Job offer, should you take it or pass on it

July 30, 2:24 PMChicago Job Search ExaminerDoug Hoenig

In
an ideal world, you'd have several job offers to evaluate and you'd
take the one that you believe fits you the best based on whatever your
criteria is. The criteria could be A)stable company B)good management
C)pay/total compensation D)and probably my most important, do you like
what you'll be doing, and the list could go on. A good resource for
advice to consider is the US Dept. of Labor's Evaluating a Job Offer.

Liz Ryan, CEO of Ask Liz Ryan, a Boulder, CO human-resources and career-development consulting firm, recently posted an article in BNC's (Business Network Chicago)
daily Job Seeker Digest email, abou the whole issue of accpeting a job
offer, even if you don't believe it's your ideal job. This is very
relevant with today's poor economy and many people desperate for a job
and having an income again. That said, I wanted to share her article
with everyone who might be seeking a job and questions whether or not
they might want a job they are interviewing for, or seeks insight into
this potential situation in the future. I can partly attest to this
situation. I was laid off in January and just this week was extended an
offer and gladly accepted it. But in my six months of being unemployed
and looking for my next career venture, there were numerous companies
and positions that I interviewed for. Looking back at every
opportunity, I'm comfortable saying maybe only 25% of them I was truly
interested in. But it was hard given the fact I wanted to get back to
work so I had an income again. You must be careful not to take a job
just to have one. I'm willing to bet you'll be more miserable in the
longrun. Again, you can compare the process to dating, as I noted in a
previous article of mine titled Everything I wanted to know about job-hunting I learned while dating.
You don't just settle for anyone that comes along in your life right?
It's a search until the right person comes along that makes you happy
in so many ways.

Liz Ryan's article

CAREER CONFIDENTIAL: Caution -- Bad job ahead
Monday, July 27, 2009

BOULDER, Colo. -- A tough thing about a job search is that it's serial. In
a perfect world, we'd have three or four job offers to compare at one
time.

Things don't typically work that way on a job search in these economic
times. When we get a job offer, we have to make a quick decision: take the
offer, or wait and see what's behind Door Number Two?

Dating is serial (unless you are the type who dates a bunch of people at
one time) but at least, when you're trying to decide "Should I enter into
a committed relationship with this person, or wait and see what's around
the corner?" -- next month's rent is not part of the equation.

In a job search, when someone hands you a job offer, you think "This is
not my dream job, but if I take it, at least I'll have a job. If I pass on
this offer, who knows when the next one will come along?"

Because of the pesky rent-will-be-due dynamic, it is easy to fall into
what I call The Vortex and take the wrong job. What is the wrong job? It's
a job you hate so much that you hate yourself for working there. In a job
like that, you can find it hard to muster the energy for another job
search after hours. Plus, you can get depressed, and that's no good for
your health, relationships or sleep -- or your next job search.

How can you avoid The Vortex on a job search? It helps to have a candid
friend in your corner. It helps to have a cynical, world-weary friend
(someone from Northern New Jersey would be perfect -- just kidding!) on
hand to remind you when the job you're about to accept is a job that you'd
regret having accepted.

If you share every impression and detail of your interviews with this
reality-check friend, you're less likely to tumble in The Vortex and wake
up unhappily employed.

Here are a few red flags to watch for:

If the employer presses you to accept an offer quickly, that's cause for
alarm. If they won't return your calls once the offer has been extended,
that's your cue to exit, stage right.

If they won't let you meet your team members, run away. Who wants to take
a job where the folks already working in the department don't get a look
at you -- and vice versa -- until your first day of work?

If they demand a W-2 or proof of your last income, I'd bail if I were you.
You're getting ready to trust these folks in all sorts of important ways,
yet they demand written proof of your last salary (highly intrusive -- and
why is it relevant)? That's a bad sign.

If they won't show you the employee handbook or other important documents
-- their confidentiality agreement, or the travel expense policy -- before
you've signed an offer, bolt.

If you have misgivings after the offer has been extended, pay attention to
them. Your gut is a wise counselor. Tiny red flags get bigger after you
start working -- and almost never disappear.

We have face-to-face and virtual job-search groups starting all the time
-- more info on that at www.asklizryan.com/jobsearchcoaching.html -- or
write to me.

Liz Ryan is the CEO of Ask Liz Ryan, a Boulder human-resources and
career-development consulting firm. She can be reached at
liz@asklizryan.com. You can also find her on her blog at Ask Liz Ryan