Some
caveats – my experience is based on software jobs and work in this domain.
There are always exceptions to some of the examples I may have quoted below
since my attempt is to generalize as much as possible.
Oftentimes, I speak to graduating students or college
students when I’m on a recruiting drive or as a guest speaker. One of the most commonly discussed topics
becomes the most attractive companies visiting a campus and their compensation
structures along with stock options and joining bonus packages. Based on this,
it’s clear to me that no one needs to be advised or taught about considering
the salary structure and other perks when deciding about a new job. However, based on my experience, I did want
to list down other factors that candidates should consider deeply before making
career decisions.
Domain or
Industry
Obviously, at the highest level one should consider the
domain or industry the company you are joining is in since it better be
something you enjoy and would love working in for maybe 5 to 10 years or even
your entire life. Typically, most individuals will work in a maximum of 2 or 3
different domains in their life – of course, some may stay in only one domain
throughout their entire working career.
So, you better ensure that the domain the company is working in is
something you like or love, or at least do not detest it. In fact, if your gut
tells you that you do not like finance, do not accept a job in a financial or
banking industry, even if the package seems attractive, since in order for you
to do well in a job and rise through the ranks, it will be critical for you to
display your knowledge and passion in that domain.
The company
One of my theories is also that for the most part, an
individual has a DNA for thriving either in a smaller, startup type company or
a larger, structured company. There is no right or wrong in this but it’s
important for an individual to figure this out sooner rather than later. Now,
there could be exceptions and examples of some who have flourished in both a
smaller setup as well as a large company but as I mentioned, these would be
exceptions.
If your gut tells you based on one experience of things not
working well say for example in a larger company because of processes or
structure, ideally do not take risks again even if another large company looks
attractive from the outside, or if the loose processes or lack of process in a
smaller company is something you do not like, it’s going to be hard for you to
adjust to another startup. So, firstly,
ensure that you have figured out your own likes or dislikes when it comes to
this basic structure and then begin the research on how well the company is
doing. For public companies, obvious data should be available externally to
learn whether it is on an upward swing or a downward trend. Ensure, you
typically join a company while it’s on an upswing and things are exciting at
the new workplace.
The work
This probably is one of the major factors that could
influence one’s stay at a company in terms of the type of work that gets done
within the group or by individuals in the team.
Hence, it is critical to find out, especially for people working in the
software industry in countries like India, since a lot of multinational
companies have software development centers in India. However, the work is
typically limited to maintenance and bug fixing or following up on designs laid
out by the HQ. The truth is that besides
very few exceptions, for exciting, leading edge work, you have to join an
Indian based product company to be in a position of decision making. Another
area to consider is whether the products being developed by the company are targeted
for only the Indian market or globally.
Culture
I often say that one usually spends more of one’s awake or
active time with your colleagues at work than even with your family, and hence
you better like most of them. And you
better join a culture where you think you can thrive. So, ensure you check out websites like
glassdoor to learn more about the culture as long as there are enough reviews
available there. Also, do not completely rely on one source while you are
making this critical decision.
Final
Thoughts
Unfortunately, the one thing which results in most departures
from a company – the immediate boss or supervisor is something one does not
have much control over during the joining or decision making process. This is because
you either may not have much information or worse yet, may not know who your
boss will be. However, if one is aware of the details, it will only be helpful
to figure a little more out which unfortunately is only possible if you have
friends at the company. So, it indeed is
strange that the biggest factor contributing to exits is something someone
entering a company does not have much control over.
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