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I turned down a job in the last 2 months that was 35k more than I'm making
here. The company offering the money could not answer me the basics of what
they expected out of me. It's often about the money, but more often than
not ask yourself if you're going to walk into a totally unrealistic
expectation of what the company expects out of you. Do they think you can
do the job they're hiring you for PLUS 10 others? Is the manager of the
opinion that your position is irrelevant but just hiring someone to fill a
spot? Is the company actually "on-board" with producing a complete product
and not seeing documentation as a annoying frill? I oftentimes consider all
of the above things and then check with my gut. While not the most
scientific of all things to rely on, your gut is oftentimes more truthful
than any other part of your body. But, then again, that's my .02.
-----Original Message-----
From: figmo -at- rahul -dot- net [mailto:figmo -at- rahul -dot- net]
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2000 4:24 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Subject: Re: TW jobs-how to choose
Bruce Byfield wrote:
>
>"Janys K." wrote:
>
>> I am having a difficult time deciding which one to
>> take and I am hoping to get some feedback about how
>> others evaluate job offers and consider the most
>> important factors in choosing a fulltime job.
>
>The job in the other city would be a cut in pay, especially if the
>cost of living in the city is higher. However, unless your money
>requirements are tight, the difference is small enough not to matter
>very much. If your negotiating skills are up to the effort, you
>might even be able to ask for a few thousand more to make up the
>difference.
>
>Either way, I don't think that money should be the deciding factor
>for you. The difference is probably not great enough, The real
>question is what you want. Do you want to move? Do you like
>flexibility and responsibility? Do you prefer working on a team?
>
>And, for me, the most important question would be one that no one's
>mentioned yet: how interesting is the work? How important the
>question is depends on how long you plan to stay with the company,
>but, even for a short span, I would feel that I was just marking
>time if I wasn't interested in what the company was doing. Forty
>hours a week is a quarter of my waking hours, and I don't want to
>waste them on indifference or outright boredom.
Another factor to consider: growth. A job writing about obsolete
technology using obsolete (or less commonly used) tools is less likely to
get you a good next job than one where you're on the cutting edge.
Also think about the types of documentation you want to write. For
example, a friend of mine took a pay cut to get a job writing API
documentation because, although she's capable of doing it, her resume is
weak in that area and she needs writing samples. Another person I know
took a job because she wanted "UNIX" on her resume.
>When I've had to choose between jobs, I've drawn up lists of pros
>and cons, and made the decision from the lists. You might want to do
>the same.
Good idea. I do something similar when I am trying to make up a decision
when it doesn't seem clear. Specifically, I make up a pro and con list and
assign numerical values to each item ranging from 1 to 5 with 5 being the
best (or worst). I then tally and use the end result to decide, often
tweaking the numbers if they seem "off." (That also tells me alot about my
priorities.)
<snip>
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