I was just wondering, to you and to the others who mentioned corporate culture as an important benefit. I very much agree, but how would you be able to measure this as an outsider considering a job offer?
Dana > Thought I'd weigh in on this a bit. I've been through a LOT of > different jobs in the past, in different careers and locations. I > would strongly agree with those that say that benefits may get someone > to take a job, but work environment and atmosphere play a BIG part in > keeping them. I've work for some large companies where the benefits > were great but the management were just so bad I couldn't wait to > leave. And they didn't particularly care if I did or not. Versus > smaller companies that might not offer as great a package, but value > you a lot more. Keep in mind that small companies if managed right > will grow over time! Generally you will have better chances for > advancement with a smaller company as well. The last company I worked > for was small, but did just about everything right. They did the best > they could with health insurance...offered multiple plans for > different needs. You could get the cheap HMO plan or buy into a more > expensive PPO plan. Good prescription coverage, vision, dental, etc. > 401K with matching. 3 weeks vacation/1 week sick, flexible hours. All > the usual stuff. To top it off, everyone was great to work with, the > boss was superb, if you did a good job, they let you know it. And if > there was something he wanted you to improve on, he would sit you down > and discuss that as well. I remember one job in the past where I just > had a feeling the manager was not happy with me for some reason. I > finally cornered him and asked if there was a problem. He told me he > didn't like my direct approach with clients (I tend to be very > up-front if something they want is not a very good idea) and wanted me > to just agree with anything they asked for. I was very frustrated that > he wouldn't just tell me this, since it certainly was something I > could easily do differently. So even if you aren't happy with an > employee, for heavens sake, be honest with them! It's the only chance > they have to improve. > > The other thing I really appreciated with my previous job was outings > as a group where we had lots of time to sit and chat together over > lunch or dinner or bowling, whatever. Often the clients we worked with > would be invited as well. Companies that do this are showing that they > really put a premium on everyone knowing each other and getting along > as a group. Training and education are big in my book too. Our field > moves to fast for an employer to not help keep their workers up to > date. And finally...I like having challenging, interesting work to do. > I've been in a LOT of jobs where they really didn't have enough work > to keep me busy and that really drives me nuts! I hate having to do > "busy" work or trying to look like I'm doing something. Being > overworked isn't great either, but having a job where I am always busy > is definitely a big plus in my book. > > Now I have the joy of being my own boss and having NO benefits at all. > I don't get real vacations anymore, my email comes with me because > there's no one else to handle customer issues. No retirement benefits, > education, etc. I do all that myself. And if you think finding good > health insurance when job-hunting is tough, try being self-employed! > It's really a wake-up call for me how bad the situation really is in > the country. I naively thought I wouldn't have too much trouble since > I don't really have any major health issues right now. How silly...if > you've had just about *anything* in the last 5-10 years, you are out > of luck. I at least am lucky enough to live in a state with guaranteed > BC coverage (actually I considered that when choosing where to move > to) and am able to afford the ridiculously high-priced premiums, > deductables and co-pays, no way that most families would be able to. > It's now something I look very closely at when elections roll around. > > > BTW - my last employer was Cascades Technology in Herndon, VA. They > have a job or two on CF-Jobs right now, and I could not recommend them > any higher...great great folks to work for. Leaving them was one of > the hardest decisions I have ever made! > > --- Mary Jo > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Introducing the Fusion Authority Quarterly Update. 80 pages of hard-hitting, up-to-date ColdFusion information by your peers, delivered to your door four times a year. http://www.fusionauthority.com/quarterly Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:216774 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
