Making a well thought through decision on changing your job
There is a great chance you are reading this article because you are considering changing your job.
You might have noticed I am a part of our Docplanner Tech Talent Acquisition team so your next thought is: “she is not gonna be objective...”. Well, you are right in the sense that my goal is to find the right people to Docplanner at the right time, but what is important here though is the “right” aspect.
In our TA team we believe that starting a new role in a company is a decision of both parties — the company, but also the candidate. Transparency on our side is important because if we paint the grass greener in the recruitment process, a person might accept the offer but will resign after some time. Tricking a candidate to accept the offer and then being disappointed makes no sense for a TA team working with quality. We have to look again for someone to fill the same positions. It makes absolutely no sense.
But how can you, as a candidate, check the honesty of the people you meet if you are not a mind reader, nor a master of interviews? I have been working in the Talent Acquisition field for 7 years and met hundreds if not thousands of people on the way and here are some learnings I want to share with you.
Start with WHY
If you have done interviews before, you probably noticed that the questions “why are you changing the company?” or “why do you want to join us?” always appear … at least they should if the recruiters are interested in your motivation.
Motivation in this case has two parts. The first is why do you want to leave your current company. Assuming you are not looking for your first job (in this case you can skip this part). Although it might feel like the recruiter is inquisitive going deep with this part — why we do it is to understand a couple of things.
First of all, what is it that you don’t like in your company? To check if you want to find exactly the same in the new company. For example: at this moment I am hiring Engineering Managers. That role is new here. We are learning and organizing. If I hear from a candidate that he/she hates chaos at their current employer and loves having procedures on everything — I already know we aren’t a match. Docplanner is a scale up — not a corporation. We have amazing freedom and autonomy, but what goes with that — we do not make procedures on everything and there are many things we are still learning how to solve. The last part is, are the reasons grounded — you tried to give feedback and change the things you didn’t like, or did you just have a bad week at work and/or want to use interviews to get a salary increase in your current company.
The second part of the motivation bit is the motivation of joining a particular company and role. You might think “I am going to many interviews — I don’t have time to read the history of each company”. Well first of all, be picky (at least at first). Better to apply to a couple of companies you would really like to join rather than overloading the meetings, and well … mixing up the interview you are doing. Yep, that happened to me while conducting the interview — the candidate was sharing a really detailed motivation but… to join another company.
You really don’t have to know everything but the things that are most relevant to your role. If you are a software engineer — read about the technologies the company uses. If you work in product — you should consider testing the product. It will not only show the people who interview you that you are motivated, but also it gives you a better picture of the company and product you would work on. Believe me, with the hiring managers we always love to hear constructive feedback on Docplanner during interviews!
Tips here? Think about why you are changing your job. Are you sure about the decision? What would make you change it? Be honest with the recruiter about it! The other topic to think about is why you are applying to a specific company. Do a small research on the company. Don’t have time for that before the interview? At least prepare good questions. Although the location of the office might be important day to day — with companies that are remote friendly (like Docplanner) that is not essential in my opinion and is something you can check after the interview.
Honesty and respect during the recruitment process
Again, this works both ways. No doubt that the Talent Acquisition Partner (TAP) should be honest. Observe if they keep their promise (on deadlines, communication etc) and how they treat you. Personally, I really believe that the TA team has a huge role in the company — not only building teams that succeed but also being the face of the company. If you are disrespected during the hiring process — there is a risk that won’t change when you join. In our TA team we call ourselves partners — not only of Docplanner business but also our candidates. We work hard to make our candidates feel comfortable in the process. Btw. Personally, I would never join a company that was using the “stress” method during the interviews. I wouldn’t feel that I am a partner in their process.
On the other hand, I really appreciate candidates that are honest from the first contact. Sharing their motivation but also their current situation. If they feel after the interview that Docplanner is not a place for them — I appreciate it if they share that. That way we don’t waste each other’s time. The same goes for being honest on other offers they are getting. Most TAPs know that if a candidate stops responding after an offer they probably accepted another one or decided to stay at their current employer. This brings us to all three parties mentioned in this section’s title.
When you think about it — you and the company are not the only ones that your final decision will influence. Your current employer is as well. When you bring to the decision you want to leave — look how they respond. If they get mad — it is pretty clear how they feel about you leaving. But that is your decision and a good leader should always be open to discuss why you are not enjoying work. Another thing I observed a couple of times is that employers propose salary increases to people who want to leave. Although this might seem like a perfect negotiation strategy there are some BUTs here. First of all, why didn’t that happen before? If you didn’t come with the counter offer — would you get the raise? The other argument is about your team — will your new salary be fair to other team members that are not so good in negotiations? This behavior shows a lot on the company culture.
Of course, for some people money is one of the biggest motivations while it comes to work. And that is fine. There are companies where what you negotiate is what you get. Here at Docplanner we operate differently. We do our best to be sure that people are paid fairly for both the experience and the other team members. So if a person uses the argument of leaving to get a salary increase — we will not give it unless no matter the circumstances it is fair. Actually, as leaders we believe that if someone is underpaid in the team it is a leader’s failure.
One more thing about honesty — feedback. Did the TA partner do something you didn’t like? Give feedback. Good professionals always appreciate that. If she/he gets mad — that shows a lot not only on the person but the feedback culture in the company. Also, you might hear the reasons for why she/he did what he did.
Tips? Observe how employers treat you during the recruitment process — both the current one and potential one. From your side — be honest and be yourself during interviews. If it’s not a match — better not to start dating, right?
Making your final decision
The research I mentioned in the initial part of this article was the one that will help you to decide where to apply. But let’s imagine you have a couple of offers on the table (including staying where you are at right now). And now there is a big question to answer: how to make THE decision.
Try not to base your decision only on emotions
First of all, ask for some data! Start with the Glassdoor page — there you can find both reviews on the hiring process (Candidate Experience score) and reviews on work from current and previous employees. At Docplanner we put so much effort in taking care of our Candidate Experience score (over 8.7/10 from our surveys over the last years) and preparing a detailed feedback and concrete offer for everyone we decide to hire. “Sure, they are skilled in sales” you might say. Ha! Besides the Candidate Experience score I shared there are other things I am proud to say about us here. Less than 10 people from 200 hired to Docplanner Tech in the last 2 years didn’t stay longer than 6 months with us. That shows that as good of sales people we are — we are also honest!
Go back to your WHY
Again, this is crucial. In total, recruitment processes often take weeks. Maybe your WHY changed? Maybe actually you want to stay where you are now? That is totally ok! Although the TAPs from other companies might be sad reading your email (I always do, because I create a bond with my candidates and I am always excited about the possibility of working together), the good ones should be happy you made the decision best for you. And ending the recruitment process on good terms — sharing feedback and reasons leaves a door open for the future. Believe me, I saw that! Candidates coming back after a while because they decided to join us in the end. Those messages always make us TAPs really happy :)
Do a retro on the processes
How did you feel during the process? How much did you learn about the company and its culture at that time? Did you get feedback on your interviews? Did you meet your future leader and/or team? If you can’t answer those questions — really think if you want to join a company. Again, use honesty. Ask the TAP if you could have another meeting — with the leader or the team. A company that cares about hiring will have no problem with it. Again, a well thought through work decision benefits both parties!
Compare final offers
Salary is a number — easy to compare. But even with the salary make sure you know more. First of all — salary ranges. Do understand where you are now and where you can be. Also, how does the salary revision process look and how often it happens. Fairness in the team (if it is important for you) — if a company proposes a salary higher than in the job offers you can be sure that there are no fair salaries policy. Although right now you might be the appreciated one, in some months that might change with a new hired person. Think about the whole compensation package (not only base salary) — some companies have shared options plans and that might also be a part of your salary.
Business
The last two years showed us a lot that having a stable job is a big benefit. Of course, you can’t predict everything but checking how the company is doing is always a good idea. There are many sources you can check. Revenue (if public), percentage of growth year to year, number of users, financial rounds (for VC based companies).
Culture and working conditions
Of course you can ask about that during the interviews — especially if you meet the team. Additional recommendations: check the company Glassdoor page (read comments and check overall score) or even… ask current or previous employees. You don’t know anyone from that group? You can always ask on LinkedIn or … ask the TAP for reference numbers. Yes, that is right! With some of our recruitment processes in Docplanner (leadership and people focused) we check references. And one of our candidates asked us to provide the same. That was an awesome idea! We shared numbers and now the person is on board with us :)
Other benefits
Don’t focus on all but those that are important for you. Again, that might be participating in the company’s revenue and success (share option plan) or simply health insurance because you need that for your family. Think about non material benefits like the possibility of working remotely or flexible working hours. Btw. more benefits don’t actually mean a company is better … it just means they have more benefits :)
I do believe that all the tips I shared take some time to implement. But I am also sure that if you go through the check list — your decision will be well thought through. And believe me or not — as a TA Partner that is my goal.
