Choose the Culture, a Leader and the Role Best for You
Lately, it seems candidates have been focused on just getting a job. Unemployment during the pandemic forced many people off their chosen career path and looking for not only new jobs, but entirely different careers, too.
For a few fortunate people, like my mentee, Darcy, they have the difficult task of choosing between multiple job offers. Darcy’s background and experience is in technology, a rapidly growing sector of the economy. As she prepares to graduate in the spring, she has already received multiple offers during the fall recruiting season.
One of Darcy’s offers is from the company she interned with this past summer. However, since she worked remotely, she still lacks a lot of clarity around the culture and vibe within the company. She has only met her potential boss in person one time during her internship interviews last fall. With limited personal interaction and a completely virtual interview process, how does Darcy decide which opportunity is best for her?
This is what I recommended to Darcy:
Choose an organization with whom you personally align.
Examine carefully each choice. What is the culture of the organization? Do you personally align with the purpose mission and values? What do reviews on sites such as Glassdoor and Indeed indicate about the working environment. How do the organization’s customers rate their performance? Does the brand, which is how customers view the organization match the culture, which is how employees view the organization? Would you be proud to be associated with the brand?
All of these questions will help you determine if you personally align with the organization. This is critical for your own personal satisfaction. Most people want to work for a purpose that is bigger than themselves and have lasting impact in some way. The first step to achieving that level of impact is to be aligned with an organization that strives to do the same.
Choose a boss you respect.
It’s also nice if you like your leader, but it’s not a necessity. It is more important that you respect the leader and believe in the leaders’ ability to help you develop and grow your career. Sometimes, having a great relationship with your leader is not about how well you like each other, but more so how much your leader maximizes your skills and capabilities. While it is certainly a plus to have a boss with whom you enjoy spending time, it is much more important that you have a boss that helps the team achieves its goals, recognizes your talent and personally advocates for your career.
The boss I personally liked the most challenged me the least. I grew my career working for a leader that I deeply respected and who respected me. Our relationship was certainly friendly, but we were colleagues, not friends.
Choose the role you love.
As you know, you will spend a lot of hours working. You will likely not love every single minute of it. In every job, there are tasks that we don’t enjoy. However, when choosing a job, be sure that the majority of the work is something you love. If you love it, then it will feel a lot less like work and more like a fulfillment of your calling. There are times in our lives that we might have to do work we don’t like to pay the bills. If you find yourself in that position, then keep searching until you find something that personally fulfills you.
Darcy is weighing each job offer against the criteria I have outlined here. She is evaluating the culture, her leader and the role for each offer. I am confident that as she considers the pros and cons using this framework, she will make a great decision and one that will be her next step on the path to crush her career.
Want to learn more about how to crush your career? Pre-order my new book here:
Crush Your Career: Ace the Interview, Land the Job and Launch Your Future
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By Dee Ann Turner
