons of the job offer, take your time to evaluate them, review them and follow your gut feeling. If your gut feeling tells you that the job offer is right for you, go for it. If for some reason your gut feeling tells you not to go for the job, there is a possibility that there may be something wrong with the job. One thing that we often overlook when evaluating a job offer is; there will be other offers and who knows, you may find your perfect job in the next offer.
Conclusion
It is beneficial for you and the employer if you decline an unfit job before hand rather than you joining and quitting one or two weeks down the line. Take a well informed and an educated decision before accepting or rejecting the job offer. Once you have made a decision, stick to it.
