Key Points to check before accepting the offer

Finding a job is tough but more grueling 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 a few things to check.

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

The bigger question – rather concern – however is 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 organizations – both large and small – to tweak or withdraw job offers at the last moment.

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

1. Role & criticality to business
2. 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.
3. The financial health of the company
4. You don’t want to end up with a company that is going down financially and whose future looks flimsy. You may have to look for a job then which may be even more difficult.
5. Company’s brand value
6. Your career prospects depend on how much industry value your employer has. A stint with a company with an average market value will land you with similar companies in the future.
7. Work culture and environment
8. 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.
9. Salary, perquisites, designation, and benefits
10. This being the most direct result of your work, you should expect about a 25-50 percent 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.
11. Work-life balance
12. 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.
13. Current team/ boss
14. 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 a team.
15. Company’s growth and attrition rate
16. Ask about the company’s growth straightway to the interviewer. The growth can be measured in terms of employee size, and increase in revenue/ turnover/ profit. Getting to know about the attrition rate is equally important. You would not want to be part of that figure in short term.
17. Learning and growth opportunities
18. 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.
19. Transnational opportunity
20. Job seekers who are evaluating transnational 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.