How should the recruiter’s proposal be evaluated?
Belyaev’s
10-factor matrix
You
have got the recruiter’s call with the new job offer? You cannot accept or decline
the offer just now? Quite natural, you take time …"I have to think over the
matter”…
I
propose to start your thinking professionally and evaluate the recruiter’s
offer under the 10-factor matrix used by our Navigator company.
Certainly,
you will consult with your wife, relatives and/or friends, compare pro and
contra, and gather information on the new company… However all of this could be
insufficient for taking such vital decision as the job changing. Even if it is
an offer of the very respectable company with an attractive salary, don’t
bustle and analyze the situation under the below presented matrix.
Put the below questions to yourself and
try to get definite answers from yourself as well.
1.
Are you really suitable for this job? Had
you before (without embellishing) the similar experience and will you handle
the job well? Is it your size? You nodded during the interview persuading the
recruiter, but what about the real situation? The recruitment is a trilateral
process: the recruiter has his own goal, the employer – another one; and what
is your goal? Take a sober view of recruiters’ persuasions and compliments. The
tactics "to get involved in a battle, and then – will see…” cannot be
acceptable for this case. You are potential candidate for the job, and you bear
the same responsibility, as other participants of the process…
2.
Is your new position one more forward step
(even very small one) in your development, career growth, intellectual perfection, acquainting of new
skills, access to new technologies? Is
it a step to your dream, after all? Don’t you get this for that? Are there new,
more interesting creative and professional tasks (certainly, if you are
interested in anything except salary)?
3.
Are there opportunities for further
education and advanced training? Are these opportunities declared quite
definitely or the recruiter (employer) limited himself with some common
phrases?
4.
Is there a chance to improve your internal
and external status? Will you respect yourselves in the new position better
than before, or only a change of scene will occur? Will your friends and simply
surrounding people respect you better than before?
5.
How interesting will be your future chief for
you? Will you be provided with a tutor at your new place? Who and what is he? What are his
experience and achievements? Had you a chance to meet him? Did sympathy
arise between you and him? The greater is the change of your activity and
status, the greater is your need in support of future manager and/or tutor.
6.
Quality of the team. How the competence
level of your future colleagues and subordinates will comply with your level
and goals? Don’t be shy to put these questions to the recruiter, because you
will have to work together with these people over 40-50 hours a week. Who are they? What is their age, sex, education etc.? What are their traditions
and habits? A problem may be quite banal: all of them smoke, but you not.
7.
What are the company’s growth prospects? Is
the company’s development strategy available and what is it? Was the company’s
development strategy expounded by the recruiter or manager sufficiently
clear? Gather the max possible
information on the company in media, internet and from your friends. Are you
going the same way with such company? Is it a good place to work - for you
particularly and generally speaking? The more your new job will be connected
with the long-term strategy of the company, the better for you…
8.
Corporate culture. Is it available in the
company and what does it mean there? What are its specificities? Though not all
the companies could be such pleasant workplace as the Google (in any case
according to the media information), but it is worth trying to reach the better
environment…
9.
Balance between work and private life. The
long and hard work for earning a lot of money and building a career… Is it the
main goal of life? Everyone appreciates workaholics, but if overtime is usual
practice in the new company – is it not a sign of bad organization of labor? Will
the quality of your life better? If you will get bigger salary for considerably
bigger work – do you need it? Is it an adequate exchange?
10.
Salary and social package. Are they
competitive at the market? Is the high salary a single advantage of the
proposal? On the other hand, possibly you fall into a trap of popularity and
status of the company, which may pay a salary lower than the market level in
exchange for a pleasure to be a member of a "company of such name!” ?
Thus, if you have
found no attractive reasons at all in the first 9 factors – your things look
blue. Only material motivation is a swift-passing subject…Soon you will become
accustomed to the new salary, but disaffection in relation to the work and to you
yourself will remain. It is better to see the brighter and further prospects…
Take a sheet of
paper and compose a comparative table: the said 10 factors are to be the columns,
the current and potential workplaces – horizontal lines. Such table is
especially useful, if you have several new job proposals. Even the process of
the table thinking over and filling will help you to avoid hasty and emotional
decisions…
At the same time
your competent refining questions and serious approach to investigation of the
new position will invoke respect of the employer and confirm rightness of his
selection…
The experience
shows that only the last factor has lower correlation with the job-satisfaction
(in the longer term, of course). I underline: job-satisfaction, not the job-proposal-satisfaction.
Prepare such
table before going to an interview. It will help you to make the better
decision.
Sergey
Belyaev,
NAVIGATOR,
Personnel company
ARKA, Association
of Recruitment and Employment Agencies of Ukraine
www.navigator.lg.ua
April 01, 2009 | 
