Aug22

Written by:
8/22/2011 5:14 PM 

So, you’re looking for a job.  Your resume is ready.  You’ve got your elevator pitch nailed.  You’ve been networking, connecting on LinkedIn, scouring the job boards and distributing your resume to anyone who will look at it (or pass it along to someone who will).  Some companies have been contacting you with opportunities and you need to decide what opportunities are worth pursuing.

Evaluating the Job Posting

The Obvious

Companies write job descriptions (and some even hire strategic communications employees or consultants to write job descriptions for them) to make jobs sound attractive.  After all, the company's main goal is to attract candidates and have many applicants as possible to choose from.  

The obvious dud is a job description written with spelling and grammatical errors.  If it looks shady - it is shady.  Take for example this one that a friend of mine received:

For [Friend],

I'm [Shady Contact]. I am personnel managr of our Staff Department. Our dept found your information on Hot Jo.bs and Our dept believe u are great candicdate for the position of Customer manager of our Marketing Agency

-Main duty: collecting funds from our US clients

-Type of Employment: Part-time(2-5 hours per week)

Job conditions:

- sick leave;

- Training & Seminars

- We pay 3000USD per month.

This will be the good addition to your current jo.b.

NB: No investing from our employees. Not sales. You not required buy anything to start.

If u are ready, contact me immediately.

Yours faithfully

[Shady Contact]

You should be able to conclude that companies who invest the time and effort to create polished and impactful job descriptions are likely successful and reputable.  They should be companies that have money in the budget to invest in attracting to retain, develop and support employees.  But...

Read Between the Lines

Although a job description may be literate, a company can still try to put lipstick on a pig, or make a lame job appear to be the opportunity of a lifetime.  So how do you evaluate if it in fact is a good opportunity?  This takes some skilled analysis sometimes, because if the ad is written by communications specialists (aka masters of spin) you’ll have to do your homework to read between the lines. 

For example, if a newly formed company is having difficulty getting off the ground, this may be a risky place for you to secure employment, because the future is shaky.  However, the opportunity can be cleverly described as a groundbreaking opportunity to work directly with business owners in a highly visible role to help chart the course of the business.  Another hypothetical: a company might seek someone to sell a product that is not in demand and is neither of good quality nor cost competitive (i.e., difficult to sell) and is offering a low salary, expecting reps to make the bulk of their compensation in commissions.  A skilled wordsmith may tout this as an opportunity to “write your own paycheck”, have unlimited earning potential with uncapped commissions selling a product or service that is cutting edge, innovative, unique, blah blah blah…

When considering an opportunity – research the company, visit the website, google news articles, talk to people you know, network with people you don’t know.  Find current and former company employees on LinkedIn, send a connection request indicating you’re considering an opportunity with XYZ Company and wanted to inquire what it was like to work for the company.  People are far more willing to share than you might expect!

Evaluating the Opportunity Through Phone Screens & Interviews

Phone Screen

After you apply, you may be contacted for an initial phone screen with a Recruiter.  This is someone who may or may not actually work for the company.  You might be speaking to an internal HR Recruiter or an external consultant (like me).  You should ask, "Why is the position available?"  Did the last person quit? Get promoted? Is this a newly created position (may be a sign that the company is growing).  Also ask, "Why is this a great company to work for?"

Interview

The face to face interview is your opportunity to speak directly to your potential new boss.  As much as s/he is interviewing you, you are interviewing him/her.  It has to be a good MUTUAL fit.  S/he will ask you questions to evaluate your skills, experience, work habits, attitudes, values and personality to make sure you will fit in to the role and the culture.  Just as important, YOU need to ask THEM questions about the responsibilities, objectives, expectations, evaluation criteria, environment, culture, growth opportunities, and/or personal management style to make sure the company is the right place for you to spend 40+ hours per week.  Ask again, "Why is this a great company to work for?"  Note: Do NOT ask questions about salary or benefits, this is not the right time.  More on that in a future article… that is a whole other article.

If you are a self motivated person who likes to work independently and receive feedback only at major milestones, you probably won't enjoy working for a boss who likes to micromanage every small piece of a project.  If you are the type of person who enjoys receiving multiple resources and tools to learn within a training and development oriented environment, you might feel lost in a company with a small training budget and culture that supports managing your own learning with your own resources on your own time.  Asking the right questions is an important part of evaluating an opportunity.

Think about this...

How in the past might you have failed to fully or properly evaluate an opportunity and what would you do differently if you could go back?  What questions will you put on your list for future potential employers?





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