Thinking about a job change? Money is still the key factor when evaluating a job offer. Nevertheless, if not coupled with other, non-monetary incentives, its motivating effects are short-lived.

Here a few more things to consider when choosing between jobs.

Location

• Commuting time time
• Public transport options
• Parking options
• Cost to commute
• Places to eat in the area – shops and restaurants
• Services in the area – banks, gym, courier services
• Green spaces around the workplace

Location is a major factor to be considered. Spending an hour on a crowded bus or sitting in mind-numbing traffic can make you feel just as bad as earning less money. On the other side, people who walk or bike to work don’t report the same dissatisfaction.

Green areas, restaurants, and shops near the workplace are a great motivation for the employees to take a break from work and to disconnect for a bit. Without taking breaks, employee productivity, mental well-being, and overall work performance begin to suffer. Spending the lunch break in the gym or simply going for a walk boost the energy and increases the productivity.

The company

• Size of the company
• Age of the company
• Company culture
• Customer satisfaction
• Employee satisfaction
• Market position

Take some time to research the company and investigate if it is the right fit for you.

Why the size and the age of the company matter? If you work for a small, new company, you will probably have to do much more work than what you would normally do at the same position in a big company. The reason is that the new company doesn’t have rules yet how the processes should occur. Therefore, the workload and the stress might be bigger compared to when working for a big company. Additionally, you will have to deal with all the issues on your own while if you work for a big company, you can rely on the support from the designated departments.

On the other hand, if you work for a small company, you will have a direct communication with all of your managers and coworkers. You can easily request and have the requests completed. At the big company all your requests have to go through approvals from various people. You have to wait longer time to be promoted. Usually, the big companies have too many procedures that slow down the work progress.

Don’t forget to find out more about the company culture. You can ask during the job interview about the work environment, the vision and the goals of the company. For example, some companies have a casual workplace without much regulations, while others prefer more formal environment.

Do some research on what the customers and the employees share about the company.  Read more on how the company is positioned on the market against the competitors. 

The team

• Size of the team
• Roles hierarchy within the team
• The average experience of the team members
• Team goals

If you have ever worked in a toxic environment, you know how demotivated it can make you feel. You spend a big part of your day with your coworkers. If you’re not happy at your workplace, that dissatisfaction can carry over into your personal life.

Ask questions about your future coworkers to investigate if you will fit the team. If you are still a junior specialist, it is better for you to join a team with senior people that could mentor you. If there is a big age difference between your coworkers and you, it might be more difficult for you to integrate into the team.

The workplace

• Common areas, restrooms and office space – design, cleanliness, and safety
• Lighting
• Level of noise
• Relax area

Have you ever gotten into an office and had a bad first impression? Not enough light, a lot of noise, tons of people in a small room, funny smell, tiny desks. You would probably think twice about accepting a job offer from that company.

You could ask for an office tour to get a better impression of the work environment. The workplace is where you spend a big time of your day and you should feel comfortable there.

Personal development

• New skills and experience
• Growth opportunities
• Training opportunities

If you want to reach new career heights, constant development shouldn’t be new to you. Investigate what the training and development policy of the company is. Ask about the career growth options within the company, the timelines and the criteria for a promotion to happen.

Flexibility

• Flexible working hours
• Work from home option
• Part-time
• Freelancing

Flexible working hours and workplace lead to a better work-life balance and happier employees. For example, flexible work schedule works great if you have a doctor’s appointment. Working from home results in higher productivity for some people due to the lack of office distractions like the noise. 

Many people are looking for a part-time job or a freelance contract to combine either with their studies or with another personal activity.

Many companies are making the move towards implementing the work flexibility but still there are many companies that stick to the traditional 9-to-5 workday.

Routine

• Diversity of the daily tasks
• Diversity of the technologies used at work

Sticking to a routine help you focus and get better at what you do. On the other side, if you keep performing the same tasks with little change, you might find yourself bored and locked into a thoughtless unproductive cycle.

Business trips

• Frequency
• Length
• Destination
• Travel policy

While business trips can be very valuable for your career development, many people firmly refuse to travel. The biggest con is that you are away from your family. Long and frequent business trips can be very harmful to your personal relationships. 

Business trips can be very stressful. Usually, the working days are much longer while you are on a business trip. Since the company invests in your trip, it is expected from you to be highly productive and to justify all the expenses. You rarely will have time for sightseeing if you are on a short visit.

If you love traveling, you might prefer to have business traveling as a part of your job. Although you don’t choose your destination, you might get a chance to travel to nice places that you wouldn’t go to on your own. If you stay longer, you have the weekends to explore the area. You get to stay in nice hotels. You manage to save some money. 

Business trips can be great or dreadful. It all depends on the personal preferences. 

The recruitment process

• Job description
• Responsiveness of the recruiters
• Tone of the conversation – friendly or formal
• Relevance of the questions to the job
• Punctuality
• Coordination between the different interviewers

Research conducted by Monster.co.uk reveals that interviewee’s first impression is impacted by everything from the reception area to what they think of the interviewer’s handshake and fashion sense.

Multiple rescheduling of the interview, irrelevance of the job interview questions, hostile interviewers, a long process, poor communication are only a few of the factors that might make you drop out of the hiring process.

Relocation

• Political and economic situation of the destination country
• Social policy
• Education system
• Climate
• Local culture
• Language
• Options to travel back to the home country

Relocation for work is a decision that has to be taken after a very careful consideration. The relocation should be beneficial not only for your career but also for your personal life. Make clear the reasons why you want to relocate. Investigate if the relocation will bring you the desired changes and if it will improve your quality of life.

Take into consideration that you will have to adapt to a different culture. You might have to learn a new language. The first months you will have to work hard not only in the office but in your personal time as well to organize your life. 

Other benefits & perks

• Additional health insurance and retirement plan
• Benefits like food vouchers, a monthly pass for the gym, etc
• Length of the paid annual leave

Personal satisfaction

Lat but not least, ask yourself  if that’s really the job you want to do. If that’s not your dream job, will taking this job get you closer to your dream job.

 

What are the factors that are the most important to you when choosing between jobs? How do you prioritize them