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copied without permission from Computer World
What you should know before you take that next offer By Jim Seeton IT Careers, July 20, 1998 A recruiter calls with what seems to be a heavenly opportunity. And as a restless information technology professional, you've gotten an offer that you think is exactly what you've been looking for. But rather than relying on divine intervention or making snap decisions based on superficial issues such as pay and location, you owe it to yourself to take time to thoroughly contemplate the offer. Whether it's your first job offer or your 10th, these commandments will get you focused on a logical decision-making process. They'll let you keep pure emotion at bay, so you can make your next career move with confidence. 1. Thou shalt like at least 80% of the tasks in the new position Unless you're a saint, you'll probably never enjoy 100% of the tasks in any job position. The key is understanding yourself well enough to know what you like to do and what you're good at. Then consider a position where you do those things at least 80% of the time. Throughout the interview process, you'll have the opportunity to go beyond the job title to find out what you'll be doing in the job and whether it fits with what you like to do. For example, a programmer/analyst position could be 80% coding and 20% analytical, or vice versa. You'll need to dissect the job's responsibilities to find out. A written job description outlines your responsibilities on paper, but it only tells part of the story. Ask the hiring manager to describe the perfect person for the position, then evaluate yourself according to that ideal. 2. Thou shalt be functional in the new position in a reasonable amount of time Your current skill level, scope of responsibilities and expectations — both your own and those of your new boss — all influence this timeframe. You'll need to make sure you're both in sync so that there aren't problems later. Typically, the people who succeed and are happiest in their new position take a job that challenges them. In other words, they aren't performing 100% of the responsibilities of the new position with ease. Say you are technically astute and your new job requires you to do something you've never done before — lead projects. As long as you know the parameters of the project and have a support mechanism in your boss and your team, you're going to stretch and grow into that position. 3. Thou shalt keep your goals in line with the reputation of the company Remember that a company's reputation isn't necessarily what you are told in the interview process. When it comes to reputation, a company's past performance predicts future behavior. For example, you may be considering a middle management position at a company that you learn has a reputation of relocating managers every year or two. Although this is the path to upper management and one you aspire to, you know you don't want to pick up and move that often at this point in your career. So you may want to reconsider their offer this time around. Your goals also influence how you view a company's reputation. If you're the kind of person with an active social life who doesn't want any job-related travel and the company's reputation is to work 80-hour weeks with at least 50% travel to client sites, you may see them as burning their people out. However, if you're on a fast management track, this is likely the kind of place where you'll be gaining the invaluable experience you're seeking. 4. Thou shalt have appropriate chemistry with your co-workers Chemistry is mostly pure feeling, but you need to get under the covers. The work environment may be very political or it might be very team oriented. Some people love a political environment and thrive in that arena. Ask to interview with your potential co-workers. Do you sense they talk as a team or do you see some eyes rolling? If you're going in as a team member and the chemistry of the team is different than what you enjoy, don't take the job. However, if you want to acquire people skills and learn how to adjust to different job cultures, then you'll want to find a position where the chemistry is more compatible. Before you opt for incompatibility, make sure you understand the challenges and take a hard look at the tasks you'll need to perform in your new job. If you're struggling to master 40% or more of the tasks and the chemistry is all wrong, you could be putting yourself in a no-win situation. 5. Thou shalt measure your growth opportunity with your personal goals What are your goals? To be in management, stay on a technical track, move into sales? Once you know, you'll be able to determine whether the position can provide what you want. If you're a programmer who wants to stay on a technical career track, find out the different growth paths within the company. If you're looking for a management track, will the company provide you the opportunity to lead some projects? If you want to get on a sales track, ask whether the company has ever promoted salespeople from the technical side. You'll also want to know if your potential new boss came in as a manager or moved up through the ranks. If no current managers in the IT department came up through the ranks, maybe the company doesn't respect a technical background for its managers. There may be an unwritten rule that programmers typically don't make good managers. The bottom line is to find out how people with similar goals have reached them and how the company has helped. 6. Thou shalt be compatible with the company's corporate culture and philosophy of doing business The reason that so many job changes don't work out is incompatibility. The employee can do the job but doesn't get along with the boss, with fellow employees or with the corporate culture. Companies generally fall into three broad categories: charismatic, democratic and systematic. Jobs in charismatic companies are often characterized by a lot of responsibility but little authority. A democratic company manages by consensus using quality circles, management teams and decisions by vote of task committees. The systematic organization is highly structured and relies on set procedures, channels of communication and chains of command. All organizations are a blend of cultures and philosophies, but over the years one or the other usually prevails. To get at philosophy and culture, you'll need to examine the corporation's past behavior. For example, how layoffs, strategic planning, employee suggestions and monitoring of employees are handled can all be explored to determine corporate culture. 7. Thou shalt honor your new boss's management style The management style of the person to whom a new employee reports is also critical in determining compatibility and can be quantified. The grid below can be used to quantify management styles effectively. At the extremes of the grid are the delegating management style, the democratic style, the autocratic style and coaching style.
How do you know you want to be the same management style? The first step is to understand there are differences. Now the question becomes do you want to stretch your capabilities. If so, you'll want a new boss who has a complementary style. Someone who's not in the management ranks — a programmer, for example — will want to consider what management style with which they're most comfortable. Again, perhaps you'll be stretching on 40% or more on the tasks in the position and you may actually want a boss who's more participative. Or say you have the tasks down cold and the reason you're taking this job is because it pays well, you can ride your bike to work and they have a great retirement program. You'll probably want a boss who delegates the work. 8. Thou shalt understand how the job will affect your personal life Recent studies confirm what you probably already know. Both men and women are working more hours than 20 years ago, and one of the biggest concerns is having enough time for personal pursuits, including family. Don't just find out what the corporate policies are, but what the corporate culture dictates and what your boss's views are about work and family issues. It's also important to understand how the job responsibilities will affect your personal life. Let's assume you are considering a job that requires a lot of travel. You and your partner share the responsibilities for your two children, and she's currently going to school at night. How will you handle things? Will you pass on the opportunity? Will she quit school or reduce the course load? Make sure you think things through beforehand. A new position requiring relocation can present insurmountable problems for the family if both wage earners in the family are pursuing careers. To help ease these problems, you should see if the company you're considering offers assistance to the other wage earner in finding a new position. Making a job change on only one or two criteria is the wrong way to make a choice and will most certainly lead to dissatisfaction with your decision. Rather than taking a one-dimensional view of the next job offer that's in front of you, make sure you consider all of the criteria listed above. The best advice these days is still: "Know thyself." Understand not just your skills and the type of work you like, but the corporate culture and management style that allow you to be your most productive. Next time, you may just turn down that "opportunity from above" and be much happier for it. Seeton is vice president of operations development at Computer People, Inc., an IT staffing services firm in Holliston, Mass. He can be reached at info@cpeople.com 
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