Terms of Engagement!

Throughout my  corporate career, I was honoured to be associated with some great brands and good men. However, there were some mistakes which I did and have seen many other colleagues and industry mates commit too. Today I  want to give some pointers to readers on what to look for before your next big assignment.

1. Get your Job description  right: 

Make sure you are getting complete clarity on your job role , who your report to and how you are going to be  measured for your performance. Quite possibly you will be in an environment that will be  starting from scratch or having fairly informal HR setup. Push for the job description and understand what is to be delivered.  If the companies/ HR is not able to give this , give them time to come back on this . If they do not offer it in the time limit too, put a pin on that offer.

2. Get the right break up of your components: 

It is imperative that you get the salary components right.. Take it to a Chartered accountant and get help on a comparison of your current  pay package and benefits vs the new offer. Unless that difference is significant for you to change, put a pin on the offer.

3. Check for references:

Just as the company would check your reference, you need to get across to a few individuals to know/ learn about the company. In this connected  world, its easy to get to know such people and even easier to get advised. Safeguard yourself against internal policies . You may also look into Employer surveys/ great place to work rankings etc if they are  in public domain.

4. Know your age group:

It is imperative to know how many people are there in your age group in your cadre. You can be easily left out if you have to deal with varied age groups .. you are either going to do what others say or no one is gong to do what you say if  age class differences exist. You need to be fortunate to have a consensual decision making  group.

This can be found from Linkedin again where there is a bar graph of age vs designation for organisations.  Of course this is only for those members of the organisation who are in linkedin.  ( That itself  could say what the network culture of the organisation is.)

5. Look for Plans: 

Read a lot into the companies press releases/ annual reports.. Look for how much space they devote to products and services and their progress..  If you are likely to handle a P/L , be even more aware of this.

6. Who is in the Board ?

Look for what kind of profile sit in the board. If there are a variety of people then the chances of your CEO being advised right are high. For example,  If its a bunch of Chartered accountants, then forget this place.. There will be no product approach to anything here. Cost and Cash flows are the most that will figure in your agenda most often.

7. Never rush into joining:

Serve your full notice period and complete your assignment in your current place. If you leave things midway, there is every chance that your future employer will start interaction from day one with the opinion that you will get away some day- halfway.

I am in no way advising you to join without the money objective.  Pl make your shift for that alone if its your objective.  But make sure you land in a place which makes you happy.

BTW, these could be traits that you may find in your current organisation too. Discuss with the leaders and bring about a change where needed.

Happy Careers!

PS: I will be happy for you to share this  article with many of your friends and colleagues. Pl help them if the above are relevant.