If you read our last post you’ve learned a bit about what you should know about the work environment before taking the job, which is good. But, the work environment is not the only reason to take a job- you also want to know about the money!
Now, you can (and should) ask about money, and about advancement, and be willing to haggle. If you walk into an interview and try to get them to increase the salary, chances are you won’t get the job. However, if your employer has made it clear that they want you (by offering you the job), you can get away with a bit of negotiation. If they are offering less than other companies, tell them that, and see what they say. You may find yourself getting a raise even before you start.
Don’t stop with the initial salary- dig deeper and see what this new employer can offer you long term! Next, ask about promotion. Find out if they tend to promote from within, or bring in outside hires. Ask them to tell you about the last person they promoted from within. What made them stand out? What qualities did they have that placed them above the pack? This will let you know what you can do to be the kind of employee that excels at this company.
Next, find out about your department. Is it growing or shrinking? Where do they see it in 5 years? If the money is good and the promotion opportunities are plentiful, but your department is liable to get cut within 5 years, it does not matter. Being the top of a no longer existent department is being unemployed. On the flip side, if the money is a little lower than ideal, promotion sounds difficult, but the department is growing rapidly, you might want to take the job. A growing department can offer a lot in and of itself.
Finally you need to find out why this position is open. This can be telling in a lot of different ways. It is good to know if it was due to a firing, someone quitting, or the creation of a new position. These all have very different meanings for you as a new employee. Strangely, the one to be most wary of is the new position. There is always a chance that the company took two separate positions and merged them into one, which might create an unreasonable amount of work for whoever is hired. Ask about what similar positions existed previously, and ask about the people who held them before you. Did they do well at them but have to leave for personal reasons, or did they fail routinely and have to be let go? There are a lot of different reasons to leave a job, so if you can you want to find out as much about that as possible.
Now that you have the job offered to you, you have a lot of leeway with what questions you can ask. Take full advantage of this! Going into your new job well informed is a great idea. And, finding out if you don’t want the job before you start is pretty good too. Armed with these discussion points, you will be able to make sure that the job you’ve been offered is the right job for you!