Congrats! You’ve applied for a job, nailed the interview and gotten the right job offer. But the prospect of starting a new job can come with a mix of feelings: excitement for new faces and projects, and—for some—fear that you might be signing up for the wrong gig.
If you’re losing sleep about whether a prospective job is the one for you, read on, because the crowdsourcing geniuses at Quora have suggested ways to tell if a job is right for you. Here’s their collective wisdom to help you figure it out.
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1. Interview the Interviewer
“You’ll know when you’re taking the right job by asking the right questions and doing your homework. Leverage your interview as an excellent opportunity to interview the employer just as much as they’re doing their due diligence on you.” —Vicki Salemi
The interview is a great time ask questions, both to impress your interviewer and to learn about the people and the organization. Salemi, a career expert at Monster and U.S. News Money, suggests taking note of whether your potential boss was respectful to you during the interview, and if you even like this person. She also advises asking about opportunities for growth on the potential job.
2. Tilt a Beer
“[W]hen interviewing a person to work for you, or a person to work for, you have to be able to think to yourself: let’s say I had a hard day with this person, we argued and we fought at work about things and it was a bad day. Would I still be able to go to a bar and tilt a beer with that person?” —John Byrd
Byrd describes this test as the “tilt a beer test,” for obvious reasons. If you’re on the fence about the person you’d be working for, consider this experiment. If you’re able to answer yes to the question above, then Byrd says you’ve taken the right job.
3. Consider the Alternatives
“I don’t think you should evaluate it as the ‘right’ job. It is one choice that is a relative choice compared with available alternatives. So given the skills and qualifications you have, and the opportunities available, is it a job that compensates well, is ethical and provides experience, contacts and skills that compare well with other possible jobs?” —Mark Switzer
Like everything in life, the rightness of a job is relative. This is just one job in a career that will have several. So if it seems better than what you have now, and can help you build your skills, why not take the leap? Or wait for something better to come along. Your call.
4. Do a Passion Check for the Right Job
“There is high correlation between things that come easy to you and job satisfaction. You need to have passion; if it’s easy to you, there is good synergy, you are naturally flowing, and it gives you energy. It should be something that you truly love, that makes you want to improve and that you have success in.” —Abdel Aziz Shokair
When you stop limiting yourself to a certain salary and start going after the jobs you’re passionate about (even if they don’t line up with your degree or skill set), Shokair says opportunities will open up to you.
