The Ultimate Job Search Checklist

If you’ve already gone through the proactive checklist to find a job, you have likely started working towards establishing meaningful relationships that have led to good job prospects. Now it’s time to take the next step and make sure the job opportunities you’re applying for will be a good fit for you in the long-term.

To begin the job search checklist process, consider and rate the most important job factors listed below:

• Work Location and Commute: How important is the location of your next job? Do you care if it’s out of state and what’s the ultimate commute time you’re willing to travel to work?
• Travel For Work: Based on your lifestyle, is traveling for work something that would come as a welcome bonus, or a big stress-maker? How important is it that your next job aligns with this preference?
• Work Compensation: For this, consider not only what you think your value in the industry is, but also the level of competition vying for the same positions you are. Are you willing to be flexible on this, or do you have a number you for compensation?
• Work schedule: What kind of schedule do you desire for your job and how important is it that the position caters to that? Keep in mind that if you want to stay away from a regular 9-to-5 position, you may greatly limit your prospective job options.
• Work Culture: Consider what type of work culture you want to be surrounded by everyday and how important it is to have that.
• Work Benefits: What do you care most about when it comes to benefits? Is it flextime, bonuses, fast career progression, additional time off, or something thing? Then, consider how important this is to you in the big picture.
• Company Values: How important is it that the values of a prospective employer align with your personal values?
• Team: What sort of team do you envision yourself working with? Is it a collaborative, social environment, or a more independent and quiet environment? How important is it that your job fits this expectation?
• Management Style: What do you expect and require from a manager in your next job? Do you like constant interaction and task-giving, or do you prefer to be left on your own with little direction? How important is it that you find a job in which you work with someone that has this management style?
• Scope Of Work: In your job search, you will generally have a good idea of the type of work you’re applying for, but how flexible are you willing to be if something else comes along that doesn’t fit the exact mold of what you were thinking?

Now, take a look at how you ranked each of these factors in the job search checklist and use that to understand what elements of your next job are most important to you. Keep the general idea of your most important factors in mind while you’re searching for a job to help you easily weed out the least fitting positions.

Once you find a good prospective job, you can assess the role against the ranked job search checklist and make sure it comes close to your expectations. Go through each item to see how many of your top job factor priorities are covered.

But remember: no job is going to be a perfect fit, and you may not be in a position to request everything on the checklist. However, this will at least serve as a guide to help you understand what’s truly important and better define what an ideal job looks like to you.

Image Courtesy of AJC1; Flickr