Perspective - May 01, 2005

John Henning

Choosing A Quality Job

Each of us has their own reasons for deciding whether or not to accept an offer from a company for a specific position. As the relative supply of qualified workers decreases as the economy and jobs market improves, you can go a step further in narrowing down their choices by taking into consideration five key elements of any new contract or full-time position BEFORE considering an offer. Each of these elements is important, but how they rank in your personal situation depends on your individual priorities and lifestyle choices.

• Cultural Fit — This element is generally one of the most critical when considering a full-time opportunity, since people usually plan on sticking with a full-time position for a longer period of time. Making sure that your values, work-style and personality are a fit within the culture of the organization you're joining can be crucial to finding fulfillment with your new job.
• Work/Life Balance — Issues like length of commute, work hours, overtime and flex-time are strong factors to consider when looking at that seemingly lucrative contract opportunity. Taking into consideration your commuting expenses the impact to your family life and personal commitments can often tip the balance in one direction or another.
• Skills Horizon/Challenge — Something that many people overlook is making sure that they are moving into a position that will challenge them technically and intellectually. This is especially true for full-time positions. The last thing you want to do is make a commitment to a position that doesn't push your comfort zone so that your so-called "market value" is increasing with time. Of course, some people may have work/life balance issues that will make a job that's within their comfort zone more attractive at that particular time in their lives.
• Compensation — For some people this is the most important criteria, but for others it's less so. If you're considering taking an offer that is below your salary expectations because it fits well with your work/life balance, make sure you are committed to this decision and have thought out your reasoning thoroughly, otherwise you will run the risk of developing resentment and unrealistic expectations for salary increases over time.
• Benefits - Benefits can be the real deciding factor for many people that have families, pre-existing medical conditions and/or aggressive retirement planning objectives. Many employers are asking candidates to weigh the significance of their benefit plans and consider their offers in terms of "total compensation", which can include significant cash-equivalent features like 401k matching, incentive plans and employee stock options as the value of these components increases as a percentage of the total package. Candidates need to look at this closely to avoid walking away from offers that appear low at first glance, but are actually quite generous after taking benefit packages into account.

Of course there could be any number of other factors that each individual may take into account, but by carefully examining your offers with these factors in mind, you are likely to make a decision that is appropriate for your unique situation. At the end of the day, having to make a decision like this is a good one to have - Happy decision-making!

About Granite Solutions Groupe

Granite Solutions Groupe (Granite) is a San Francisco based recruiting firm that specializes in recruiting and placing highly-skilled senior-level Project Managers, Business Analysts and IT Managers at global firms throughout the financial services and IT Market. Contact them online at www.granitesolutionsgroupe.com.