Achieve a lucrative job offer when it's a trap
Shutterstock As the economy continues to rebound, more and more job opportunities are opening up, increasing your chances of landing a new one. role. However, taking the wrong offer can cost you dearly. As one client said, "I should never have accepted their offer; it was a toxic environment and I was not ready to succeed, but I was blinded by money and prestige. ” You can reduce the chances of accepting the wrong job offer by asking yourself three questions:
- Am I going to be configured to be successful?
- DoesDo I take this job for the right reasons?
- Will I integrate?
If the answer to any question in these questions is clearly "no", then keep looking. Here's how to properly assess the answer to each question.
"Will I be ready for success?
Try to understand as much as possible about your boss's expectations, the resources you will have to meet those expectations and to what extent the organization itself will support your success.If something is wrong, negotiate that aspect of the job to make it work for you before you agree, or do yourself a favor and take a pass.
- Expectations: ask questions such as "What will success in this role look like a year from now? How will we know if I was successful assuming I am the new recruit?
- Resources available to meet expectations : You could ask questions like “Given these expectations, what challenges do you see in getting the cooperation of key stakeholders?” "Will I have access to the 'X ' (fill in the name of the resource) that I need to be effective? " If you are managing a team and have not interviewed any of the people who report to you, ask to meet some of them before accepting; you will want to know their perspective on the challenges and assess their abilities. A client, who has been appointed senior vice president of information technology, has requested to meet more people who would report to her. From those conversations, she found that with current resources, her team would never achieve the ambitious nine-month IT transformation goal that was expected of them. She was able to negotiate a deal before accepting the offer which included more resources and the possibility of reassigning existing staff.
- Organizational support: It is not uncommon for me to hear a client say something like "My department was reorganized a month after I joined my new one. role; now my job is different from what i accepted. Sometimes an unexpected change like this can be good for you, but too often it will lead to dissatisfaction or even a layoff.
To assess the likelihood of a bad surprise, do some outside research. Is the organization in difficulty or in downsizing mode? Consider asking your future boss, "Do you expect any reorganizations that might impact my role over the next six months?" If the offer comes from a public company, for example, see the "Investors" section of the siteCompany web. Does your service fit well into the business strategy?
If your job involves working closely with a colleague, ask them to meet them. Are they looking forward to working with you? In the worst case scenario, do you feel like they think your role is unnecessary, or that they should have your job? If so and you will need it to be successful in your role, decline the offer!
The timing of your questions is important . Before you receive an offer, focus on selling yourself. Do not ask any questions that might suggest a lack of motivation on your part until you have received the offer. At this point, they won't think about the other candidates anymore and want you to start yesterday, so it's easier to negotiate.
"Do I acceptthis post for the right reasons? "
The good reason for taking on a new role is because it is your longest-term vision of your career and your life. In addition, ask yourself if you will enjoy the job and be good at what you do .
Occasionally you will have to take a job that you know is not for you. happen when you need to save time while working towards your longer term vision, or when you need to gain experience that will help you achieve your real goal, which is work after it here (or the next one).
"Will I integrate?
To avoid mistakes resulting from cultural conflict or bad chemistry, be carefulion to the following red flags:
- Feedback from people who have worked there, including in online reviews, which are consistently negative in a similar way.
- Too many weird or inappropriate interview questions.
- You are discouraged to meet those who would point out to you before accepting the offer.
- You receive an offer and they don't give you time to think, when the norm is days, a week or even more.
Finally, a client experienced an interview process characterized by four last minute meeting cancellations or without notice without apologies. She put up with it because she really wanted the job. Eventually, she got and accepted their offer. What a mistake! Even though she enjoyed the job, she could accept the culture of disrespect. Within three months, she asked me for help finding a new job.
While seeing one ofthese five red flags could be reason enough to decline the offer, if you see two or more this is not the job you were looking for.
