Factors to consider when looking for a job

UPDATED MAY 2024: Although it’s an incredibly important factor, the size of the payslip shouldn’t be your only consideration when you’re looking for a job. Besides, it’s vital that you consider how happy you’ll be in the job. A huge salary doesn’t always guarantee job satisfaction. Furthermore there’s also a lot more aspects of the job and company to take into account. All of which are equally important and shouldn’t by any means be overlooked. If you’re hunting for a job you should take the following eight factors into consideration.

1.Working hours when looking for a job

Finding out what the hours you’ll be working at the new job is important for a healthy work-life balance and to fit around the other important areas of your life. You should never assume that the job you’re applying for will be the standard 9-to-5. Understanding the hours is essential.

• Check what is in the terms of the contract and any overtime.
• Check to see if it is common for employees to stay an hour or two after their shift has ended or if it’s a Monday-to-Friday job
• Will you regularly be asked to come in on the weekend?

Make sure you ask when you’re looking for a job or during interviews. This is to ensure you’ll have the full picture of how your days will be impacted by the new

2. Benefits Offered

As much as the salary is a huge part of the package that the potential employer is offering, there are also other benefits that you need to consider. These include things like holiday allowance, retirement contributions and matching, insurance, bonuses, and finally healthcare. Before accepting a job or signing the contract you need to ensure that all these extras are negotiated.

3. Company culture

The culture of the working environment will have a big impact on the enjoyment of your working life. So when you are looking for a job consider if you can, find out if

• Current and previous employees are happy working there?
• How they’re treated by the company?
• Ask your interviewers if they like working there?
• What the employee turnover rate is?
• How often social events are arranged among the employees?

This will give you an additional indication of the company culture.

4. The team

Co-workers are a big influence on the working environment and how effective you’ll be when working alongside one another. It’s a great idea to try, if possible, to meet as many potential team members as you can during the interview.

5. The passion of the team

The passion that a team has about what they’re a doing is a big indicator of how happy the team will be in the future. It’s great if the team has unified values as well as a shared vision. Firstly, this makes the work atmosphere more positive and secondly exciting and as a result will make you look forward to going to work each day.

6. The stability of the company

The benefits of carrying out enough research on the company can’t be overemphasized. Ensure you do this before making any official commitments to the company.

This to ask yourself about the company:

• Are they stable?
• Are they growing?
• Is there a risk of redundancies in the future?

The answers to these questions could affect whether you’ll want to work for the company or not.

7. Opportunities for growth

Advancement opportunities in the workplace are very important for career progression. Therefore, be sure to ask if there are such opportunities while you’re at the interview. By doing this, you’ll give the interviewers a picture of someone who’s interested in staying with the company and is driven and ambitious. It also gives you a clear picture of the potential future of your career if you join.

8. Educational opportunities

Everybody wants to be employed by a company that supports their individual growth. At times this growth will rely on additional learning and qualifications. In fact an important question to ask during any interview is if there is any investment in the education of their employees.

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