4 good reasons why you should turn down a job offer
Whether you’re returning to work after a career break or changing career direction, nothing can beat that sense of relief and feeling of elation when you’re finally offered the job you’ve applied for. After weeks or months of job-hunting, it can be tempting to take the first job you are offered. After all it’s very reassuring to know that your skills are transferable and you are indeed employable! However, as the saying goes, act in haste and repent at leisure. So before you rush off to open the champagne and celebrate, make sure it’s the right job for you.
4 signs you should turn down the job offer
The job is not aligned to your long-term career goals
Whenever you are offered a new job, it’s important to consider if this role will act as a stepping-stone to your long-term career goals. If by looking a few years down the line, you realise that this role will take you further away from your dream job, then it’s not the right one for you. Instead go back to the drawing board and keep searching for jobs that give you relevant industry experience in the short to medium term, so that you can ultimately achieve your long-term career aspirations.
Your instinct tells you there’s no culture fit
In your haste to find a new job, it can be easy to overlook the important role a company’s culture plays in determining job happiness. Your personal values provide invaluable clues to help you understand the type of environment you’ll thrive in. For example, if integrity, professionalism and high quality of work are important to you, then working in an environment where ‘anything goes’ will be frustrating. So if, after going through the interview process, your gut feel tells you the cultural fit isn’t there, have the confidence to turn the job offer down and start looking for work in companies with values that match your own.
The salary doesn’t reflect your true worth
You’re delighted to have been offered the job you desperately wanted, only to discover the package for the role doesn’t represent the value you bring in any way, shape or form. Sometimes we need to compromise on salary and perks in order to secure the right role and level of flexibility, however, you need to weigh this up carefully before you take the job. If you accept too low a salary, you can end up feeling resentful for the hours of effort you are putting in with little reward. You may need to be more ambitious and negotiate harder for your starting salary or look for a different job with a better overall package.
You are compromising your work-life balance
The final sign of whether a job is right for you is whether you feel confident the compromises and choices you are making are worth it. If you feel a job role is a compromise too far then you may need to be brave and turn it down. This could be by job with long working hours or a lengthy commute that impacts time with your family, or it could be accepting a position that fits around family life but leaves you feeling bored and unfulfilled. In either case, stick to your guns and keep searching for a role that offers you the flexibility and sense of fulfilment you crave.
Finally, don’t forget that job offers can be like buses, you wait for ages than two or three come along at once. Try not to be tempted to accept a role just because you’re worried it’s the only one you’ll get. Instead, take the time to align your job with your long term career goals, find the right cultural fit and agree an appropriate salary package and work-life balance, so that when you do sign on the dotted line you can be confident in the knowledge you have found a job that plays to your strengths.
