Stop -- Don't Take That Job Offer!

A funny thing happens to your brain during a job search, especially if you hate job-hunting. If you hate interviewing and you detest the whole job-search process, your overriding thought will be "Dear God, please let this be over!"

You really want a job offer. You might not be too choosy. You can get so into the groove of interviewing and reference-checking that you forget the most important element of your job search, the answer to the question

Do I Really Want This Job?

As job-seekers we don't always think we have the right to ask that question. A job is a job, right? Maybe your spouse or partner is giving you looks and worrying about money.

Maybe you're so antsy to get back to work that you're ready to take anything.

The more pressure you have to bring home a paycheck, the more your reliable six senses and your trusty gut will be silenced. Your bossy brain will tell them both to pipe down and hush up.

Every single day people write to us and say "Why did I take this job? I hate it!"

You think "I can tough it out on any job." You think your mojo won't be damaged by a condescending boss or a boring, brainless position you could perform in your sleep. You think that paying the mortgage next month is the only thing that matters.

When you forget that you have needs in the job search process, you're in danger. You might settle for a job that can only dim your flame instead of growing it.

If you do that, you'll have two problems! You'll have to job-hunt again, and on top of that you'll be working, so you'll have to conduct a stealth job search around your full-time job. To compound the problem, you'll be mentally and emotionally spent after a day of work in the job you wish you hadn't taken.

We all go into denial at times. Most of us have done it at some point. We've stayed with the wrong boyfriend or girlfriend while our friends looked on in horror and wondered when we were going to wake up from our stupor.

If it wasn't romantic denial, we stayed in the wrong educational program or at the wrong job way past the point when it was healthy for us to be there.

Denial is a strong force on the job hunt trail. The dream wave that picks you up and carries you along in a recruitment pipeline for a job you'd hate is a powerful wave.

You will rationalize like crazy. You'll say "Well, at least some company is interested me, that's good, right? So what if all the people I've met have been toads? So what if the job sounds boring and depressing? At least it's a job!"

We forget what the wrong job can do to us. We think that having a 'career job' is the most important thing in the world.

We don't go after a survival job right away because we think "I don't need to -- I can find a job in my field, as long as I'm flexible." We bend and flex into pretzel shapes for people who don't deserve to shine our shoes, if we are honest.

The powerful job-search dream wave has a name. It's called The Vortex. Because the vortex is so strong, it can sweep you off your feet. You're like a strawberry in a blender being whirled into a smoothie. You don't feel you're in control. You're swept along, and then you get an offer letter.

Oh no. It's the moment of truth!

Look for these red flags along the way to your offer, and if you spot more than one of them (at most!) run away. Don't take the job. Sign up with every temp and contract agency in town, start a store on eBay, get a bartender's license and start freelancing. Focus on growing your entrepreneurial muscles.

The stronger those muscles get, the less likely you'll be to fall into the Vortex the next time. You'll have an income and your mojo will grow, too.

SIX SIGNS TO RUN FROM A JOB OFFER

They Didn't Mind Making You Wait

If the entire job interview process was punctuated by periods of deafening silence from the employer, you've been warned! You were expected to sit patiently until they stooped to contact you or until Hell froze over, whichever happened first.

A job offer from people like that is not a good thing. Get on the bus, Gus, and find a better class of people to hang out with.

Your Needs Are Insignificant

If you got plenty of time to ask questions during your job interviews and if your email and voicemail messages were returned promptly, that's a fantastic sign that you're about to start working with humans rather than zombies.

If nobody asked you "What are you looking for in a job? If we make you an offer, what would it need to contain to get you on board?" and other you-focused questions, think carefully before you sign the offer letter.

If the organization's view of making job offers is "If you don't want the job, we'll find someone who does" run away. Life is too short to waste your time with weenies.

The Job Description Keeps Changing

One minor or even moderate shift in direction over the course of your recruiting process is understandable, because things always change in the real world. A never-ending conversation about what you'll actually do on the job is a huge red flag. If they don't know what they want from, there is no way for you to succeed.

You might be walking into a political nightmare. Get out of Dodge!

They Don't Believe A Word You Say

As soon as an employer asks you for proof of past earnings, hit the bricks. These people are too fearful to trust themselves enough to hire people they could trust.

If you take the job, you're putting your trust in them! You're linking your brand to theirs and spending your precious time and energy on their problems. If they don't believe what you tell them, leave them in the dust.

Here's a question. When you call the plumber and ask "What's your hourly rate?" and the plumber says "Ninety bucks an hour" do you say "Can you prove it?"

They Haven't Expended One Calorie Selling You

I love recruiting, because it's fun to meet people and explore the possibilities for working together. I have long-time friends that I interviewed and did not hire.

As long as you are honest and compassionate, there is no reason for the hiring process to be unpleasant for anybody involved.

If you want to hire people who have other options apart from working for you -- the only kind of employee I want you to hire, naturally -- you're going to have to sell them. That's okay. Selling is fun!

If you're excited about your organization, you may pass your excitement on to them.

If you've been through the entire recruiting obstacle course and no one has wasted an ounce of energy selling you -- in fact, if the tone behind the hiring process has been "You'll be lucky if you get the job!" then nothing will get better for you once you start working.

You're a piece of lumber to them now, and you'll stay a piece of lumber once you begin the job.

You Could Be Anybody

Our client Max got a job offer from a company that didn't have a great reputation as a Human Workplace. It had a horrible reputation, actually.

When the company recruiter called Max to extend the job offer, she said "Yeah, they were happy to find you, because there aren't that many people who are willing to work these hours and also do the traveling this job requires."

Hmm, thought Max. Is that what I am to these folks -- just a warm body to fill a hole? "What do you think it was about me, in particular, that got me the offer?" asked Max.

The recruiter said "I talked to over 50 people on the phone, and you were the only one who agreed to the salary, the hours and the travel."

That was all Max needed to hear. Something shifted in his brain as the recruiter spoke. Max laughed out loud and politely told the recruiter to keep hunting for someone whose mojo was even more depleted than his was.

"It was amazing!" Max told us.

"I got off the phone, got on my bicycle and went for a long ride. When I got home, I realized that it was silly of me to have been such a doormat in the first place. My mojo started coming back. God bless that recruiter!"

God bless her, indeed. Only the people who get you, deserve you. Keep that in mind, and remember the value that you bring to your next employer. No one else has your background and talents. Don't settle for less than a Human Workplace!