If you are debating whether to accept a certain job, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Assuming that your offer is firm, the next question is whether you really want the job. It should be assumed that you have given this a lot of thought throughout your initial exposure to the company. Hopefully, the research you did on the firm before being interviewed gave you good insight into its reputation, future expectations, and general industry and community standing. If you have any doubts about it, call the person who will be your boss and ask for another conversation about the job. Use that opportunity to do a little more sizing up of the place and its people. Do those you come in contact with seem happy? Are they pleasant, or does their mood represent a general dissatisfaction with the company and with their job?
- It's been said that a lot of weddings take place because the bride and groom are too embarrassed to cancel at the last minute, even though one or both of them sense deep down that they are making a mistake. I suspect that a number of people take jobs for the same reason.
- Another evaluation that you should make (and that should be on your mind throughout your exposure to the company) is whether this job meets your long-term career goals in data processing. Working in a mediocre department, with equipment and software that are not current and in demand, can hinder your career rather than enhance it. The job itself may appear to be attractive, and the salary might be right at this stage in your career, but if it is the sort of dead-end position that many DPers ultimately find themselves in, rethink the offer. Of course, no job need be a dead end for individuals who use their imagination to broaden their particular job's scope, or who use it as a means of developing skills, experience, and contacts to help them move on to other positions within the firm, or with other companies. However, specific situations can make those things more difficult to accomplish. For instance, is the company in a period of growth, or are its fortunes on a downward trend? The industry itself might be "soft," or the company's financial position shaky. It's difficult to look for advancement and monetary rewards in a company that is in the process of pulling in the strings in order to survive. Of course, landing the right job in a company that is beginning to turn around can be an open door to great future success for individuals who are there at the right time to contribute to the turnaround.
- What about the executive to whom you'll be reporting? Is he or she in a secure, powerful position within the firm? That's important, because if a supervisor's position is weak, everyone under him or her deals from a weakened posture. It's hard to ascertain this without actually working with that person for a period of time, but it's worth a little exploration, perhaps with friends who have worked at that company or with a competitor. You don't want to appear to be snooping, but you can say, "I've been offered a wonderful job at XYZ Corporation, working for John Jones. He seems like a nice guy. Do you know anything about him?"
