Profile Selection Criteria

 Profile Selection Criteria While Considering a Job Change :

As discussed in an earlier post, there are some certain criteria that can help us do a self assessment on our job satisfaction, it is equally important that one may have to also carry out a detailed study on all different criteria for selection of the next job & profile. 

Though it is absolutely necessary to have a clear understanding on the reasons for which one is considering changing their job, at the same point in time, those very reasons shouldn't be the only criteria or a base to be considered for selection of a new job.

For example someone is experiencing too much work load or pressure from the seniors & hence they are looking for a change, then within an interview time of 30 minutes, it may be very difficult to find out if the new job or the senior will be more accommodating than the present one.

Following are few of such criteria that can be considered:
A) Do not remain confined to look for the next job to get rid with the limitations you may have in the present job, as those limitation might be contributed to many other factors & one may end up meeting the same limitations in every next job that they take up.

B) Every business that is giving employment opportunities is still going to be driven by the principle of demand & supply. While some products & services are marketed & promoted to get ahead of their competitors, they all may still follow the natural course of demand.

C) Where do the product or service that you are part of its operation stand in its daily application? We use toothbrushes every day & may keep changing it every couple of months, so that product is a necessity with its life cycle of 2 months. But in the case of a vacuum cleaner we may use it once in a week & the durable may last for over a decade if not more, while within the period when the time is due to replace it, the technology may have advanced in multiple folds.

D) So product & services that the organization is catering becomes important for the individuals working for them, as the growth of the individuals is directly proportional to the growth & cycle of the product or services being provided. These can be classified as products or services that are necessity, essential or luxury.

E) Here it may be assumed that FMCG, Phrama, Automobile & other consumable manufacturing & services providers in the same field may have better prospects to maintain their steady growth, as the product & service cycles are frequent & a necessity. Whereas durables in house & entertainment can be essentials, while tourism & jewelries can be taken as luxuries.

F) This does not mean that other sectors & fields are not worth working for, in some cases it might even become a specialized skill or job that may get good remuneration & job satisfaction, but still are subject to evaluation.

G) Try to understand the growth pattern of your organization, not to fetch the balance sheet, but with the volume of product being processed, or service leads converted into business, it can easily give an fair idea if the business is just sustaining or growing, likewise the growth pattern of the organization being considered for a change can also be studied by a simple market survey.

H) What level of a city or town you are residing & working, is it a Metropolis, or below an Metropolis level, or an Mega City, as the cost of living might vary, along with the available options & opportunities. Likewise check if the city is having any specific business type that is established around it, like an IT hub, pharma hub or automobile hub.

I) Give a relook at your lifestyle, do you have an active family or friend circle that you go out or meet frequently? do you have your own house, do your kids are in school that cannot be shifted? Is your work place commutable within 30 minutes from your residence? As these factors cannot be overlooked, if either of these factors are going to get impacted with the decision of changing the job then they have to be critically analyzed.

J) Very loud but most important, check the government policies & plans on the product or services, many countries banned single time use of plastic products, is the organization into any such products or services that is being critically monitored by the government agencies & is likely to remain under scrutiny?

K) If already concluded to appear for an interview, than prefer to have on site/office face to face interview, as that may give opportunity to not only check the environment of your future workplace, it may also reveal the working conditions, attitude of the people working there, the response level of HR & approach of the interviewing panel. Analyze all of it critically not just because you are already in the quest of changing the job, you may only look into the good things, try to strike a balance & also identify the flaws.

L) Salary is a very important factory above all, with an expected hike offered in salary in new job people may want to go that extra mile in making willful adjust in almost every other aspect of their new jobs, but then do these assessment wisely as the extra pay may run into new billing cycles in couple of months & then the dissatisfaction may surface over again. Salary should be a secondary reason to seek job change, primary should be working environment, value & job satisfaction, followed by growth prospects.

M) Note down your core competencies, are you good at improving your daily work by doing the same job diligently? or you easily get bored doing the same job day in & out. Are you proactive & hyper sensitive with your own deliverables? Are you fond of desk jobs or travelling jobs? Do you like to interact with many individuals comfortably or do you like to remain focused on individuals in limited numbers for your daily job? As all these will also help one to understand that choice, competencies & comfort levels will be tested in every new Job.

N) Do a very careful financial assessment, do include your spouse or parents, to do the risk analysis, the difference in the salary that might be calculated may not be worth risking the job change, unless the growth prospects are promising & the limitations at the present work place are overwhelming. 

O) Discretely try to find out from your seniors or other colleagues about the organization that you are trying to consider, their reputation, attrition rate, CSR activities, culture & yearly bonus & increment being issued.

Most importantly, have an open mind, maybe after the analysis you may realize that the limitations that you are managing in the present profile & workplace are still worth more than to risk a change that will not only challenge you professionally but, you will be tested mentally, emotionally & psychologically as well.

All the best!