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Things You Should Know Before Taking the Job

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Summary: Learn what to do before giving up your current job for a new one.

Unfortunately, most people are not happy with their jobs. Surveys indicate that over half of workers want to change jobs. The reasons for this desire to have a new job vary from a desire to advance in their career to a bad work environment. If you find yourself in a similar position of wanting a new job, there are things you need to consider first. Before accepting whatever new job you can find, make sure the job is the right one and not another job that you are going to want out of again soon.

Get the job description in writing as well as the job offer. Have a written job description that outlines your responsibilities and deliverables for the first 12 to 24 months on the job. Once you receive a job offer, get it in writing with the job title, compensation and other key parts you negotiated over. Keeping documentation that can be used to back up your performance may come in handy during reviews or when your boss leaves the company and you need to be able to prove what the company has committed to you.

Know the history of the job. Ask why the job is available and how long the previous person held the job before leaving. If the job is new, ask what it is that is creating the need for the position, including how it is being funded. Find out how many people have held the position in the last five years. Ten years. A high turnover should make you cautious.

Get to know who else reports to your potential boss. Ask them questions about what the boss’s greatest strengths are, what they would change, who succeeds and fails under the boss, and more. Take note of how comfortable or uncomfortable the boss’s direct reports act while answering these questions. Another important question to ask them is who is responsible for the decisions that affect them. If someone other than the boss makes the decisions, ask the same trait questions about that person. It is important to understand who the person is that would affect your experiences on the job.

LinkedIn is a great resource to learn more about the company. How many employees from the company are on LinkedIn? Do any of them have their phone numbers listed? If the employees make themselves easy to contact, it may be because they are hoping to get recruited by someone else. Those not on LinkedIn may be happy with their job. You may have connections with potential colleagues, which become great sources for you to turn to. Use those connections, call them up and ask about your common connection at the company you are considering.

Investigate the company’s financial condition. If the company is public, you can look at their last 10-K filing with the SEC online. Also check out the Management’s Discussion & Analysis section, which is where executives discuss their company’s financial condition and future risks in detail. If the company happens to be private, ask them about their earnings trends and cash position.

If the company is a startup, there won’t be a lot to research. To find out about the company, ask about their business model, their burn rate, and how much cash is on hand. You can also use the internet to your advantage. Google the company’s name to find out what is being said about it. Check news articles to find how the company is involved in the news, positive or negative.

All of these tips on how to research a company will help you determine if you should take a new job or not. No one wants to get stuck jumping from job to job because they keep accepting job offers in an equally bad situation.

Do you fully research companies before accepting job offers? Share your experiences accepting job offers with us in the comments below.

To learn more about what to do when you receive a job offer, read these articles:

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Things You Should Know Before Taking the Job by
Authored by: Amanda Griffin