What to Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer

Well done! You’ve been offered a job! Whether you’ve been looking for a job for a while or it’s simply the first job you’ve applied for, there’s a real sense of achievement in being deemed the ‘successful’ candidate and being offered the job. It’d be of course very easy to simply accept there and then. After all isn’t that what you’ve been wanting? A Job? However it’s important to look at the whole picture. Yes, you want a job, but do you want this job?
Here are a few things that you ought to consider before accepting a job offer and signing on that dotted line.

The job itself
From past experience and from any information you may have been told at interview, would you actually be happy undertaking the standard daily duties that this job would entail? Admittedly, many of us have to do jobs simply because needs must and we may not always be euphoric about them; however if you would absolutely dread the thought of going to work on a Monday, is this the job for you? Would you find the job boring or the tasks mundane and not challenging enough? If your answer to these questions is no, perhaps this is not the job for you and you ought to politely decline.

Work Culture
An interview isn’t always a particularly ‘normal’ environment. Interviewers generally paint their organisation in the most positive light in a bid to be deemed a place someone would most certainly want to work. Determining therefore what the company culture is really like before you actually start is not always that easy. You can however pick up on certain things even from simply attending interview. For example, does the organisation seem a busy vibrant place or very quiet environment? Which would you prefer to work in? Does the organisation seem to value its staff and offer them training, support and good promotion opportunities? Again, information gleaned at interview will help you determine the answer to this. Also, use your own networks. Do you have any connections on the likes of LinkedIn who have worked there and who perhaps could fill you in on some insider knowledge?

Salary and Benefits
Ah yes – the practical stuff – the reason that most people work, to pay the bills and keep the proverbial wolves from the door. It’s important to weigh up the salary that you are being offered and determine if it is competitive in terms of that type of role in your area. Would you be taking a drop in salary to take this job? If so, would you be benefitting in other ways? Are there other benefits or elements in the remuneration package to factor in? Company car? Bonus? Staff discounts? Could you possibly negotiate a higher salary? All these are important and necessary things to consider before saying yes.

The Future
Before looking at the future, perhaps look at the past. Why has this job arisen? Is there evidence of high staff turnover in the organisation or in this job role specifically? If that is the case, are you likely to be one of those stats yourself in the future? Also, could you see yourself doing this job on a long term basis? If it is a permanent role, that is exactly what the employer is hoping. They will not want to invest in training a new recruit who already has their eyes on the exit door. If this role fits in with your overall long term career objectives, fine, it’s probably advisable to accept. If however you cannot envisage how you will benefit from working there, either in terms of career development or in terms of utilizing your skills and knowledge, or even monetary gain then perhaps you ought to decline. It’s your career, your choice, so you should decide.

Gut instinct
Some people rely heavily on their gut instinct whilst others don’t at all. Generally speaking however, even the most logically minded of us will have a hunch about a place or a person and we are normally proven right. If you have doubts in your mind about the nature of the job or the place you will be working or perhaps the line manager you would be reporting to, these doubts ought to be listened to. Don’t be dismissive of your own reservations. If you have issues or questions, perhaps try and get them addressed before you make a decision. If you are simply desperate for a job, it may be that you have to simply accept the fact that this is not a perfect job, but that it is a ‘stop gap’ as it were. If on the other hand you are financially stable enough and feel that another opportunity is likely to arise that would suit you better, perhaps leave this job for someone else.

We hope that these basic tips on what to consider before accepting a job offer will be worthwhile. Got any others that you’d like to share? Why not let us know via the comments section below.