Job offer / Important questions to ask

Content of this image approved and designed by my 2 daughters ;-)

Between 2007 and 2015, I’ve conducted many interviews with candidates interviewing for jobs in the French part of Switzerland and Geneva. They were most of the time very talented, ambitious and successful. However, given the prestige and reputation of some organizations or companies based in this area, the attractive level of compensation and benefits, the international exposure and other factors, I’ve witnessed too many times people suddenly becoming “blind” and “deaf” during interviews. For those candidates, all that mattered during the hiring process was to show their skills, demonstrate that they are the best candidate for the role and “exaggerate” their motivation to work for a company or organization recognized by all.

Those behaviors are relatively normal during interviews. But if this is your only plan, this might backfire against you. Counterbalancing your over-excitement for a role/manager/team/company with asking relevant questions is crucial to ensure that the place really fits with your personal and professional aspirations. The company is responsible to explain what the role entails (in the job description and during the interviews), how the team is structured, what are the benefits, learning opportunities, etc. And it is your responsibility to listen carefully, takes notes, process this information…and ask more questions, challenge when necessary and investigate other channels of information if you don’t have all your answers before, during and after the hiring process.

Between 2015 and 2019, one of my responsibilities as HR Business Partner was to conduct exit interviews. This was fun 😉 and very often brought interesting conversation and provided great insights. The employees were usually relaxed and happy to share their experience with me just before leaving. Gold mine for HR if you ask the right questions and actively listen! In many cases, especially for people leaving after 18 months or less, I heard the same feedback over and over: “I did not realize the job was so much operational, transactional, with so much/few travels, relationship management, etc” OR “I did not realize that the company culture was so focused on…that I would not have the opportunity to change job after x months…that I would not be promoted next year, get a significant salary increase, etc”. I bring only a few examples but I’m sure you get my point.

I’m not saying that, by asking relevant questions all along the hiring process and then powerful questions to yourself, you will be 100% fulfilled and satisfied in your job. But, by doing that, you will minimize the risks of misjudging the situation. Being excited about a new job is excellent, but don’t let those stars in your eyes reduce your curiosity and level of judgment. Especially in situation of job search, interviews and job offer discussion, it is time to expand your curiosity, judgment and perception.

To help you with that, let me first bring something I sometimes use personally and in my coaching: The four Toltec agreements. Those agreements offer a simple but powerful way to (re) discover important life principles such as “freedom, happiness and love”. Now, if you apply those agreements into your professional life, you will see that the third agreement “Don’t make assumptions” is particularly relevant for this article. Let’s look at some of the principles of this agreement in detail:  

“Say what’s on your mind, express yourself, and find the courage to ask the right questions to better understand”. Better understand the culture of the company you’re about to join, for example;

“Don’t lie to yourself about what you truly want” – this one is really important for interviews where you are there to “sell” yourself and convince others. Keeping this principle in mind should help you counter-balance;

“Don’t overinterpret the attitude of others” – make your own judgment instead. 

With that in mind, let’s now deep dive into some of the most important questions to ask yourself. Given my HR background, I will mainly focus on HR related questions. Don’t forget to ask questions related to the role. Always keep in mind that the more questions you will ask to seek accurate information, the more you will be able to avoid making assumptions. The worst you can do is to “assume” something only with 1 assumption, meaning that your “only” assumption regarding a situation becomes “your” truth.  If you really want to assume something, make at least 2 assumptions in order to create possibilities. 2 possibilities mean choice, 1 assumption usually means distortion of reality.  

“Being excited about a new job is excellent, but don’t let those stars in your eyes reduce your curiosity and level of judgment.”

When do I discuss salary?

Let’s begin with a basic question you should not have to ask as a candidate. The recruiter should be managing this question all along the process. If it is not the case, you should make sure to discuss salary:

• At the beginning to state your expectations. “My current package is…and, for this particular role I would be aiming for…”. Giving a salary range is fine but keep in mind that the recruiter in front of you will always remember the bottom of your range. In addition to stating your expectations, simply ask to be treated with fairness and equity in comparison to other employees applying for the role or already working in the organization, implicitly meaning that gender, nationality and ethnicity have nothing to do with deciding what salary you should receive. On that note, you can also check if the organization you’re interviewing for is EQUAL-SALARY certified. If not, ask what mechanisms are in place in order to guarantee salary fairness and equity within the company. Finally, ask about the benefits (Benefits section below) to ensure you have a complete picture of what you can expect in terms of compensation package.

• During the hiring process, to make sure your expectations match with their budget. Sometimes, the recruiter will be absorbed with interviews, CVs screening, other openings to manage and won’t take the time to make sure everything is okay on that side and feed that back to you. Be proactive and follow-up on that point to ensure everything is clear. If you realize there is no alignment, ask for a conversation with the recruiter to specifically discuss salary before moving to the next round of interviews.

• At the end in order to discuss the details and ensure all the conditions are favorable for you to sign your contract.

These multiples check-ins are the only way to ensure that there will be no surprises at the end of the process when the offer comes.

At the beginning of my HR career, I’ve learnt my lessons not asking candidates early in the process what their salary expectations were. The more I waited to ask, the more I increased the chances of wasting everybody’s time (my internal clients, the candidate and myself) should the expectations were (way) too high compare to the budget allocated for the role. Therefore, as a candidate, if you are not asked the questions during the first interview, ask it yourself at the end or directly after in a follow-up email.

What are my salary expectations?

Best case: Take your last package and add a significant increase corresponding to a promotion increase (10 to 20%, even more in certain cases such as relocation to a more expensive city, more senior role, “wealthier” sector, etc)

Good: Your current package + a substantial increase (5 to 10%)

Acceptable: Just ask yourself this question. What is the minimum salary I’m ready to take for this role without being frustrated when I start? You should think twice about this, especially if you are actively looking for a job and you have a certain financial urgency, you might be tempted to accept a pay cut. That’s fine…but you should feel okay about it. If you’re not, you will think about this everyday from day 1, the frustration will accumulate and will affect your work experience without your new employer having nothing to do with it. Remember, it’s your choice to accept or not. You can also accept a pay cut or stay at the same level for other reasons: sector of activity better aligned with your values and purpose but with limited budget, more work flexibility, better work-life balance, etc. The salary is just one parameter of many when it comes to accepting a job offer (or not).

Build your scenarios, never accept an offer where you feel diminished or even worst, humiliated. And be consistent all along the process with the salary information you originally provided.

What other “benefits” the company has to offer?

Companies may appear as very competitive in term of salary and other don’t. But before making a judgment call, make sure to have a look at all the benefits the company has to offer. I’ve classified them in 4 categories but they of course interconnect with each other and they are non-exhaustive.

Financial: Bonus; stock-options; moving & child care costs (when appropriate); commuting costs; equipment like laptop and phone; pension fund contribution.

Learning & Development (L&D): Internal L&D catalogue that you can have access to based on your seniority, role and responsibilities; external professional development opportunities such as trainings, coaching, seminars, etc; Leadership programs (Trainees, top talents, new managers, executives, etc); support for an academic degree or professional certification.

Well-being: Holidays; working hours; work from home flexibility (especially post-Covid); parental leave; health and wellness (gym or health insurance contribution for example).

Social Responsibility (SR): Time off for community service (days off to volunteer); Equal salary certification; diversity and inclusion policies; specific SR engagements taken by the company over the past years and upcoming. 

Very few companies tick all the benefits highlighted above. Make sure to reflect on what are the most important for you, those who really connect with your personal values and simply dare to ask and listen what the company has to offer.

When shall I ask for lower working hours than the one mentioned in the job description?

You applied for a full-time position. You really liked the job description and you can already project yourself into the role and working for the company. However, you may be willing to work part-time instead of full-time.

In that case, you should be absolutely clear in your head about what you want. Is working part-time a must or a nice to have ? Is it 50%, 60%, 80% 95%? Is it every day 9AM to 3PM or full-time except Wednesdays? Once you clarify what you want, you are better prepared for what you are going to communicate during the hiring process and how you are going to negotiate this point should there be an offer on the table.

Be realistic: If the job specifically mentions that it is full-time and if your goal is to work 50%, it is going to be very difficult to reconcile both parties. You can try of course especially if you have been “headhunted” by the company or a recruitment agency. Nevertheless, you should be clear and transparent about what your expectations are in terms of work rate in an email, before even speaking to someone.

Be transparent: As just said, don’t wait the very last minute to state your willingness to work at reduced hours. First, ask the recruiter if there is some flexibility for this position and state your position. For example, “I’m considering reducing my working hours, do you have any flexibility?”, or “I’m looking for 70-80% activity rate position, is this something you would be open to for this role?”. Being transparent and asking the question will help clarify the situation and let the company reflect and get back to you. Waiting the last moment to raise this question might be seen as a lack of transparency and the company may withdraw the offer.

Let the magic happens: Once you have stated your wishes during the interviews, wait to receive an update from the recruiter. If you don’t get any but you are invited to continue the process, consider this as a positive signal potentially meaning: “we’re interested, we want to pursue the interviews and we will address the question of work rate at the offer stage”. What can you do in that case? Show the best of yourself during the interviews, convince them that you’re the best candidate for the role in order for them to only focus on your story, your skills and what you can bring to the team and to the organization.

Recalibrate the role before signing: Here you are! You got what you wanted. For example, 80% activity rate, Wednesday off. This is good news for you…and for the company. They just hired the best candidate for the role and will pay you 20% less than expected, that’s a great deal I would say! Reason why you should recalibrate the role before signing. Otherwise, you’ll be working 100% (or sometimes even more) but you will still be paid 20% less. Still a good news for you? not so sure so don’t forget that point otherwise you will regret it pretty fast after your start date.  

What about internal mobility and career advancement ?

Based on my experience, this question is usually skipped by most candidates. Maybe because it is too long term focus. Going through a recruitment process and applying for a position is a stressful exercise that puts you very much in the present moment (It’s happening now) or in the short term future (you will potentially soon move from one company, even country sometimes, to another and enter into a new role). Meaning that you may don’t have time nor the energy to anticipate and think about your next move after this one. You should, especially if you imagine yourself staying in the organization for more than one assignment. These questions below will help you understand what exactly the company is doing regarding this topic.

Can you explain to me briefly how career mobility and career advancement work in your company ? How do people get promoted here? Can you give me concrete examples ? Do you have an internal application process, how does it work? How do you assess internal applications? How many positions have you filled last year and how many of them have been filled with internal candidate? If the % is higher than 10%, you can assume that internal mobility is taken seriously.

This study from Deloitte demonstrates that successful Talent Mobility requires a true engagement from the company to shift their Talent Development model and design new codes as well as appropriate technology tools. Fyi, successful Talent Mobility programs increase significantly the employee engagement, in other words, the motivation to stay in the company.

Is this the right place for me ?

Is this company for me? How good did you feel during the interview process? It might have been challenging, stressful, time consuming but have you been treated with respect and care ? In my coaching, I always start with my clients exploring their values. Well, after you’ve been able to explore the values of the company a little bit deeper than what the public has access to, do they connect with yours? Are you ready to make a resonant choice?

Is this job for me? Probably the easiest question to answer of all raised in this article. Especially if you have read carefully the job description, prepared your application and applied for the role, spoken to your network about the role, interviewed for the position and asked your questions about what the role entails and potentially prepared a case study and made a presentation about it in order to be tested about your abilities to “do the job”. Yes, at this stage, you should have a good idea on whether this job is for you or not. If you still don’t know, the answer maybe comes from another question.

Is this manager for me? What are the manager’s values? Do they connect with yours? What is the manager’s vision for the team ? Do you feel inspired and excited to be part of this journey ? Do you feel you can mutually trust each other within a short period of time?

Is this team for me? In my previous blog, I talked about the important of asking to meet the team during the hiring process. If you don’t do that, you will simply not be able to ask you this very important question. Again, those people may support you or backstab you, help you or ignore you, encourage you or envy you. I’m making it a little bit more dramatic than what it is but still, it is better to ask you this question before it is too late….

You’re often ask to share your mistakes and what you’ve learned from them, how about asking the same questions to the people you’re interviewed by ? Ask same questions to different people, ask questions about what you don’t know. Spend more time exploring, observing, reflecting, challenging. And finally, listen to what your mind and even more important at this stage to what your body and your heart are telling you. And be proud of making your decision, whatever it is.

Interested about this article? Feel free to contact me here.