Should You Take that New Job Offer?

First, be skeptical about job offers, which do not allow you the time to deliberate. In a tight economy, nobody needs to push-sell job offers except scammers. Unless you recognize a situation of emergency that calls for immediate recruitment of suitable professionals to save a company situation, a fast sign-up is a thing to avoid.

Usually, all advice and strategies for trying to know the work culture of a company go in vain. The need of the candidate, the offered salary, and the hours of work primarily determine the course of events and the candidate finds him or herself in a new desk. Learning about a new company and company culture starts only after joining the job and there are very few opportunities to assess a company work-culture beforehand.

However, there are some guides and innovative ideas practiced time and again by ingenuous candidates which may help to assess a potential employer. Usually, the attitude and appearance of the receptionists and HR people are reliable indicators of company culture. These are the only people from a new employer who you get to meet before signing an offer and accepting a new job. Controlled and repeated interactions with these people can tell you a lot about the culture of a potential employer. Whether they seem cheerful and positive or depressed and fatigued on repeated interactions are things to observe.

Positive reactions even on unnecessary queries tell of a positive ambience and the opposite can be true if the company employees lose patience quickly. An ingenuous way to come to know about the culture of your potential employer is to offer to work for a day in the new company. It may or may not be possible for the potential employer to afford your request. However, even acceptance of the request shows confidence on part of the employer, and actually spending a day working in the office can provide you some wonderful insight.

Whatever be the case, before signing up for a new job, it is good to check the following:

• Long term goals of the company
• Alignment of personal skill sets with job responsibilities
• Alignment of job role with your career objectives
• On-the-job growth opportunities including salary, perks, and learning
• Consistence of offered salary with your present salary or that of similar jobs elsewhere
• Work-life balance

Careful consideration of a new job offer seems a luxury under the present economy. However, if you are one of those lucky persons with multiple job offers and possibilities, or unfortunate enough to receive similarly attractive job offers all at the same time, the pointers in this article may help you choose the job that is best for you. It can also be that you are employed gainfully, and a new job offer should be something to consider very carefully, unless you are fully informed and sure of what the new job holds. After all, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.