Suppose you're a recent law school graduate and you have never worked full time before. You've come to a large metropolis because you know that's where your future lies. You don't know anybody. After weeks of searching you have two job offers. In one, the higher paid of the two, you will be working in a small office with one or two other people; in the other, with 5 percent less pay, you'll be a member of a large staff and will have the opportunity to meet lots of people.
Since you've come to the city to start a new life, a job that offers an opportunity to expand your social life might offer something as valuable as money. That is one of the many intangibles in the job selection process. Here are some others:
- Some firms provide training programs; others are willing to pay part (or all) of the costs of specialized courses to add to your skills and knowledge. How valuable is that? What is it worth? What will that additional education be worth in the future?
- Take into consideration the potential in the firm for advancement. How many of the junior associates will advance to senior associates? How many of the senior associates will advance to junior partner? The interviewer should have some type of statistical analysis available for you at the time of the interview.
- Expectations of the firm or company are very important. Does the firm or company expect you to work 60 to 80 hours per week or 40 to 60 hours per week? Do they expect you to handle 300 cases or 10 cases? Is the firm known for hiring young associates and letting them go after they have been "used up"? Consider your objectives and compare them with those of the company or firm interviewing you.
- The geographical location of a job should influence your decision. If it would require you to relocate, should you? Have you thought about the cost of living in a different city? Re member, to judge the worth of your salary properly, it must be compared to the cost of living. What about cultural activities in the new city? And how important are they to you?
- Even without relocation, consider the location of your job. Perhaps you are one of those people who seeks some diversion during the lunch hour - visiting a museum or doing some shopping. A job in the boondocks offering a few dollars more than one close to a cultural or shopping area might not interest you. One requiring fifteen minutes' travel - a short walk from your home - could be preferable to another with a higher salary and an hour's commute. Often, a slight difference in salary is more than eaten up by transportation costs. Besides, time going to and from work is not exactly leisure time!
There are other intangibles to consider. For example, is there a firm cafeteria? Some firms have them and offer good, nutritious food to their employees at low cost. Considering that, in many instances, a full meal at the company cafeteria will cost less than a hamburger and beverage at a luncheonette or fast-food counter, you would be able to save. How important is this in terms of economics and convenience? Certainly worth thinking about!
The health plan offered is another important factor. Young people very often tend to disregard a firm's hospital and major medical plans - they even consider themselves both indestructible and immortal! But anyone, of any age, can suddenly find himself or herself confronted with a stay in the hospital, resulting in large medical bills.
If you are married with children, you probably are more aware of the value of a good medical plan, but do you know that some companies offer psychiatric and dental coverage as well? How many parents of a troubled teenager would welcome psychiatric coverage! Perhaps you have a child who will need orthodontia work in two or three years. If, among your job offers, is a company that offers no dental plan at all and another that offers all or a percentage of dental costs, you must weigh carefully just how important such a plan is to you.
One of the most important factors to consider is eventual partnership. What is the possibility of your becoming a partner? How long will it take you to become a junior partner? How long to become a senior partner? What does a partnership mean? What control will you have of the firm and how much will your vote count?
If you're an "over-fifty" person and expect to stay in this job until your retirement, find out which offer will give you the most career advancement. One of the firms that has offered you a job may have the levels above your position filled by people your age or younger. But another firm might be able to offer you a position as soon as the immediate supervisor reaches retirement age. How quickly can you get promoted? How high can you go in the company? These, too, are considerations.
Just as job searching is a thinking process, so is job selection. There's much to think about in selecting a job. It is never solved by simply flipping a coin. Think about you, decide what is important to you, and in which job you think your skills, talents, and abilities will be used to the most advantage, and where you will be the happiest.
And once you make the decision, stick to it. Commit yourself. Getting the job is just the first step. The next achievement is to make the job into your job. By giving it your all and approaching it with integrity and imagination, you will change your job into a challenging career.
