Mar 24
Confused to accept job offer or not?: This 5 point formula work wonders
There comes a time in all our lives when we want to switch our jobs, have an offer in hand, but are confused whether to make that switch or not.
Like life, there are a very few instances, when job switch decisions are in absolute black or white. More often than not, there is a dilemma about few of the things on offer like location, role, designation, money, company review on glassdoor et cetera.
In my decade + long career have faced this dilemma numerous times and have seen peers, friends, family face the same too. Conversing and debating over this for a long time, have come up with a simple assessment matrix which helps in the decision making. The below is what I do for myself and for anyone who comes for suggestion/opinion on the same.
I ask the below mentioned 5 questions and answer in 1 or 0. 1=Yes, 0=No
- Brand of the company: Brands matter on CV! If you have worked long enough for a market leader, your value in the market increases significantly. So I always ask whether brand which is offering the new job better than the brand I am working for or not. If the brand is better it gets 1, else 0.
- Role/Position: Is the new role that is offered similar, more complex with more responsibility, or a step down? If it is similar, how long have I done that role in current org? Do you need to do the same role over again? I reflect and try answering the same.
- Money: Am I getting an industry standard switching raise? Is the offer as per my expectation. Will this package put me at the current market price? 1 or 0.
- Location: Most of us are settled with families and love living with them. Even bachelors, have preference for certain cities and just do not want to relocate to a city with a dead social scene. Some like quaint, small, peaceful cities. Some love the vibe of a metropolitan. To each their own. So, is the location same, better or worse?
- Mid term future gains: I always think about whether my objectives are being met or not by switching to the new org. (Once, I desperately wanted to enter consumer goods sector, so at that point in time, I had rated this parameter as 1). Do I see myself growing in the org?
I list down all the above parameters on a piece of paper.
I give all of them a weightage. All 5 can be equally important for one, and for some they can hold different weightage. For the same person also, at different points in life, the weightage of factor can change.
For instance, for me, when I started my career Brand and role were super important. Money and location were not. Now, when I am a settled family man, location is the most important for me.
Then I reflect and rate either 1 or 0 to all the parameters & derive the score. Multiply by 5 to see the score on relatively easier scale i.e 1–5.
I follow the below actions basis the score:
0–1: Never switch. Until and unless in case of termination.
1–2: Again, never switch unless something very specific is getting solved. Explained in an example below
2–3.5: It depends on my current state at the job. If I am just bored and am casually looking out I don’t think. However there has been times where I see getting stagnated with an urgent need to switch (I do that over the rating of 3 though). Sometimes people feel vulnerable in current job and sense that a termination might be coming soon, then a switch at 2 also makes sense.
3.5–5: Switch!
This assessment tool has helped very well in negotiation with the new employer as well. Once I was on 2 on my matrix and I said no. However, the new employer really liked me and asked what it would take for me to switch. I had my matrix ready and asked for a specific responsibility and certain % of additional money.
Below are my real life examples of usage of this tool.
In the above instance, I was young, hyper focused on getting the right brand on the CV. Learnt on a lot in this stint, this was a career defining change for me
I was being offered an extremely handsome package with much higher responsibility, but still went on to reject this offer as it had nothing else, and I was doing Ok in my current role and org.
As I said earlier, the score lies in the area of ‘It depends’. The need for switch was urgent as I had already spent 3 years in my role and had not being considered for a promotion for 2 years in a row as the role had reached it’s ceiling as per the org. Hence, there was a certain urgency to switch. Plus, wife and me love our current city and wanted to continue living here together, making 2.5 also a yes.
This simple assessment tool has helped me and many others in clear decision making of a critical decision ie Job switch. Hope this helps you in leading to the right decision.
