Analysing an Offer of Employment

You have just been offered a job, and now you have to weigh up the pros and cons. What do you do? You already have some valuable information on the company and the post on offer (opportunities for professional development, your duties, who you will report to, the team you will lead, and so on). Your next step is to compare all this with your personal balance sheet - your career as a professional and the professional goals you want to achieve - to judge whether the offer and your goals are compatible.

If after looking at all this you think the offer meets your expectations, you should still consider two more vital questions. Firstly, do you have a realistic view of current market rates for posts like this, and secondly, which facets of your experience, training, knowledge and skills will it call upon.

There are various sources of information to help you here: your own contacts network, staff recruitment agencies (particularly those in your specialist area or economic sector), professional associations, official salary surveys, occupational publications, etc.).