When nothing else matters - salary, but also other benefits

We tend to accept a job offer if we will receive more money than we have now. I admit that this can be the right thing because the salary covers most of our daily needs.

But also, it can be situations when you accept a job offer for a smaller salary than you have now. Why? Because you have other benefits that count for you.

Before you accept or reject a job offer, think or ask for information regarding some related things. These can count a lot on your decision:

• What technologies will you use? Maybe it is more relevant for the IT domain, but find if you will use some new frameworks that it will allow you to grow. I don’t encourage you to accept the only job with the newest technologies in the market (because we admit that not all companies have this kind of projects), but you have to accept in a conscious way that you will work with Java 4, while the market promotes Java 8 or Java 11;
• Activity: do you describe it as a challenging one or more a repetitive one? Can you develop things or you just do maintenance on some existing things? If you accept a job in long term, this has to sustain your work-related-motivation and your professional development.
• On what domain or project will your ok? There are some companies where you find the project where you will be allocated since the recruitment process. There are also companies when you start a job in a company with a training period, you are on the bench. After this, related also to the needs of the company, you are allocated to a project. Find more about the project (on what domain is, at what stage, how is the client) and maybe this will be important for your decision.
• Who are the stakeholders or the decision-makers on your job? In some jobs, decisions are taken by a manager. But also you can take some decision… or only the client. Decisions are also very different: the technical ones, regarding the costs or the resources, allocated. But find who is in charge with what on the role.
• How did you communicate with the manager? In most of the recruitment process, one of the interviews is with the hiring manager. He presents you with the role and he assesses your skills. Did you like it? I must confess that I quit some recruitment processes because I didn’t like the manager. But also I know people who accepted a role because of the manager (and not because of the salary offer).
• How is the team - do you have seniors there or you will train the others? As I said to a previous bullet, it is not like I encourage a situation or another. But you have to accept consciously what situation you choose.
• Do you have any training programs? Or how will look it like your development plan in that new role?
• How many vacation days will you have? I am a promoter of work-life balance and since a level, it can count if you have some extra holidays paid by the company. If there is a fixed number, maybe it grows according to your experience in the company. Find out also if it can happen.
• Benefits package. I put this last because I don’t think that meal tickets can be a deal-breaker when you change the job, but if you have health insurance can be important (especially during these times)

You change a job for a package: not only for the role, not only for the money, or not only for the team. When you are ok with more criteria, the decision is easier.

Be informed because this is the most important factor for a bad decision.

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