Evaluating Job Offers -- Eleven Warning Signs You Must Watch Out
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Moving into a new job always involves some degree of
uncertainty. You should do your best to find out all you can
about a prospective employer, starting right from the
pre-interview stage.
Here are some things to look out for. If one or more of these
warning signs are present, you need to be doubly careful about
joining that organization.
1. The company is in the midst of mergers and acquisitions, or
there is a major reorganization taking place, staff cutbacks are
on the anvil or some other major flux is occurring.
2. The company you are considering is not undergoing problems
like those described above, but many other companies in that
industry are. That could be an indication that trouble may
spread to your prospective employer sooner or later.
3. The person who will be your boss has a bad reputation. This
is something you should find out about from your network.
4. Your prospective boss has joined the organization very
recently and his or her reputation is generally not known.
5. You asked to meet with and speak to your new colleagues and
this request was refused. What are they afraid the existing
employees will say to a prospective new hire?
6. This is a non-profit organization that has had funding
problems several times before. In such cases, think twice before
taking up a position.
7. They told you a story about the company or about your career
prospects that sounded too good to be true. When something
sounds that way, it usually is.
8. The company is a small business that is not very profitable
and does not seem to have access to strong funding sources. It