Profiles
A friend called me yesterday morning seeking for some career advice.
‘I started job hunting last week and I was introduced to a job opportunity through a recruiter. The whole process went very smoothly and I had breezed through the first and second round of interviews within a week. The following week, I was offered the job. I’m not sure if this is the best opportunity available in the jobs market and whether I will be able to ask for a higher salary in another company. Should I accept the offer or reject it and look around longer?’ he asked.
Some professionals may have experienced the same situation before, leaving them to feel that they may be missing out on other potential job opportunities in the market if they accept an offer at the early stages of job hunting. If you find yourself in a similar situation, ask yourself the following question before making the final decision:
“What are the top 3 most important criteria you need to consider before you accept an offer? Is it salary increment, company size, the location, the role itself, or even the chemistry with the boss?”
If the offer you have right now fulfills your top 3 criteria, than I believe this is a good opportunity and you should consider accepting it. You never know when the next one will come, and you may be losing out on a good opportunity which has appeared in front of you at the right time.
Job search is not measured by how long it takes or how many interviews you have gone through, but it is all about why you started the job search in the first place, and whether the offer in front of you can fulfill your expectations and requirements in order to lead you to your next career step.
11 Comments for Is this the right job opportunity for me?
Vivien Chan | August 21, 2012 at 3:15 pm
J. Lo | August 21, 2012 at 3:45 pm
Consider these factors before accepting job offer:
1. Symbiosis between you and your future boss. Human character, values and humility make your future job brigther. If you follow a boss with immoral character, it’s a huge disaster.
「修身齊家治國平天下」原文是：「古之欲明明德於天下者，先治其國。欲治其國者，先齊其家。欲齊其家者，先修其身。欲修其身者，先正其心。」
2. Consider the playing field you can enjoy. Remember this: 給人才一片水窪,他只能是吐泡泡的泥鰍,給他一片海洋,他就可以成為呼風喚雨的蛟龍.
3. Money, fancy job title, job satisfaction, power etc. Which fits your character? Can you learn new skills, transfer what you learned from past experience?
Lock Lu | August 21, 2012 at 3:49 pm
Totally agree. Theoretically there is no guarantee that you get the best offer existing in the market. To set up a market benchmark together with your own expectation would be more reasonable to judge.
Ida | August 21, 2012 at 5:17 pm
It’s a good communication platform here for sharing the advices about job searching in the market. Besides the real-life example can allow us get into the case easily. Very good, I like to receive and read it. Thanks.
Mac | August 21, 2012 at 6:17 pm
Good to know. Exactly I met with such a case and this supplements my knowledge.
Callis | August 21, 2012 at 6:30 pm
Yes, agree with you. You will never know when the next offer will come. So, if this offer matches your requirement, why not accepting it?
Thanks for sharing your viewpoint.
Yam | August 21, 2012 at 8:02 pm
Great sharing. yes who know what is going to happen next? you might never get a better job. The only thing people can do is to set their own criteria, once they are fulfilled, be happy and accept the job offer =)
celia | August 21, 2012 at 10:01 pm
Good Sharing
Millie | August 21, 2012 at 11:13 pm
Thanks for sharing. One other thing is that usually you will be able to “feel” whether you want that job or not, even without setting out the criteria. Sometimes even though the opportunity meets the criteria objectively, you may not be willing to accept it if you feel hesitated for some other reasons.
Jacky | August 22, 2012 at 10:17 am
Thanks for all the comments and appreciate your support. Totally agree with all your views, and it is very true that you have made the decision base on your own “feeling”, but as a recruitment consultant, we’ll do our best to give you as much information about that company as possible. But ultimately, the decision is yours.
ken wong | August 22, 2012 at 11:37 am
thanks. Great
Thanks for sharing