A lot of people think that since jobs are hard to come by, they should just accept whatever was offered to them and not ask any questions. The good thing is, this was the mindset of many people before. Nowadays, people are becoming wiser and picky about their career paths. They are aware of what they truly deserve and do not settle on the bare minimum.
People today are not content anymore with what’s being offered to them, they know what specific questions to ask in order to make sure that they’ll be managed well like a valued employee. Before accepting that job offer, here are some important things you may want to ask HR about before you accept the new offer.
1. What benefits do you offer?
We suggest that you ask HR what’s included in the benefits package. If you feel that the benefits they offer are not agreeable, it would be best that you move to the next company you’re eyeing at. It’s important to find out what the company offers, and how much you need to pay for the health plan yourself (in case they have). Ask about the coverage, if vision and dental care is available, and many more. Today, health care is costly, this is why you need to know if the employer has excellent health care coverage.
2. Is there additional incentive compensation?
In most jobs, workers are eligible to receive a base salary and additional incentive compensation (the extra pay depending on performance). If they tell you that you are entitled to receive some type of incentive compensation either commission or bonus, you need to ask about how that pay is determined. Will they base this on a formula or objective measures? Is it the usual as a percentage of your base salary, and what are the past low, median, high levels for someone at your level?
The more information you know about incentive compensation, the easier it will be for your to construct your performance to maximize it.
3. Are vacation leaves paid?
You may be hesitant to ask about vacation time this early, but it’s just the perfect time like any. This is very important because you should be able to know if you can take vacations at all prior to accepting the job offer. There are some companies that only allow time off that’s unpaid. Meanwhile, some offer paid vacations after working for them for a particular amount of time. Also, ask if you can utilize any unused vacation days and use them next year.
4. What do other employees say about the company?
You can get to know more about the company by hearing what new and old employees have to say about it. If you think it’s a good company, the HR support won’t have any problem sharing with you what their employees think about the company and even refer some people within the company you can talk to.
If you’ve learned that the employees working there are happy and satisfied with their jobs, most likely, you will too. This is for sure the company you would want to work for.
5. Is the salary negotiable?
Since they’re already offering you a job, it won’t hurt if you ask this question. Of course, this depends on the employer, and the type of job being offered, the salary may or may not be negotiable. A lot of employers won’t come right out tell you straight that salaries are negotiable because they prefer to pay as little as possible. This is why you shouldn’t be afraid to ask it, just come right out and tell them if it’s the salary is set in stone or not.
Asking this information might even surprise you with a positive answer. In most cases, if you’re the type of candidate that has enough to offer the company, the employer will definitely be more than willing to negotiate the salary a little higher than your expectations. So just do it!
6. Can I have the agreement in writing?
It’s very important that you ask if the job offer and all the things you have agreed on can be put in writing. In this way, the employer has a small chance of cancelling the offer. A written agreement would be more powerful than an oral agreement, remember that. If everything is on paper, they won’t be able to turn around later and tell you that something you’re claiming is not part of the offer. And you don’t want to perform other responsibilities that are not included in the job description. It’s a huge red flag if they are not willing to give you this in writing. Move on to the next because this may not be the best company you should work for.