When I first decided I was going to look for a new job, I sat down to really think about what mattered to me in a job. If you would have asked me right out of college what mattered to me in a career I would have said money. Of course, money is the most important thing. Right?
Now that I have a few different jobs under my belt my perspective has drastically changed. I’ve had jobs that pay well, but have horrible bosses and absolutely no work-life balance. So when I really sat down to think about my career, my top 3 non-negotiable job priorities were…
Job Priorities
Work-Life Balance
Work-Life Balance is something that is very important to me. I feel like this is something that is rare in today’s society especially if you work in social media or marketing. I once confronted a manager saying that this was something I was struggling with and I wasn’t getting to spend enough time with Jared. They looked at me and said, “You need to let Jared know that work is your first priority and he needs to have that standard in your relationship.” I was shocked and at that moment I realized this was not the right job for me.
As I’ve gotten older I want to work to live not live to work. At the end of the day whether you are selling clicks on social media ads or teaching kindergartners it is not life or death. You should always have time to spend with your family, go on vacation or even have uninterrupted night.
Culture
I’ve worked in start-ups, at an agency and now even corporate and each company has a very different work environment and culture. This is something that is hard to gauge in an interview process, but by walking around the office or talking to managers and even peers this is something that you can pick up on.
On the first day of my last job, I was so excited to start and I walked into my new office and they forgot I was coming… I didn’t even have a desk and I just moved my whole life for this. I was disappointed needless to say. When I walked in on my first day at my current job, the team was lining the entrance waiting for my arrival and clapping and cheering me on for my first day.
Even though you are just there to do your job and go home, culture makes all the difference. This motivates me to work harder knowing that the company cares about me personally and gives a fun environment for employees.
Leadership
All of the companies I’ve worked for the average is about 25. This is great at first and it’s easy to make friends, but after a while, it can feel like no one what’s going on and everyone is figuring it out together. In my recent job search, leadership was something that was really important to me. I wanted a company that had a clear path and had a history of success.
By having these standards it made my job search very easy…well as easy as searching for a job can be. When I was on a phone interview with a potential employer, I asked about work-life balance and the interviewer said that he was recently on vacation and only brought his laptop along for emergencies. He acted like this was no big deal, but to me, this was a red flag. This meant there was a standard of working on your vacation that I wasn’t comfortable with.
I recommend sitting down and writing your job priorities out to help you find what the perfect fit for your next job.
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I am a recent college grad and found this post really helpful! I’m glad you made it clear that your priorities outweighed somethings in a new job, such as money.
Office culture is SO important! On my first day at my current job they already had my business cards printed and waiting on my desk when I arrived and that little gesture let me know they not only were excited for me to be there, but this was an office that had their act together!