How to Make the Right Decision Every Time (So You Don’t Take the Wrong Job)
When an executive leader is compelled to make a decision on whether he or she wants to work for a new company and accept an offer of employment, many different reasons (good and bad) come to mind. When faced with this all important career decision the best way to address this process is to break your decision into four critical sub-parts.
Top 4 Decision-Making Criteria to Avoid Accepting the Wrong Job
1. PEOPLE – When deciding to work for a new company, it’s all about the people = TRUST.
You want to like the people, and be liked by the people, you work with. The “People Likeability Factor” goes both ways and it is the absolute most important criteria in your decision to accept a job offer!
You want to be appreciated and inspired by your fellow employees and company leaders. Good people chemistry, cultural fit and cooperative personalities are the key ingredients that make work fun.
BEWARE — You don’t want to be the smartest person on the team!
You need to be inspired by smart people around you. Being the sharpest arrow in the quiver will get old and boring. One of your primary reasons to join a new company should be to learn and expand your knowledge through your talented co-workers. This is accomplished by working with highly skilled and intelligent people who can work well together and synergize off each others individual strengths.
2. CHALLENGE – The actual work = VISION.
What you will be doing in your new job must be challenging or you will get very bored and quickly find yourself climbing the walls. The “Role Challenge Factor” must be evident or you will eventually be looking for a new job again in 6 months or less.
To avoid choosing the wrong position and role in an organization, never settle for less responsibility than you can handle and always be thinking about the next level of increased management responsibilities.
Does the new job opportunity include advancement as a reward for your above average performance? If not, you risk the chance not being being challenged or inspired to deliver your best effort.
You must be motivated to make a difference to achieve the company objectives and vision.
3. BALANCE – Work and life balance factor = ACCOUNTABILTY.
This is an important criterion because we do not live to work — we work to live! A person who works 60-80 hours a week will not have much of life to enjoy the fruits of his/her labor.
Keep in mind each person’s lifestyle changes as they progress during their career.
Their children grow up, go away to school, move out and start lives and families of their own. Being a “Soccer Saturday” Dad or Mom is not a parent requirement anymore. At that point of your life, you have more freedom and flexibility to jump on a plane and travel out of town on business at a moments notice.
Your time dedicated to the job is only relative to the current obligations to your family and friends.
4. WORTH — Will the company be able to pay you what you are worth in the form of annual salary based on your achievements (guaranteed cash compensation, plus incentives and stock options, etc., based on your “Worth Contribution Factor” to the new company) = GOALS.
Keep in mind it’s not all about money, because money is not a motivator — it’s only a stimulator!
When a company decides they need you, they will have to induce you to accept their good faith offer of employment. Your compensation goal is always to remain whole and never settle for less.
Do your homework to research management level pay scales to determine industry, function, and discipline competitiveness with similar companies.
The real secret to using these top 4 criteria to making the right decision about whether to take a job is to personally rank each of them on a scale of 1-10 (10=ideal or best) to determine if your current job opportunity meets your essential needs and requirements.
Any criteria ranked less than a 7 is suspect and should not be ignored. Hint: Using these four criteria rankings should be used as your “Negotiation Factors” to make the right decision every time.
Good Hunting!
Follow Hire Consulting on Linkedin for talent management solutions and executive career transition coaching to help reach your full potential.
Mark James, CPC is the founder and CEO of Hire Consulting Services (HCS). Established in 1999, HCS is a highly customized executive outplacement and career coaching firm for executive-level professionals.
Mark is equipped with over 25 years of experience in Executive Career Management Coaching, as well as Outplacement and Executive Search Consulting. He is the author of the three best-selling books—Keys to the C Suite: Unlock the Doors to Executive Career Path Success, The Interview Mindset: The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Your Career, and The Recruiter Mindset: The Ultimate Guide to Working with Executive Search Recruiters.
Mark uses a proven and successful strategy and structured process to fully enable his clients to conduct a professional job search campaign and with the singular goal of securing their next career opportunity in significantly less time it would take without a career coach. Clients gain a new perspective of their marketing value coupled with executing a strategic plan and closing the deal on their new role in their next job.
