9 Tips when considering a new role

The world is entering in to the largest talent migration in history. At LinkedIn we call this the #GreatReshuffle . But it's not just about people at massive scale considering a change in employer, it's also about people considering "why" they work, "how" they want to work and "where" they want to work from.

In my role, I get the opportunity to provide career coaching to people (people in my team, my company and my network as well as strangers who've raised their hand). The 9 tips below, split in to three sections, are the most common areas that tend to come up in career coaching conversations. The order of the sections and tips follows the general career coaching structure.

These tips do have a root from career coaching centred on SaaS Sales roles, however many of them can apply beyond the SaaS industry and Sales function. If you are considering your #NextPlay as part of the Great Reshuffle, I hope you find these tips useful.

Know thyself

Three of the most stressful life events are moving house, getting married and starting a new job. With all three of them, careful planning is critical to make the best decisions, manage the process and reduce stress.

The first step in planning is to understand what it is that you want... to avoid buying a house and then afterwards realising how much you needed a parking space, or a big spend on fancy chair covers that in hindsight may have been better spent on the wedding food. Yet oftentimes, when it comes to looking for a new job, people start by taking a "window shopping" approach. If you are considering a new role, I recommend you first start by giving some deep thought to:

Tip #1: What is your purpose? What are your passions and your values?

We work for around 2,000 hours per year. That's a lot of time - our most precious resource - to invest. Invest it wisely. Without knowing what matters to you the most, your "true north", how can you begin to seek out a dream job?

If you need some help getting started, this article might help.

Tip #2: What's the next, next role that you want?

Career Planning means taking a longer-term view. While you may not know what role you'd like to be doing in 10 years, it's important to be clear on the direction that you want to head and to plan for at least one move ahead. A Career Development Plan can really help.

This will you avoid taking a "kid in a candy store" approach to looking at new roles and instead help you to be more strategic in looking for roles that will move you closer towards your longer-term career objectives.

Tip #3: In what environment do you do you best work? And what is the work setup that you want/ need?

A "work environment" includes a number of facets - so it's important to know what is most important to you. There is often the danger of thinking the grass is greener on the other side. How I've seen this this show up with people...

• Being allured about working in a Startup... but on probing hadn't considered that things like working long hours, having limited resources or a lack of job security did not create the optimum working environment for them.
• Wanting to move from a small to a large company... but had not considered the bureaucracy in decision-making, the rigidity of process to follow or the more narrow responsibilities in the role.

Most companies are still reimagining their work locations policies - balancing what the company needs, what their employees want and making iterations as they go in establishing their 'new' or 'future' normals.

Do you want to be home based, office based or hybrid?

Do you want consistency or flexibility - being able to decide week-by-week on where you'll be or the hours that you'll work?

Company considerations

It's easy to get romanced by a company's communications on why they are a great place to work. When you lift up the hood, there are three key lenses to look through in assessing the company and if it is well suited for you.

Tip #4: What is their Vision and what are their Values? Do these align, or at least overlap, with yours?

Most companies will have noble enough sounding Vision Statement. But does that Vision - the thing that they are pursuing and applying their resources towards - align, compliment or overlap with your purpose and passions?

If so, you'll rarely have to dig deep for motivation. If not, why would you choose to purse another purpose ahead of your own?

You can apply the same test with Values. Also, from your research on the company, do they live up to those values?

Next, check the alignment between their work environments and work setup and what you are seeking. Be very careful about progressing if you have to make compromises... remember, you had a clear picture of what you wanted.

Bonus Tip: Validate your research. What is their Culture really, really like? What do current and former employees say about working there - does their Employer Value Proposition (their promise) match the reality?

Tip #5: What is their value proposition? How do they differentiate against their competitors?

What's going within their marketplace - is it growing/ shrinking? Who are the other players and where are they positioned?

What's their value proposition and how do they differentiate from the competition? Their value proposition will likely impact the working environment. It could be innovation (they value risk taking and creativity), cost (they value efficiency) or service (they value deep relationships) or otherwise.

What do their customers say about them? Check out review sites.

Tip #6: How are they performing?

Check out their financial reports: Are they growing revenue? Are they profitable? Do they have sufficient levels of cash?

What's happening with their share price? And what are industry commentators saying?

Then review this against the performance of their competitors.

Role considerations

There can be big upside to changing role if you get it right but a big downside if you get it wrong. Below are the three key areas to validate.

Tip #7: Does this role help you take a meaningful step forward in your career objectives? (Towards your next, next role)

Career paths are no longer necessarily linear. So it often makes sense to take a step sideways, downwards, across functions or across industries in pursuit of your career objectives. However, the steps should always be intentional.

What are the skills and experience that you will gain in this role that will benefit you in moving towards (and being successful in) your next, next role?

What are the learning resources and opportunities that you will be afforded beyond this role to help in your development?

Tip #8: What's the quality of the company's leaders?

A company's success is tied to the quality of it's leaders. Much of the happiness in a role is determined by the quality of the manager. Take time to research the leaders of the company and the manager for the specific role.

Do they inspire you?

Tip #9: What is the realistic earning potential?

Money is important. However, it can have a blinkering and short-term effect if it is prioritised ahead of the topics listed discussed above.

In Sales, job seekers often focus on the OTE. But this only tells part of the story. What percentage of their salespeople achieved their OTE? What accelerators are in place once people have achieved their OTE? Is commissioned paid out in other ways too - such as long-term contracts?

It's also important to consider the rest of the benefits package - be that pensions, stocks, healthcare and other perks and entitlements. It makes better to make a holistic comparison in order to make a fully informed decision.

I hope you found these tips helpful. If you are considering a new job - check out LinkedIn to see if our Company and Roles align well with what matters most to you.