Ask Yourself These 3 Questions Before Accepting an Offer

What's the difference between a candidate who has a clear and powerful career "journey," one marked by upward steps at each turn, and one whose background looks like it's all over the map?

One difference is that candidate #1 is probably earning WAY more than candidate #2!

Another difference is that candidate #1, when presented with an offer, acts in accordance with LONG-TERM, not short-term goals.

Here are 3 important questions to ask yourself before accepting a new role:

1. How will my job title look to an outsider?

Can you easily explain that there are no Director titles even though you had Director-level responsibilities?

2. How will my department name look to an outsider?

If you want to get into Public Relations, but this job places you in the Internal Communications department, you might be creating a future issue.

3. What's the job I want in 5 years?

In a small business, you get to wear many hats. But if your dream is to make a big impact at a large firm, how will you position yourself for more specialized roles? Or vice versa; you start in a large company, but are passionate about faster career growth in a start-up. How would you build skills and transferability for the future position?