While many Americans, young and old, struggle to find any sort of job, others face a different dilemma: having to choose one job to take over another (or various others.)
There is no surefire method for deciding which position to ultimately select, but there are ways to go about the process to help ensure the best outcome. This article will outline some of these methods, along with insight on how to handle the general occurrence.
Know Your Priorities
While different people have different priorities they look for in a position, there are general trends. Jobvite’s 2015 Job Seeker Nation Study found that money most impacts a job decision, with 61 percent of respondents citing it as being a factor; 42 percent of job seekers prioritize location, 38 percent look for work-life balance, and 21 percent want a good company culture.
With this being said, you have to do what’s best for you and your future, in the short-term, long-term, and the time in between. It’s important to never just look at job title and pay. You will need to closely examine and carefully consider factors such as a company’s culture, work environment, opportunities for advancement, work hours, and your coworkers.
You will need to think about which position will make you the most happy and successful.
Thinking about how you’d get along with your superiors and your potential duration at the position are also important. Job hopping between short-term positions can look bad on a resume.
Use Your Intuition
When you’re weighing multiple options, using your intuition can help you go a long way in making the right decision.
If you don’t do it, everyone else will: one study found that 88 percent of employees rely upon their gut instinct in making work-related decisions.
There are multiple ways in which to use your intuition to make decisions, depending upon how intuitive or experienced with using your intuition you believe yourself to be.
If you have a lot of experience with using your intuition, you can try asking yourself the question of which job you should take. Listen to the first thought in your head, listening to the strength of the response for each individual inquiry.
Another method is visualizing yourself accepting the offer and being on the job. You can evaluate how you would feel upon imagining a regular day at the office.
Time-Related Matters
While your intuitive thoughts may come to you quickly, it’s important to take the time you’re given to make a decision. Deciding after you’ve had a good night’s rest is usually a good idea, as your subconscious has had a chance to act upon the decision.
With this being said, don’t stall your decision for too long. It’s also imperative to know how long you’ll be given to make a decision.
One method for making an easier decision is writing down the pros and cons for each available position; this can help clarify what potential opportunities and issues could present themselves at the job.
Never be afraid to consult online sources (i.e. Glassdoor) or former employees to gauge your fit at the company. LinkedIn can be a great tool to achieve the latter.
If you are in the unique situation of having one offer on the table and are awaiting the decision of a second offer, you can alert the first offer, but don’t try to make it look like a bidding war. Wait until after the final interview you have with the second employer to alert the employer who already presented an offer, as this will allow you to process all of the information.
When alerting the second offeree, it’s important to emphasize how you prefer that position strongly, but there are parts of the other role that appeal to you. In many cases, this employer will speed up their decision, so that they won’t lose you.
While these are methods for making the right decision, you also need comfort that you can and will make the right decision. Here is some evidence for possessing such a belief.
Remember, You’re in the Driver’s Seat
An important point to touch on for job seekers is that the job market is more candidate-driven than ever. This means that candidates have a greater pull in the market than employers.
As evidence of such, a Recruiter Sentiment Study by MRINetwork in 2015 found that 90 percent of respondents find the professional sector to be candidate-driven. A large part of this jump is due to candidates having multiple job offers, particularly in sectors that are more in demand.
Due to this phenomenon, firms have taken efforts to speed up the interview process in order to prevent the loss of employees. Companies have also learned that paying wages or salaries commensurate with what was offered during the 2008 recession is no longer viable.
Make Sure You Have a Written Offer
Having an offer in writing is paramount, as this generally makes it legally binding and much harder to retract if it comes down to that.
To clarify, a verbal offer is not a written offer.
Take into consideration that having an impending written offer can help in some cases, as it allows you more formal time to make a decision between multiple offers.
Quite simply, knowing what you do and don’t have at any given point in time is necessary in order to make the right decision.
Be Forthright about Your Situation
If an offeree asks if you have multiple offers, do not lie and say you do not. Employers care about honesty, and if they don’t find your word to be truth, they’ll likely decline to hire you.
If you have one offer in hand, asking for a small extension on being able to make your decision will generally not make a bad impression. Worst case scenario, they don’t grant the request. Very often, they will give you the time.
In the end, once you’ve decided which employer you’ll choose, you should always thank everyone involved in the process. It not only shows appreciation for a firm’s human resources, but it can bode well for future employment at any of the firms where you interviewed, as statistics show that a lack of this form of appreciation can affect the perception of interviewees.
