Receiving a job offer can be an exciting time. You’ve worked hard sending out applications and interviewing, and it’s finally paid off! Before you accept, there are some important questions you might want to ask first.
Beyond negotiating your salary, let’s look at a few questions that might be helpful to ask after receiving a job offer:
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What Does Your Benefits Package Look Like?
This question extends to standard things like health insurance, dental insurance, vision, and life insurance, as well as benefits like employee discount programs.
Finding out how much health insurance and dental will cost you per paycheck can be important to factor when considering a job offer.
How Many Vacation Days Do I Get? How Many Sick Days?
Vacation days, holidays, and sick days are all part of your compensation package. It can also be a good idea to ask how many holidays you get, and for the holiday calendar.
You may want to ask how much vacation time you are entitled to and whether there are any restrictions on taking it—for example, some companies want you to wait a certain number of weeks or months before taking any vacation days.
Do You Offer Matching Contributions?
Many employers offer a 401(k) (or another retirement plan) and match up to a certain percentage as part of your total compensation package.
You can also ask if you must be employed for a specific amount of time before you can start contributing to your 401(k) or before they start matching your contributions.
When Would My Start Date Be?
When would your new employer like your first day to be? Is it enough time to give your current employer two weeks’ notice?
You may also want to find out if there is any flexibility with the start date, in case you’d like to give more notice, make arrangements for childcare or other commitments, or want to take a break between jobs.
What Are the Hours?
What hours are you expected to work? Does the company offer flexible working hours, and, if they do, what are they? If you have children or other commitments, this might be an important factor to consider.
What is Your Work-from-home Policy?
Will I be able to work from home occasionally? If so, how often? Most office jobs come with some level of work-from-home flexibility these days.
Many companies specify whether a job is onsite, fully remote, or hybrid in the job description. But if you don’t know, or are wondering if there’s more flexibility, you may want to ask about the company’s policy.
What is the Dress Code?
This can be an especially helpful question if you haven’t visited the office and observed how other employees dress.
Some workplaces have a strict dress code, while others are more casual. Knowing what dress code you’re expected to adhere to can also help alleviate some of the first-day jitters.
What is the Company’s Development Path for This Role?
If you didn’t cover this in the interview, the offer stage can be a good idea to ask whether there’s a clear path for advancement in the role.
Asking about this can also give you a better idea of the company’s culture and how they treat their employees.
What Are the Opportunities for Learning and Development?
Many companies offer employees the opportunity to learn new skills and develop their careers. If this is something that is important to you, be sure to ask about it.
They may offer tuition reimbursement, subscriptions to online learning, or in-office training.
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