12 things to know before you accept a job offer! (infographic)

Before accepting offer – Do Due Diligence

In Dubai these days, it may be quite a challenge to find and land a new job. The markets are quite tough. You are here on visit visa and you have been hustling to get a job. So, you have been attending interviews for some time now. Now you have landed up on an interview at a company and you are sure you will clear the interview to land that job…a reward for your long struggle. But before you accept that offer and make a new beginning to your career, there are few things that you should ask to get a very clear view of what is in store for you.

Typically this post will let you know the kind of questions you should be asking before you accept a job offer, like:

• Financial position of the company;
• questions to as start up companies;
• questions about the position;
• questions about the team.

These questions are framed so you can make sure, you will be happy in your job:

Get everything in writing

1.Written Job description:

This document essentially mentions your roles and responsibilities for the 12 to 24 months into your job. With this document, there will be no confusions with your boss while discussing the performance on job. Make sure this is provided to  you when have cleared the interview.

2.Written Offer Letters:

MOL these days has made it mandatory for companies to provide physical offer letters as job offers which can not be retracted. Make sure all the clauses are mentioned in the offer letter that you are getting. Sometimes, interviewers make verbal promises which will not have any weightage if they are not documented. So make sure, whatever promises are made to you by the interviewer or the HR are documented.

Get the history

3. Why is the position open?

A job may arise because someone has resigned from the position or for any other reason. In any case, it is better to seek clarifications on ‘why is this position open?’ from the HR. Sometimes, people leave a job due to bad manager or lower pay scale or bad work environment. You must seek clarifications on this.

4. How many people have held the position?

Another good question that you should ask is, ‘how people have held this position in last 5 years?’. The answer to this query provides you on the turnover ratio of the position. If there are many replacements on the position, you know what it means!!

Meet the people

5. Meet team members:

You should insist on meeting the direct reports of your boss. Chances are that an open minded organisation would be happy to introduce you to the team even at the interview stage.

6. Ask questions:

When you are with the team, ask relevant questions like their strengths and weaknesses, what it takes to succeed on the job, questions about the company performance and so on. With the comfort level of the team members, you will be able to gauge the organisation. Also ask about the decision maker, if not your boss.

Use LinkedIn

7. Research the company:

Check on LinkedIn to see how many of the staff are there, their past experience, industries etc. You can also gauge that if they want out on the organisation, they’d list their contact details like email, phone number etc.

8. Look for common connections:

While on LinkedIn, check for you common connections. If possible, check with your connections about the team members.

Financial condition of the company

9. Public Companies:

If the company is public, obviously they will have their financials listed on the stock exchange. Have a look at it and see for yourself the company performance.

10. Private companies:

For private companies, it will be tough to check financial condition. But, you could do a Google search and check whether there are company clippings, interviews of company management etc to understand the reputation of the company.

11. Start up companies:

These are mostly vulnerable. Check for their profile and the business model. Check how they make money and whether they are backed up by any venture capital firms or private equity. If they are, it may be financially well to do.

Check the News

12. Google the company

Use Google search to find if  there is any News on the company. If the company has been in the news, is it for a good reason?

Before considering any job offer, you must do a due diligence on the company and not to trust the information provided to you blindly. I have seen many job seekers who have joined companies with scrupulous activities and later they have had to lose jobs and get into lot of worries.

Hope this has helped. If you have any queries, do comment below.