WW EP07 - Mehar x Garima

The main ideas from this information are: - When considering a job offer, it is important to prioritize purpose, position, people, and compensation. - Purpose is the reason for existence and should drive motivation in a job. - Other parameters to consider include the work culture, growth prospects, reputation of the company, and manager's way of working. - Salary is not the only factor to consider, non-monetary benefits such as partnership for growth and learning opportunities are important too. - Sometimes, accepting a lower salary for better learning opportunities can be a good choice. - It is important to understand the reasons behind a lower salary offer and address any objections. - Researching and asking questions during the job interview process is helpful. Think about the principle of four Ps. It starts with purpose, followed by position, then people and paisa. And attach a priority to all of these four things and then make a call. So an important thing to remember is that when you are sitting across the table with an employer, you are not in a lesser powerful situation. So you are as equal because you need a job and the person sitting across the table needs an employer. So reading the contract and the terms and conditions attached to job is very, very crucial. And there are things that people miss out, whether it is in terms of benefits, you know, it's in terms of leave, the terms to state that if there's a layoff, what will be the situation. Congratulations, you got the job. You feel excited, relieved and proud of yourself. And so you should. But how much do you really know about this job? The work culture there, the growth prospects, the reputation of the company, your manager's way of working. So before you reply to accept, take a minute to re-read and investigate the offer letter. Why? Because what if you make the wrong choice? What if it turns out to be a mistake? Would you rather take the time to think about all the parameters of the job before accepting it because nobody wants to be stuck at a job they don't want, right? So what are the factors you need to keep in mind before you accept the job offer that may seem ideal at first sight? Well, let's figure out and get to the bottom of that in our latest episode of WorkWise with Naukri. You shouldn't accept just any job offer. We don't think that we should be picky. Many of us hurriedly just accept the first job offer that comes our way and then regret it months or even weeks after joining. But how and where do we evaluate whether a job offer is the right one or not? What is the secret? To answer these questions today, we have Garima Gulati, who is the Director HR and Communications at Client Associates. She is a self-directed and motivated HR business leader with more than 17 years of experience in team building, employee engagement, and leadership development. Welcome Garima, thank you for joining us today. Thank you Meher, I'm looking forward to it. So Garima, many people see salary as the key factor when they're deciding whether to accept a job offer or not. But I truly believe that it could be just one of the factors that you need to evaluate before you accept the job role. So my question to you is, money and role quite recently have been the deciding factors for when it comes to evaluating a job offer for most of us and I've been there too. But are there other parameters to keep in mind? If yes, what are these parameters according to you? I would like you to step back a little bit to share with you the four Ps which I think everybody should keep in mind and in that specific order. So it's purpose, position, people and paisa. A lot of us start with the money first as you've said and then a position also has become the focal point. But what gets missed is the importance of people and purpose for which you are wanting to pick the role that we are now discussing for. Now purpose in the recent past has been used or misused in multiple ways. I'd just like to spend a couple of seconds there. So purpose is something which motivates you to get out of bed every day to do what you do. And all of us spend anywhere from 9 to 12 hours or for some it extends to 15 or 16 hours at work as well. Now if you don't have a strong reason, a strong existence or problem that you're solving for, then you would not be motivated to go that extra mile. So that's the purpose. Now people get confused between the purpose, the vision and the mission as well because a lot of firms use the mission and the vision but not as much the purpose. So purpose is what drives you. Vision is the further level of translation to say that what is it that you're trying to achieve and mission is the action plan attached to it. So just to simplify, purpose is the reason of existence which gets translated to vision and executed through mission. That I think is very important for all of us to understand when we are appearing for a job interview. To say that what is the purpose of the organization, what are the people that I'll be working with, what is the position and then the compensation of course. These four things for me follow that order but for different people it can have different orders. The point is to be able to become self-aware, assess your order and then take a call. Wonderful Rehma, that's such an easy and insightful way of remembering the four Ps. I love that. I love that. Thank you for sharing. I think you're absolutely right. We have to remember what is the purpose behind the company's like you said vision, mission and will I be actually driven by the purpose of the organization because we just jump into accepting just any job offer. And that actually brings me to the second question Garima because you said something about the Pesa element which is the compensation but the salary that you may be offered let's say for example might be higher than your current salary like the one you're getting in your previous job but if your employer's retirement plan contributions are lower you could be worse off in the long term. So my question there is, is that why we need to look at other parameters even in this Pesa element? When would a job offering less money at a lower position be my pick when I have something better? What could be some of the non-monetary benefits that one can look at and where does one look for those? I think absolutely. Money is just as you've also said one element but a critical element also at the end of the day. Now there are a lot of components attached to both the structure of salary and beyond salary. The non-monetary benefits that I think we all must look for are at two levels for me. One is the way in which you think you will be partnering for the growth of the organization and second is the opportunity of learning. So by partnership I mean that do you think you'll be in a position wherein you can take the critical decisions that are important for you to take for the job that you are in to perform it at the best level? Would you be given an opportunity to take care of your team well? Are the policies supportive for the growth of employees? Is there an ESOP plan in place through which you are able to be more involved to making the organization great for learning? See all of us as humans wish to evolve over the course of time. So somebody I used to work with said very nice three things. So he said that whenever you are in job you need to take care of three things broadly. One that you love what you do, second that you like the people that you work with and third that you're able to relate to the organization at large. And if there's anything of this list which is missing then that's not the right place for you to be at. And incidentally since you spoke about the fact that will there be any position wherein somebody may or should accept a salary which is lower than your current. I've been in that position twice wherein I had taken this call. The first was when I was very new in the HR field. So I started my career as a techie. I did that for a few years and then made a move towards the HR side. And the HR was a non-typical HR kind of role. It didn't involve HR ops, policies etc. And I did the employee branding, I did the leadership hiring. But then I felt that to be able to be a wholesome HR I need to do a whole lot more and to be able to do that I joined a startup. Now when you join a startup the stuff for you to do is immense. There's no hours, there's no boundary between roles and there's a great opportunity for learning, failing, trying and retrying all of it. And the money of course was lower because the organization was building up. So I had this trade-off to say that what is it that I pick. And I said that money is important but at this stage more than money the learning that I'll get from this is important. And if I'm able to get the learning I would be able to take care of the money part later. It was really tough. There were no moments wherein I felt that maybe I'm not valued enough and in any case the money is lower and you are not in the place to take the right calls because this organization which is growing at a very very fast pace. But I not for a second though regretted my taking the low salary for that year because there's huge learning that I had been able to sort of pick on and I was sure that that will give me a jump start wherever I will go from there. What I observed is that a lot of candidates if the job offer is lesser they just will reject it on a case. But what I think one should do is just try and understand about the reasons of somebody offering you lesser than what you are at. And once you are able to understand those reasons one that you'll be able to empathize with that person better. And second that if there's an objection that arises right you are able to address that as well. So for example if I am hiring somebody for the business development the person has been in a support role and I feel as a recruiting manager that the person will need a lot of time to upskill and because of that assumption that I have I may be offering somebody less. But if the other person asks me and I state this as a reason the person may have done something that wouldn't have come across in the interview and because I've stated the reason the other person gets an opportunity to address it to say that an example statement could be that I understand what what you are saying but there's so so and so that I have done and that will give me a foundation to build what you're wanting me to without spending that much time right. So a lot of these things of being more involved doing your research and asking out are not quite helpful. Wow I love that Dharama and I resonate with that so much. I also joined an organization where I compromised on my designation only because I was making a career pivot and I was switching from finance to strategy. So I think in the long we have to think about the long run also. Dharama that brings me to the next question. A lot of young professionals just accept the first job offer that comes their way without spending time reading the offer letter the work contract properly because they're in a hurry to accept the first job offer that comes their way like a test. So what according to you is the thing that one needs to read carefully in the job contract and what are the things that we may skip and we should pay attention to when we're going through that contract? So an important thing to remember is that when you are sitting across the table with an employer you are not in a lesser powerful situation. So you are as equal because you need a job and the person sitting across the table needs an employee. So you are almost in equal position of power and approach you're wanting to know more you're asking for the right thing is very very important. So reading the contract and the terms and conditions attached to job is very very crucial and there are things that people miss out whether it is in terms of benefits, you know it's in terms of lease, the terms to state that if there's a layoff what will be the situation will there be a severance package or not what's the notice period like if there's a case of a turmoil because of a local situation or a global situation and the industry gets impacted what will happen then etc. So different organizations have anywhere from a two-pager to a 15-pager kind of a contract and there needs to be enough time spent on all of that and there's nothing wrong in seeking for more time to know. It's not to say that you are not trusting the employer or for the stuff that's written it's only to become more aware of what you're getting into so that all these things are not a bother on your mind either at that point in time or in future. Yeah yeah definitely. Actually I talk to a lot of students who in the beginning of their careers accept these jobs because they're just chasing more money and I understand like you said everybody's financial situation is different you know family backgrounds are different and responsibilities may be different but sometimes they just solely just to get more money in the short run they just accept this job offer and in the long run sometimes they don't feel you know very content. I myself have been in that position where I worked so hard to get a promotion and make more money but once I got it I still felt a little empty and lost on the inside of what am I doing with my life to actually want to work here in the long run but many of us don't actually sit back and think about the long-term aspect and just get into the you know the money aspect of a job but with all these layoffs that are going on around us it's important to ask ourselves whether this role will be stable for us, will it challenge us, will it expose us to new opportunities and enable us to grow in the long run. So how do you think we can evaluate these parameters such as company culture, its brand value, long-term career progression and what kind of avenues are there that we can trust like I can trust or somebody listening to this may be able to trust. I would say that a lot of people attach the layoff to the brand that they'll be working with right yeah so I think the underlying thing to keep in mind I'm not saying that the brand is not important because if the brand is there for so many years the base framework that they will have in terms of the policies in terms of the systems that will be very very robust but when you're looking at that don't let your mind be overpowered by only the brand that you see in the visible space. So what I think now one should do is that beyond the brand do your own bit of research spend time on the web is now you know there's a Glassdoor right then there's a LinkedIn right there's an IM jobs right and there's an Aukri of course right so then there are all these elements which will help you understand more about the culture of the organization the kind of people that are working there. I have always encouraged people that I have interviewed to reach out to more employees on LinkedIn and then have a discussion with them right so very very important is to be able to understand what you're getting into and at the same time as I said earlier also ask right so don't shy from asking what could be a point of concern for you but an important thing to note is that don't ask from the point of view of making the other person feel that they have to sell the job opportunity to you ask it in a manner to say that I wish to partner and I'm not here to just take a job I am here to be your partner and hence getting an answer of all these things is very important for me because I'm not looking at a two month a six month or an year stint I want to make it longer and because of that I want to know all of this even if it were to not mature at the end of the day the person that you're talking to will highly appreciate the way in which you're getting involved in understanding the way in which the organization works. I do it a lot of times and I've seen a lot of other organizations also do it that let the candidates spend time with more than two three people who are the typical interviewers for that position right so if the person is being interviewed for a sales role you will of course have the person interviewed from a sales director a vpn but then also let the person talk to somebody who is a part of that team right so somebody could be a part of the support function somebody could be a part of it I know the accounting function some somebody can be part of the research function so just help them having that wider view before they take a call right so that's one second I think that the onus of being able to take the right decision is both in the hands of the candidate and the interviewer as an interviewer it's their responsibility to help build a lot of clarity to arrive at a decision that helps both sides right so the person as you've said right may jump into an offer only by looking at money now if that were to be the case the relationship would be detrimental for both sides for the person who's taking the job it's the career at stake for the other person it's the whole effort engagement and all of that which will go down the drain if the person needs in the next six months right so don't approach it from the point of view to say that I wish to close it of course that's your desire but you close it with the right person with whom you can bank on for the future relationship. That's a great perspective Karima, thanks for sharing. Now actually I just want to jump into the next question which is basically do we have a choice to include more parameters when we're having that conversation with the interviewer can we negotiate other parameters such as flexible working hours, remote working, having weekends off, do you think there is a scope to do that because most of us don't do that thinking that the job market is very competitive and the answer is just going to be no. Do you think Karima can we actually negotiate these other parameters? I think we can if we are not scared to ask a lot of times we feel intimidated when we are sitting in front of the interviewer because maybe that scare as you said of losing it all is so higher in our mind but I think if one is able to think about the priority of needs that you have and you articulate them with the interviewer in the most honest manner then you can ask for all of it. A tip to keep in mind is that when you are asking your intention should not be to suck it all out from the role because if that's the intention the other person will get it. So be honest, be candid, be elaborative in what you are wanting to ask for and approach it from this standpoint see that if you're not asking in any case it's a no. So the worst is already there if you ask the chances of it sailing through are more even if it doesn't sail through the other person is able to understand what is more important for you and will always keep that in mind to ensure that as and when there's a flexibility that can be offered to you it gets done. I have had a lot of examples of people working with me wherein they wanted to avail flexi hours because they were young moms. I myself have asked for it a lot of times. I remember once after my work break so I have about a year and a half of work break after my first child was born. My son was very small and the job used to be about an hour and a half of a travel. So I spoke to my manager, I told the person that see I will be in office for a certain eight, eight and a half hours every day but please allow me the flexibility to start early and leave early and I will ensure that the work deliverables are not impacted at all. If there's something that's left for the day I will go back home, re-login and ensure it gets completed. It wasn't a culture because at that time I was a part of the TCS group and they as all of us know are very strict in terms of the policies timings and a lot of other things but the person I was talking to understood my background and basis that he said okay let's try it for a week and then let's see what we want to do. And I then ensured because I asked for it, I wanted to ensure that I take full ownership of what I've asked for and I didn't leave any stone unturned in trying to ensure that it gets done and it was acknowledged, appreciated and then that became an example for a lot of other people to ask for it with the due plan in place and for the managers to not approach it by a simple plain no to say that it's not a part of the policy. I love that. Thank you for Malgarima for sharing. Like you said if you never ask the answer will always be no so might as well just ask. Thank you so much for sharing your valuable insights. It's true once you finish evaluating your job offer it's time to make a decision. Some offers are just too good to refuse. The pros outweigh the cons and the new role will provide you with career progression in the areas that matter the most to you. If this is the case for you accepting the offer might be just the right way to go but make sure to decide after carefully considering all aspects. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Workwise with Naukri. I hope you enjoyed listening to this episode. If you did, don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you're listening to this. Also do share this with your friends who'd benefit from this episode. What parameters will you keep in mind to evaluate your job offer going forward? Is there anything that we all can learn from? You can all share your perspective on Twitter and LinkedIn and use the hashtag Workwise with Naukri. Three of the best perspectives will get a special surprise from us. So go ahead and share your perspective on your social media. Thanks again for listening to this episode. In the next episode our host Deepak Parikh will bring an interesting episode on toxic work culture. I'm your host Neha Sindhu Batra and you were listening to Workwise with Naukri, a career podcast from Naukri.com produced by Vine Studios.