Insight Blog

Our recent post, Considering a New Job Part I: Your Current Position & Employer Vs. Your Ideal, discussed the complexities surrounding the decision to seek a new career opportunity. Within, we outlined how to compare your current role and employer to your ideal, and the importance of doing so. This helps to prepare you for updating your resume accordingly, and to look for positions and organizations that are in your best interest. By truly understanding what you want, you can more accurately assess potential opportunities and how well they fit in with your career goals.

Taking this process a step further, we now want to cover our recommendations for evaluating a specific job opportunity. The questions below will assist you in doing so and will also help you structure answers to questions that a prospective employer may ask during the interview process.

Role:

• What are the responsibilities and challenges of the position? Compare them to your current and ideal job.

• What skills lead to success in the position and do you possess them? Will the role utilize and expand your skills and expertise?

• What are the short- and long-term expectations of the role? Are you familiar with those types of expectations and executing such initiatives? How is performance evaluated? Do you feel you would flourish in the role?

• Does the opportunity support your current and long term career aspirations and is it a step in the right direction? What advancement opportunities exist?

• What impact does the role have upon the organization itself? Will you have an opportunity to make a difference? Does it provide meaning to you personally and does it support your values?

Team / Reporting Relationships:

• Who does the position report to and work closely with? Are those individuals happy within the organization and are they planning to stay? What are their personal and professional traits, and are they similar to your own?

• How well does the team interact and communicate? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

Corporate Culture:

• What is the work environment (cubicles, offices, or the new flexible type of workspace?)

• How is the organization’s leadership viewed? Is executive management respected and trusted? If appropriate to your role, consider the backgrounds and the personal and professional characteristics of the executive team.

• What are the organization’s overall values and principles? Do they reflect your own?

• What are the organization’s short- and long-term objectives and strategies?

Lack of cultural fit is a primary reason why so many new hires fail so it is imperative that you give this appropriate consideration. 

Compensation & Other:

• Is the compensation package being offered commensurate with your experience? Is there incentive compensation and how is it determined?

• Does the compensation warrant leaving your current position?

• What is the commute and travel requirements of the position? Do they support your lifestyle and family/friend obligations?

Finally, take time to reflect on the reasons why you are dissatisfied with your current position and employer, and make sure none of those would occur or play a part in the prospective role and organization.

It may seem like these are a lot of considerations when assessing a new career opportunity. But, you have to admit, they are also realistic and valid. Changing jobs and employers carries a level of risk at any point during your career. Giving an opportunity the appropriate thought before taking a leap benefits you personally and professionally, and instills confidence that you are making a solid decision.