Careermemos

You have just finished a successful job interview. The process went great and you are off to starting a new job. An offer has been made. Do you grab it instantly? You’d best be evaluating that new job offer very carefully. Keep in mind these tips.

The job offer is not just for you to get the job. The interview and the initial job offer should be opportunities for you to carefully weigh if you are indeed suitable for the job at hand. Be honest enough to objectively say if you and your set of skills do or do not match the talents and abilities that the position requires. It should be a time to know for sure if you will fit right into not only the job, but the company, its vision and mission, its people.

The job offer should match your expectations, too. For sure you have your expectations as to the kind of compensation and benefits package you will receive, the kind of working environment you will be provided, the perks of the job, the schedules, the kind of family-and-work-life balance that can be afforded you. Evaluate the new job offer and find that match.

Since the offer is there already and you are being seriously considered for the job, don’t rush onto signing the contract. Request for time to evaluate the offer, ask for the company’s strategic and business plans, check out the employees handbook and code of ethics, review policies and procedures. If the company will allow you to check on these at the evaluation stage, you might as well look at the kind of team or group that you will be working with. What are your co-workers’ levels of competence; how do they go about their work? Are they team-players? Do you think you can adapt to the corporate culture? What is the work culture in the first place?

If all else matches your expectations, be ready to sign that contract then.

If after all the evaluation and it is not a match, what can you do? At this point, refusing a next-level interview or negotiation may be out of the question. But if you do refuse an offer, be sure to provide the employer adequate reasons for your refusal. Be honest but not brutal about the revelation as to why have had a change of heart.

When is it time to haggle, renegotiate? If you still think there is a possibility to rise above the mismatch between your expectations and the company’s offer, then re-negotiate. The employer will appreciate you allowing for this and being open to win-win solutions for everyone. They’d rather not go through the whole recruiting and selecting process which could be expensive and tedious if done all over again, just because you being their choice backed out.

In the re-negotiation, be practical and reasonable. Find out what the company can and cannot give and be ready to meet them halfway. Starting on a more congenial, less-antagonistic stance in negotiations will pave the way for a more probable hiring at your terms later.