Five things to consider before accepting a job offer

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With the rate of unemployment in the nation, sometimes citizens are forced to accept the available job offers without having the choice to consider some important factors before making this decision.

Contents

1. Remuneration
2. Working hours
3. Job title and description
4. Expenses
5. Benefits package

Before you finalise your decision on whether to accept or reject a job offer, you need to take your time to carefully check out the details of your job description, payment plan/remuneration, work hours, leave plan, benefits package, work style and environment, and so much more. This is in order to ensure that you are capable of doing all that your work requires and in order not to bite more than you can chew.

There have been scenarios where people have had to leave their jobs a few days or weeks after they resumed as a result of unreasonable demands made by employers, stress, poor remuneration when compared to the workload, and other factors.

In order to avoid being in a situation whereby you will have to leave your new job a few days or weeks into it, here are factors to consider before accepting that new job offer.

1. Remuneration

The first thing you should consider before accepting a job offer is the salary or wage. No matter how urgent it is for you to get a job, please take your time to consider the remuneration before accepting that job offer.

When employers see that you are desperate to get a job, they tend to offer you less remuneration because they know you will take the job anyway. As much as possible, don’t look desperate when you are being offered a job.

It’s important that you assess the income your potential employer offers and compare it to your financial needs. Is this income able to meet your financial needs to a great extent? After deducting your daily expenses, will you still have a sufficient amount of money with you before your next pay?

Consider your pay before accepting that job offer!

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2. Working hours

The next thing to consider before accepting that job offer is the working hours.

Before saying yes to that job offer, ask for the number of hours you are meant to work per day. When are you supposed to resume work and when is your closing hour? How many days in the week are you supposed to be at work?

Asking these germane questions shows that you are professional and you have a great understanding of work ethics. The fact that you are in search of a job doesn’t mean you should accept a job that will never give you breathing space or personal and family time.

Making this enquiry also helps your employers know ahead of time that you are not in for an unnecessary extension of work hours without due compensation.

3. Job title and description

Knowing your job title and its description is another thing to ensure before you accept that job offer. Knowing this helps you determine the range of remuneration that you can accept and it also helps set work boundaries in case you accept the job offer.

There are certain instances in this country where workers are forced to do work outside of their job description. For instance, you can see a teacher being asked to clean up a child who pooed on their body. This is the job description of a cleaner, not that of a teacher.

Ask for your job title, description, and responsibilities before accepting that job offer.

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4. Expenses

Before accepting a job offer, you need to calculate all the expenses you may incur ranging from transportation, feeding, internet subscription and others.

Taking a job that is extremely far from your home without guaranteed accommodation or a job that requires you to spend over half of your salary on transportation and food is not advisable.

Not putting your expenses into consideration before accepting that job offer can make that job your biggest nightmare.

5. Benefits package

Your salary is not the only way an employer can choose to provide you with financial benefits. A good employer offers other benefits to their staff apart from their salary.

These can be in the form of sabbaticals, vacation plans/pay, health insurance, retirement plans, training programs, incentives, and others.

Don’t just go for a job because you are in dire need of one, also check out if they have your best interest at heart through their benefits package.

When comparing two job offers from different companies, it is best to go for one with a more generous benefits package than one without any benefits package.

Regardless of the rate of unemployment in the nation, it is best you take your time to access job offers before accepting them. You are the best at what you do, and so you deserve only the best!

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