As new job opportunities continue to come your way, it might become difficult for you to decide which opportunity is worth chasing and which is not. Potentially, any decision you make will probably have a direct impact on your career and even your life. But often, you might regret a missed opportunity, the one that you decided not to chase. Or even you decided to chase the wrong opportunity in the first place, and you end up paying the price for it.
If you are an experienced professional, surely you have realized that the employer, any employer that you might choose is an equal partner in the hiring process.
Yes, you are maybe looking for a new opportunity, but on the other hand, the company (companies) are also trying to identify and attract potential talents such as you. Therefore, why do you not evaluate the employer in the same critical manner that they would evaluate you (this is usually done through online interviews, face-to-face interviews, social media profile evaluations, and several other small evaluation methods)?
Employers should be evaluated before you accept an offer from them. This is an unwritten rule since you are about to enter in a long-term commitment and you give a part of your precious time and talent to this company.
Wouldn’t you regret it if it wasn’t the best choice for you? Of course, you would!
1. Go online, and explore
The company that has offered you the job, or interviewed you should be closely assessed before you accept their offer, or move forward with the next hiring steps. You need to check whether the employer is as true as they represent themselves online.
And how do you do that? You go online and explore. Firstly, you check the company, their stats in terms of how long they are in the business, how big they are, their achievements, partners, etc. You can evaluate potential employers just by looking at their social media accounts. Their social media profiles are the first impression not only for a potential client but also for a potential employee. Go on their website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, wherever they are present, and try to get to know the company through their online presence.
2. Ask them regarding their performance management system
The company you want to join may even be new or a start-up, however, it is important to know their approach to an employee’s performance. It is crucial to know how they rate their employees’ performance and how do employees get rewarded for their outstanding performance.
3. Ask about their training and development programs
Accepting a job offer, or starting a new job is should not be determined only by the fact that you might get a better financial reward. As an employee, you should look for companies that are willing to help you grow and develop, companies that offer training and development programs (these may be conferences, training, coaching, mentoring, workshops, etc.). When a company invests in its people, it shows a commitment to your success. Asking the employer about the benefits (apart from the usual ones) is not wrong, on the contrary, it is very positive because it shows that you are also willing to learn, grow, and develop further. Most candidates tend not to ask for training and development programs even though they want to, and we are here to tell you that it is alright to ask these questions.
Lastly, ask yourself, does the company/employer match your career path? Every one of us has a career path plan or aspirations, and when switching jobs, you should always keep in mind that every decision you make along the way affects your career plan. Some jobs may push you forward towards your career path, some jobs won’t.
So, when it comes to deciding whether you want to join a company or not it is really important to have your career plan in mind and have clear objectives for your future. Considering the fact that this will not be beneficial only for you (career-wise) but will be beneficial for you and the employer (time-wise). As Benjamin Franklin once said “Time is money”- so spend it wisely.