All job offers need not be accepted

On an average, a person spends 10-12 hours on his job and its related functions. While joining an organization or company, you cannot fathom whether you will be happy or not. And if there happen to be gloomy working conditions, life can turn out to very wretched.

Finding out if a company is good and its working environment cordial is a difficult task, particularly when you are desperate to take up an employment. However, some research will help you discern aspects that should serve to caution you against taking up a job with it. Following should raise apprehension, though an odd one or two should not be a cause of alarm:

·   Boorish correspondence:  All recruitment processes are elimination rounds. However, the manner in which you are contacted and treated during the selection process should be an indicator of poor support infrastructure. If you apply for a job and are short-listed, there is nothing wrong in expecting a polite conduct with your queries being responded to candidly. If things are otherwise or interviews scheduled are not conducted, you would be better off in a different place.

·   Misgivings:  As a prospective employee, you would never take any move that is detrimental to your career interests. Likewise, prospective employers also do not want to run the risk of recruiting a person of doubtful antecedents; and that is why background checks are conducted. If you are seeking appointment to post that handles classified organizational information, the checks will be more stringent. Checks done by pointing fingers manifest misgivings. If you are not being trusted now, you will not be trusted subsequently? Is there any use joining such an organization+

·   Working environment:  Taking up a job on the basis of information gathered from the internet or an interview conducted elsewhere is never advisable. You must see the workplace and its working atmosphere. The attitudinal disposition of the employees also matter a lot. Caution should be triggered if you find the place dirty and devoid of basic amenities, safety precautions and congenial working environment. Even display of offensive notices like ‘….. IS NOT ALLOWED. VIOLATORS WILL BE PUNISHED’ or ‘VEHICLES PARKED HERE WILL BE DEFLATED’ should convey to you that the management is least bothered about respect for visitors or employee welfare and that working here could be a discouraging affair.

·   Spoken reputation:  Today, mediums like the internet and various social media sites can be made use of to determine what ex-employees feel about a company. You can get to have a fairly accurate impression about the state of affairs of the company, including its financial status. As a matter of fact, such research should be done as a part of your preparations for the interview session. There are many web sites that offer a platform for employees to vent their job experiences; reaching out to them will help you know additional information.

·   Apprehensions about survival:  If you happen to have a boss with whom your chemistry matches, you will generally be content with your job. You must make it a point to talk about working and reporting methodologies during your interview; in this way you will be able to establish an approximate compatibility equation that you may enjoy. If you have any inkling that you may find the job uncomfortable, be bold enough to decline the offer.

·   Charter of duties:  After an interviewing session with one or two hiring managers, you will be able to gauge what is expected of you as far as your charter of responsibilities and company aspirations are concerned. If there happens to be any ambiguity or indistinctness, rest assured that the job environment will be terrible, if not ruinous.

·   Joining period:  There are some seasonal job requirements wherein the haste on the part of the employer is understandable. Such jobs do not stipulate much experience, but in other cases, extreme anxiety on the part of the employer is to be construed as a red flag. You must view all such job offers with certain amount of doubt and skepticism.

No recruiting process can be foolproof; employers place some percentage of reliance on their instinct while selecting candidates. Likewise, you too need to depend upon your inner gut feelings to some extent. If things do not appear to be good, perhaps you need to delve into more details before accepting a job offer.