What You Should Know Before You Find a New Job
Are you dreaming of finding a new job?
Data indicate that job ads are read more thoroughly during vacation breaks. Many people start
thinking about finding a new job when they have some time off from their current one.
I think that it is positive that you find some time during your vacation to ponder where you are in
life and whether you have found your vocation. However, before you decide on finding a new
job, you should think about this:
Are you currently feeling that you are in a situation where you go to work solely because you
have to and not because you really want to? That doesn’t make sense in the long run. We will
simply burn out if we keep on doing something that we don’t really want to for a long period of
time. It may be necessary for a short while to hold down a job just to be able to pay the rent, but
if you look at things in a greater perspective, you should aspire to find something to do that will
at least give you the satisfaction of having more good than bad days.
I would like to share what I take into consideration when I receive job offers before I decide on
saying yes or no.
You have the power to influence whether you feel happy in your current job!
Before you decide on saying yes to a new job, you should carefully consider if you just need a
long vacation, if you are just feeling bored, or if you really do need a new job.
Question 1: Am I satisfied in my current job?
Answer:
Yes, absolutely.
Yes, I think so.
I am not sure.
No, not really.
No, absolutely not.
Question 2: Have I achieved everything that I can in my current job?
Answer:
Yes, absolutely.
Yes, I think so.
I am not sure.
No, not really.
No, absolutely not.
How did you answer?
Should you change jobs?
In order to figure out whether you should change jobs, you can ask yourself the following
questions:
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest), how happy am I about my job in
general?
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest), how happy am I about the professional
aspects of my work?
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest), how happy am I about my working
conditions (e.g., company, schedule, responsibilities)?
If you are uncertain about whether to change jobs, then consider what you can do to make your
current job more exciting and challenging. It is often possible for you to create the desired
opportunities. It is all about having the courage to pursue these opportunities.
The claim that I am making is supported by various researchers and dissertations on happiness.
Studies indicate that 50% of your happiness is affected by your genes and 10% is controlled by
personal circumstances (marital status, financial status, health). You can influence the
remaining 40%.
As mentioned, happiness at the workplace can be achieved by you simply deciding to do
something completely different or to make some changes at your current workplace. For
example, you could ask the management to have a look at your job description and perhaps
adjust it to better match you and your competences.
You should feel that your job is meaningful and that it challenges you both personally and
professionally. Challenges can be big or small, but you must feel at least a little bit challenged.
If you answered that you are absolutely certain that a job switch is the right direction for you,
you have to consider very carefully where you want to go. You have to think about whether you
are just moving away from something or are actually going to a place where you really want to
be.
What is a meaningful job for you?
What should you really be doing, and where should you work? Do you remember any situation,
task, topic, hobby, individual, etc., that made you feel really motivated and that you enjoyed
working with?
If you are unsure about whether you are working within the right field, you should think about
what the right career is for you!
What career?
What would be the perfect working life for you? What does career mean to you?
Career is not the same as a lot of money and prestige. It can be to some people, but a real career
entails you working with something that you enjoy and are good at, if you ask me.
Your career can be many things—we are talking about your working life, and there are many
directions to take. No direction is more correct than others.
It is my experience that success doesn’t always lead to happiness. I know people who are very
successful, but they are bored and not feeling very happy with what they do.
Success isn’t always success
I am of the opinion that a happy working life is created through interesting job content, talented
colleagues (actually, they should be much more talented than I am), varying work tasks, and
demanding partners.
The chicken and the egg
You should thoughtfully analyze what you can do, what you are good at, and what you feel
passionate about.
What is your passion? What makes you most happy in life?
My passion is . . . I’m passionate about working with . . .
____________________________________________________
What should you be working with?
Don’t be too critical of yourself—but be honest: what do you honestly do best?
What is your true career? Anything can be a career—as long as it is legal. ;-)
Some people don’t think that a hobby can become a career. A hobby can become your career if
you are passionate about it. Think about all of the successful people who are living untraditional
yet good lives. They can be anything—tattoo artists, racing drivers, equestrians, painters,
lecturers, managers, consultants, reviewers, musicians, IT nerds, and so on.
Can any of those hobbies become a career? If yes, how?
____________________________________________________
When you have discovered what you are passionate about, you can start identifying your
strengths and opportunities.
List your strengths in the left column.
List your opportunities in the right column.
My strengths My opportunities
Question for you:
What does a good working day look like for you? List five characteristics of a good day:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Casting of companies
Crisis or no crisis—it is good for all of us to continuously consider our working situation. By
doing so, we can become better prepared to make the right choice about where we can or should
be working to obtain the best conditions and to bring out the best in ourselves and our lives.
Casting of company, manager, colleagues, and employees
If you are considering starting a new job, promise me that you will analyze your new company
thoroughly.
It happens too often that you see a job ad or hear about a job, attend a couple of job interviews,
and then perhaps get the job. You start in the job and find out that the job has been oversold to
you. It happens that companies aren’t completely honest with you about what their challenges
are.
Here are a couple of examples:
During the interview: “We are a small close-knit company with a long history behind us. Our
customers are very satisfied with our performance. We have unique products and few
competitors. We sell all over the world without any problems. Our products are certified, and
now the challenge is just to get them into more markets. We just spent several months developing
a five-year strategic plan, and we expect massive growth in the future, which will allow
everybody to be richly awarded for their efforts. We expect to grow 20% over the next five
years.”
Reality: Only a few months later, it becomes clear that the products are certified in only a few
countries and that the strategy is based on theoretical work and not on real market data.
The sales manager, who has access to the most important data about what is actually happening
in the market, did not even participate in the strategy work, which is a fatal mistake.
Furthermore, subsequent interviews with some of the largest and most important customers show
that they are extremely unsatisfied with the company and are considering terminating the
collaboration. To make it even more dramatic, the members of the management team aren’t
working very well together, and there is a lot of intrigue in the organization. People do not like
one another and are hardly on speaking terms. It turns out that the employees are poorly
managed, and last but not least, the company isn’t really earning any money.
Would you say yes to work for this company? Unfortunately, for most people, the answer to that
question is yes, because they do not gather sufficient information before accepting a job position.
We don’t demand to meet a couple of clients and colleagues in order to establish as good a
picture of the company as possible before making our decision about whether to accept the job.
If you are to become successful, you have to keep in mind that you don’t create success on your
own. Success is created together with other people. Wouldn’t you like to know more about the
team that you will become a part of or are responsible for?
If you dare—and you should—you should request to speak with one to three key employees
before you accept the job. The knowledge you will gain from these talks constitutes a mini 360-
degree analysis that will offer you critical information about the company, as well as its
products, management, system, etc. You can explain your desire to have these talks by saying
that you would like to know what you are getting yourself into so that you will understand your
responsibilities better and can prepare optimally for the job.
Failures often boil down to lack of matching chemistry and culture, so make sure to take the soft
factors into consideration as well.
In the following, you can read a few really good recommendations on how to cast a company
and avoid the biggest mistakes:
Before you attend the job interview with your new partner (your new place of work), it is wise to
carry out its so-called due diligence.
It is normal to carry out the so-called due diligence in an acquisition or merger process between
two companies. An acquisition is kind of what a company does when a new employee is hired—
the company acquires the services of the new employee. As a job seeker, you are asked to
provide analysis material about yourself, such as a job application letter, a resume, certificates,
references, etc. This is to ensure that the company can establish a picture of you even before you
show up for the job interview. The company is preparing for the final analysis: the oral
examination where the chemistry between you and the company is tested.
I recommend that you turn the situation around and spend the necessary time studying the
company—in other words, you will carry out your due diligence of the employer! Besides
honestly considering if the chemistry with the immediate superior is okay, you should do a more
thorough evaluation.
How do you do that?
You should always initiate your analysis by studying the company’s financial key figures. This is
done most efficiently by requesting the annual accounts from the company. Go as far back as
possible, preferably a minimum of five years. If the company is listed on the stock exchange, it is
relatively easy to acquire the annual accounts from the last five years. If the company isn’t listed,
you can request the annual accounts from your local Securities and Exchange Commission. What
should you look for in the annual accounts? There is a lot of information in annual accounts, but
let me give you a few suggestions on the most relevant sections and key figures.
A. The management report. This is the annual statement on the state of the company.
Unfortunately, a lot of companies are not taking advantage of this great opportunity for
communicating with shareholders and other interested parties. The best management reports are
almost like chapters in a book written each year with a red thread tying them together.
Personally, I have preference for those companies that focus on answering to the owners and
evaluating the objectives presented to the investors. Here, I am primarily thinking about financial
targets. It is optimal if the company has estimated that the success criteria for the year are met at
a given level of earnings and returns on the invested capital with a certain level of free cash flow
(cash flow represents the financial movements in and out of the company). It is equally important
that the management communicates the objectives for the coming years and that it is
subsequently held accountable.
B. Financial key figures. These are revenue growth and earnings growth. Here, it is important to
differentiate between growth in revenue and acquired growth. If the company is growing under
its own steam, there is a good chance that basic values and culture are kept intact, while it can be
difficult to retain culture and values if the company primarily has grown via the acquisition of
other companies. Did the earnings keep up with the revenue? Pay attention to the key figures for
return on the invested capital (ROCE) and return on equity (ROE). How do the company’s key
figures for cash flow look? Companies with a large free cash flow are ones that produce a return
to their owners—they create value. Companies can of course be capital intensive and produce a
negative cash flow in the establishment phase. There are many key figures worth studying, and
some key figures vary in importance from company to company and industry to industry, but the
most important key figure for an owner will always be the profit: cash is king.
C. Staff turnover. When you study your future workplace, it is relevant to have a look at the
staff turnover—a high turnover can indicate that there are some problems in the company.
D. Conversations. It is a good idea to talk with former employees and/or some of the company’s
competitors and customers as part of the due diligence. These parties can offer you the public
view on the company. What management philosophy characterizes the company?
E. Casting of the manager. It is often difficult to make a career in companies run by
charismatic and self-promoting managers. Often, there is no space for more “ambitious” people
in the organization. Look for companies with broad-based values that you can identify with.
Look for companies that develop on the basis of broad competences and not on the basis of the
abilities of individual superegos. In my experience, a good manager hires competences that
complement the company’s strengths. A good manager listens and gives space to other people. A
good manager is honest, for good or bad. A good manager is dynamic, flexible, results-oriented,
and realistically optimistic by nature. Avoid managers who constantly focus on negative
challenges and take the responsibility for picking up after other people—the manager needs an
assistant for that. A good manager must lead and be the best example for the company’s
employees.
Source: Peter Roerdam Bundgaard, general manager in Bundgaard, Lund & Simoni Capital
Management Fondsmæglerselskab A/S (BL&S)
Good luck!
