The Top 5 Things to Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer

Have you received a job offer? Congratulations! However, if you can afford to, do not accept it right away. Take your time to assess it instead. Although there are quite a few criteria upon which you could decide, here are five that you need to consider by all means:

1. Team Fit

Assuming you are really excited or passionate about the offered job, the last thing you need is to work with a manager and colleagues who will make your life difficult. What are their energy levels? How comfortable do they make you feel? How positive and open-minded are they? What's the leadership style of your manager? To identify the latter, you can ask them this question: "What is your job as a manager?" Look for answers that are in favor of empowering and developing one's team, and do watch out for responses that center around control and to-do lists. The greatest managers are leaders, and leaders are the people who prioritize your wellbeing as well as professional and personal growth at work. They have authentic and deep confidence in themselves, hence hiring people who are more competent than them is not a concern to them. In fact, they are always on the look out for top talent and keep their ego in check.

Furthermore, feel free to ask them during the interview process why their former colleague left. It's a tough question, so don't expect everyone to be absolutely honest with you. Listen to their answer carefully by observing their body language and ton of voice - because what is not said is as important as what is said.

If you belong in a minority, remember to do your research on their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies, and ask them how they actually implement them. Besides that, there's always the challenge of hiring managers' and recruiters' unconscious biases. We are humans, and we like people who are like ourselves. Is this the best strategy to follow in recruiting? The most important factor for a decision-maker to consider is the best interest of the company. In other words, you don't have to be liked by your colleagues and manager to get hired, but you do need to be respectful and respected. So, feel free to ask your prospective manager how they address unconscious bias in the hiring process. Do they focus more on finding people who are like themselves, or people who think differently and challenge conventional wisdom?

2. Growth Mindset

Nowadays, almost everyone talks about the importance of lifelong learning, career development, and personal growth. But who walks the talk? Definitely fewer people. Is your potential manager one of them? Simply ask them this question: "What do you do to grow personally and professionally?" Look for detailed responses, including type of learning content consumed and frequency. Vague or widely broad answers do not cut it. Why is it important for your manager to have developed a habit of constant improvement? Because if they haven't, most likely you won't. And if you don't, you will reach a plateau, feeling stagnant and stuck in your career.

How about feedback? How does the manager receive it, how often, and from whom? Are just their supervisors and managers involved in the process, or their team and reports too? In companies with healthy culture, feedback goes both ways. Always keep that in mind.

3. Work Challenges

Every job has its own unique challenges, but what about the average workload? Is work overload the norm? If so, stay alert because if you join a "burnout culture", be aware that you are next! Do they expect you to check your inbox outside working hours? Do your prospective colleagues and manager look genuinely happy, or do they try too much to appear this way, while, in reality, they try to hide their work stress?

4. Career Development

How does your prospective employer actually value their employees' career progression? Search and ask for specific success stories about current employees. All employers "sell opportunity" but, once again, few deliver on their promises.

5. Performance

Regardless of how results-driven you are, you certainly need to know how your performance will be assessed. Particularly, inquire about the specific metrics the employer uses, including key performance indicators (KPIs). This way, you'll create a more concrete picture about both their expectations and your own ability to successfully meet them, and hopefully, exceed them.

Working for a new employer constitutes a serious commitment on your behalf, thus it's definitely worth taking your time to evaluate your fit and consider your options. Remember: You assess and choose your employer too, so make sure you ask the right questions in advance. Ultimately, finding a workplace where you feel valued and empowered is your sole responsibility.

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