How To Evaluate a Job Offer

Article Title: How To Evaluate a Job Offer
Author Byline: Anna Mathieu. Anna Mathieu’s experience as a recruiter and as a seasoned sales & marketing professional give her a winning perspective on communicating Redfish’s specialized recruiting services. Her evangelization and branding continue to drive bottom line results.
Author Website: http://www.redfishtech.com/about_us/anna_mathieu.php

Congratulations! You’ve received a job offer. Now what?

First of all, ask yourself if you want this job. Hopefully you spent the time up front to evaluate the company and the position prior to pursuing it. Sometimes things happen faster than you expect and you haven’t fully explored the opportunity. There are a lot of important aspects to research and consider when you are evaluating an employment opportunity. The more you know before the offer, the better position you’ll be in.

A company’s values, vision and corporate culture are going to fundamentally affect you on a daily basis. Does the company you are evaluating motivate and speak to you? Do you feel like it will be a fit with your personality and work style? Just as dating someone with a fundamentally different belief system would be a great challenge, so will working for a company where you do not buy into the mission and vision.

What about the size and hierarchy of the company? Are you more apt to want to wear several hats and take broad responsibilities? Do you want a close working relationship with top management and the ability to see the impacts of your personal contribution? If so, a smaller company may offer you the best fit. Are you focused on training or mentoring programs and a clear career path? Do you have specialized skills that you want to focus on specific endeavors? If so, a larger company may be for you.

Location, hours, and flexibility are also important considerations. If you have to relocate, you’ll want to evaluate the area, cost of living, housing options, and community amenities. Will you need to commute? If so what are the costs and time required? Is there flexibility in terms of hours worked in order to avoid traffic? Can you work remotely for some portion of the week? Will the position require travel?

The company’s background and tenure can be discovered via press releases, newsletters, and annual reports. Take the time to inquire about the company by tapping into professional networks, alumni career offices, current employees, and even competitors. Conduct a search on the internet or pick up the phone and ask the front desk who you might speak with. You’ll want to consider the company’s products & services, market position, industry, age, size, employee turnover, and financial condition.

Now back to that offer you received, is the compensation package in line with expectations? Is the salary competitive? What is the overtime or compensated time off policy? What are the benefits? What does the overall package entail? How does the compensation package compare to the industry? Again, the more research you’ve done upfront, the better you can evaluate the terms you are being offered.

The bottom line probably does not boil down to one number. Salaries may be structured to offer an equity piece or bonuses. Flexibility, training programs, promotion opportunities, salary/performance review, vacation, insurance and other perks are an important part of the overall remuneration you will be receiving.

If you choose to negotiate the pay or benefits, the more research you have done, the better you can present your case. There are many sources for salary information by industry and role such as salary surveys by professional associations, the National Association of Colleges, and websites like Indeed and Monster, or the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Speaking with people in your professional network within the industry, consulting employment ads, and discussions with external recruiters can give you a lot of insight into the current compensation trends.

Finally, remember that a written offer letter is often regarded as a contract from a legal standpoint. It is important then that this offer covers any aspects that are important to you and reflects the conversations that lead up to it. If official company policies are codified, ask for a copy to review.

Typically you only have a couple days to review and accept a job offer. Be prepared, know what is realistic as well as what you want and where you have room to negotiate. Good luck in your new job!

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Compensation Conundrum – When You Should Compromise on Compensation

Article Title: Compensation Conundrum – When You Should Compromise on Compensation
Author Byline: CareerAlley
Author Website: http://CareerAlley.com

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.” – Mark Twain

Individual job search can be challenging (regardless of why you are searching for a new job), but group job search (as in a downsizing, closing of a location or closing of a company) takes the challenge to a new level. Of course there are a number of factors that potentially increase the pressure, like when an entire industry is under pressure or if the overall economy is suffering. Everyone, of course, handles the job search pressure differently. Some people don’t actually look for a job until after their last day (denial) while others jump in with both feet and do the all out job search with a goal of finding a new job before their current job ends. Everyone needs to approach the process in the job search in their own way and time, but panic is not a good way to start.

Having lived through events described above several times (unfortunately), I’ve learned that you need to be flexible (and careful) in the way you handle your future compensation. There is sometimes a fear that you will never get another job and this may lead you to take a role for significantly less than you are currently paid (or potentially worth). On the other hand, “holding out” for a level of compensation that may no longer be realistic can also backfire. So what is the right balance between what you are really worth and what the market will pay? That, my friend, is the topic of today’s post.

What am I worth? – The first thing you want to try and understand is “what you are worth” and there are many tools that will help you do that. I must caution, however, that these tools only offer guidance as your exact set of circumstances (years of experience, education, type of experience, current economic trends, etc.) play a major role in determining compensation.

• Salary.com – Stands to reason that this is a good place to start. This site has two views, one for employers and one for personal use. You can register on the site or just use there tools without registering. There are links at the top of the page for Salary and Job Search or use the free Salary Wizard available left center page. Enter your title and location on the Personal Salary Wizard. Entering your information will return a basic report. There are additional tools below this for Job Search, Education and Cost of Living. Additionally, there are a number of other related tools under the Tools menu.

• Jobnob.com – The site allows you to search for average salaries as well as see job listings for companies that are currently hiring. There are lists of companies, jobs and salary ranges. There are tabs at the top for Search, Salaries and Events. Clicking on Salaries shows ranges by profession. Enter your profession and the site will return a report. The Companies tab (down a little from the tabs at the top) is also interesting and provides a fair amount of data. Overall, the site is jam packed with some really good information (and you can search for jobs on the site as well).

• SalaryExpert.com – Similar to Salary.com, this site has sections for both individuals and compensation professionals. The site offers both salary reports and cost of living reports (useful if you are thinking of a move) as well as job search. Also like Salary.com, there are free basic reports and custom reports for a fee. Clicking “continue” under Employee (center page) returns a page with a Salary Calculator, Executive Salary Calculator and a Cost of Living Calculator. There are additional tabs at the top of the page for Reports and Education.

Should I take a cut in compensation? – This is a great question and is asked all of the time (as you will see from some of the links below). This is, of course, a personal decision. But you should be well informed (can you afford it, were you “overpaid” before, is the job in a less expensive market, etc.). Hopefully the following articles will help.

• Should I Accept A Job Offer Below My Current Pay Range? – This article is from Timsstrategy.com and it offers some great advice. Take a look at Tim’s Pros and Cons (you should be making your list as well). But also take a look at his five factors for consideration. Again, it is a personal choice driven by many factors, but think long and hard on this one.

• Should You Accept that Lousy Job Offer? Yes – Another view, this one posted on the CBS News site. I don’t actually agree that it is as cut and dry as the last paragraph would lead you to believe. But, that being said, personal circumstances combined with market conditions for your profession will provide the best answer for you.

Good luck in your search.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.