Tuesday, November 12, 2013

How to choose the work that suits us ?

One of the most important decisions in the process of searching and finding a new job is whether we really should , if we are making the best decision once we make the final offer . How to evaluate if we change to a new job or stay in the present ? Or at least , if you only have a job offer , how to evaluate whether we should take or continue to pursue other ? Is the salary will be the only variable to consider?

Definitely the salary is a variable to take into account , but not the only , and often not even the most important. Today we talk about a new concept that is the " mental salary " , that remuneration in which a key component is the quality of the employee's private life .

According to this approach, the selection criteria for a job remuneration and does not occupy the first place for the employee, but remains at a second level giving way to the possibility of continuing to learn and make a balance between work, family and life staff . This concept complements and enhances mental salary above, as it begins to sink the myth of the self detached from the emotional dimension that has prevailed in recent decades on the concept of wages.

However, there are other concepts to consider when evaluating a job offer , the most important addition to the mental salary and real wages are:

    The location of the company must take into account the amount of lost man hours to get to work , or worse, if the job is in another city or country and you have to leave family, which involve consequences .
    Assigned : It's always good to find out and ask for the context , organizational culture , resources will be assigned : own office , comfort, etc. .
    Taste for the functions to be performed: Many accept the job out of necessity but do not like what they do , which hardly can do their job well done and therefore can not arise.
    Hours and days of work: Assess involves weekends , and / or what is the departure time to devote the time it deserves to family or personal activities.
    Permissions and flexibility : Define as is the policy for special cases permits applied for medical consultations , activities for children, etc. .
    Online Career : Finding out what the organization chart and growth expectations .
    Company Strength : Both large and small companies have their advantages and disadvantages , usually in large the racing line is better but slower , medium and small do not have the financial backing of a great but offer a level of reporting more horizontally and sometimes a faster growth line .
    Ability to develop functions : It is important to realize how good we are to develop the functions of the position. Many times not only losing their jobs tend to accept the offer without knowing if we can fulfill what we promise.
    Recommendations staff already working there : It would be ideal to get the opinion of those already working to have an additional variable , because many times they are the ones who have a " feeling" more real than what happens internally ( work environment, performance monitoring , treatment , recognition, etc. . )
    Principles : Each company has a set of values ​​on which it is based , it is important to know .
    Illusion for that work ( intuition) : This last point , rather subjective , but important because it is the opinion of the subconscious , you may rationally be the work more convenient for us , but intuition tells us that no, that makes us lose hope for change.

Obviously , not all of these variables have an equal weight in the decision making process of each, which is why , ideally, put them in a excel box and give them a weight weighted according to the importance of each. That is, based on the 100 % , the weight would behoove you to the first variable , and so on. Then another column aforementioned qualify each variable from 1 to 10 . Finally multiply the weighted weight rating and the alternative with the highest sum will be optimal.

Though this is a magic formula , I think it's a good tool to capture on paper a logical way to evaluate and make a decision as important as this .

How to manage my career ? part 2

Choosing a new job

If after making the assessment of the previous post we realize that we are in the wrong job , or if we are in a process of outplacement , begins our search stage , in which it is crucial to know how to choose the best option. Many of us base the election of a new work based on monthly gross salary . But it is not the only variable to consider , there are other worthwhile inclusion to our decision making process . Here are some of them:

       Compensation:

- Fixed salary and variable pay

- Bonds and cash incentives and long-term

       Development Opportunities

- Training

       Conditions and characteristics of the work

- Nature of Work

- Freedom and autonomy

- Geographic location

- Flexible hours

       Taste and skill by the functions

       Environment and labor Relations

- Work environment

- Headquarters

- Life Balance - Work / Quality of Life

       Organizing features

- Reputation of the company

- Title and charge level

- Job stability

       General convenience for the person and family

       Tell us the subconscious

Worth taking into account all these variables , ponder , to have a much clearer view of the work that suits us .

How to manage my career ? part 1

Today it is not enough to be working in a good job . To appear in this competitive world is necessary to have a career management plan very clear to tell us if we are in the right direction and question every year.

A good start is to ask the following questions :

    My current job challenges me ? I enjoy what I do?
    How I wish it were my personal life , I'm happy with the one I have now ?
    In what situation I would be in 5, 10, 15 years?
    What kind of work I like , what I better development environments ?
    Do the people I work with make me feel good ?
    What are my most important skills ?

Are some self-analysis questions seeking validate or challenge our current work . I'm not saying you have to change , and less these days, but if you really are passionate identify and if not, find out why , try to change our habits or behaviors to do it and even we get the long awaited ascent and if no, only in this case , see other options on the market .

One way to identify the above is to look at himself , knowing that is what separates us , what we value , what makes us feel happy . After that , ask the others what characterizes us, maybe a quick description, what kind of job would be ideal for us , and finally there are also psychological assessment tools to validate the above .

Recommends questioned if the work allows us to work with those who share our outlook on life , or should we assume a different personality to work during the day. Our motivation , our job satisfaction depend largely on the level of rapport (values, behaviors , personal characteristics ) with those who see more than 8 or 12 hours each day .

Another important point is recommended to identify whether the current work challenges us , makes us think more , brings out the best in us and we are excited when we do well .