So your hard work has finally paid off? Good jobs are definitely hard to find and you have spent the past few months interviewing and networking and finally you have that job offer in front of you.

Even though this is a moment of excitement, it is important for you not to react emotionally or too quickly. You owe it to yourself to evaluate the job offer, carefully! Trust me you will be doing yourself a favor.

There are many issues to consider when assessing a job offer.

Here are a few

· Salary
· Benefits
· Vacation Time
· Corporate Culture
· Location
· Job Title
· Hours
· Opportunities for Growth and Advancement

Salary:
Salary isn’t always the most important part of a job offer, however it is very important. Most of us want to make sure we are paid what we are worth. You should gather information from family and friends who were recently hired for similar jobs. Also, you should contact your college career center or staffing agencies about pay for a particular job. Check out your local library for salary surveys and books on salaries for your specific industry. Make sure you evaluate based on your geographic information. Remember, the salary is NEGOTIABLE. Once negotiated, make sure you receive it in writing with the formal job offer. 

Some important questions to ask regarding your salary:

How often is my salary reviewed? 1, 2, or 3 years?
Does it include commissions or bonuses?

Benefits:
Benefits add a lot to your base pay. However they vary widely. You need to evaluate exactly what types of benefits are available for your company. You also need to know how much of the cost do you, the employee, bear. Common company benefits include:

Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Long Term Disability, Short term Disability, Flex Savings Accounts. Some employers even offer discount gym memberships and discounts at local retailers. Sometimes these benefits can sweeten the job offer, for example a smaller company may be able to offer you a higher salary, however you will only health and dental insurance, of which you will have to pay 50%. Whereas a larger company may provide you a somewhat smaller salary, but provide you with company paid health, dental, and vision insurance along with Short Term Disability and Long Term Disability. Obviously, those benefits are costing the employer a lot of money and that is beneficial to you the employee.

Vacation Time:
Ahhh Vacation Time! This is very important because many companies have a waiting period before you can use your vacation time. You need to know what that is. You need to know how much vacation time you acquire and what is the rate at which you acquire this vacation time. For example, some companies give all employees 2 weeks paid vacation. However, some companies only give vacation as it is accrued such as earning ½ a vacation day for every month of service. Obviously, vacation packages vary within different companies, however this is sometimes negotiable. You should also ask if you have any personal and/ or sick days. These are separate from your vacation days and can be used when you are sick or when you need a personal day 


Corporate Culture:
Do values of the company fit your personality and your work ethic? This is very important. You do not want to work for a company that has a very different culture that what are you are accustomed to.

Location:
Do you want to work an hour away? Do you want to sit in the middle of rush hour traffic on the only major highway in your state? Some people do not mind, however many do. Therefore you should evaluate the location of your job. Maybe there is a location closer to home for you. Remember, those gas prices are getting expensive.

Job Title:
What is your title going to be at this new job? Are you the executive Vice President? Or are you an Administrative Asst? You need to know where you stand, and whom you report to. 

Hours:
You need to know the hours of your job. Typical professional jobs are 8-5 or 9-4, however there are some jobs that have odd hours. Such as a corporate trainer, who would have early morning hours or late evening hours to conduct office training sessions for employees outside of there normal working hours. Do you work weekends? Are there any early morning meetings scheduled? 

Opportunities for Growth and Advancement:
This is especially important for people that are really looking to climb the corporate ladder. You don’t want to go into a small company where you are the second in command to the CEO; obviously there is no room for advancement. You should see if there are other branches to this company where you can be promoted. Also see how long it takes employees to advance into a promotion. How often are promotions granted? Every company will be different; however it is very important to be knowledgeable about the opportunities available.