Separating Your “Nice to Haves” from Your Non-Negotiables While you’re interviewing for new jobs, it’s important to know what you’re looking for. I often suggest that job seekers separate their needs into two different lists: Nice-to-haves and Non-negotiables While nice-to-haves might include things like your perfect schedule or full-time remote work, for the right job, you’d be willing to compromise on them.

But non-negotiables are the things you don’t want to bend on, at all. For instance, if the ability to pick up your kids from school is table stakes for you, this is important to divulge upfront. The best time to talk about non-negotiables is during an interview. Waiting until the offer process might seem disingenuous to a hiring manager who’s already invested plenty of time in the process. Finding a Job That Lets You Keep Working Remotely You’ve had a taste of the good life, and now you can’t settle for less? This is how a lot of people I talk to at Whitman Transition Advisors view remote or hybrid work.  

But as a lot of companies slowly get back to in-office culture, this can present a conflict for employees who simply would rather stay at home. For plenty of people, this means looking for a new job. If your objective is to find a job that enables you to work remotely, you (and your recruiter) should know this going in. It’s not always possible to simply filter a remote job board for “remote jobs only.” For one thing, a keyword search won’t catch job postings that use different wording to refer to remote work, and for another, some jobs might have hidden flexibility built in for the right candidate, but not mentioned in the upfront description. If it’s important to you, it’s a question to ask early on.

Always Take the Time to Evaluate a Job Offer It’s been a slog, this job search. And you’ve finally gotten an offer from a company you’ve had your eyes on. But hold up! Before you accept it, take some time to think it over. It can be easy to react from a place of fear: “What if this is the best or only offer I get? I need a job!” I often recommend to the job seekers I work with that they think beyond salary and benefits when evaluating a job offer.

For instance, have you thought about: The “intangible” benefits of the job, like work culture and educational opportunities What will your commute be like? Or, conversely, what the remote options will be for this role? And most importantly, perhaps, how this job will impact your long-term career prospects and potential There are trade-offs with any role, of course, and you’re not always going to find the perfect fit. But taking the time to consider whether this one will be perfect “enough” will pay off in the long run.

This Month’s Must-Reads Recruiters like me are always here to bounce ideas off of. If you ever want to chat about your job search, reach out. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a few of the best things I read in the last month… If you’re thinking of adding some pizzazz to your resume, here are some ideas from makeuseof.com Here are some techniques Business Insider says will help you stand out on LinkedIn Some handy cover letter openers suggested by The Muse

Phil Whitman

Whitman Transition Advisors