Right now, more Sydney accounting job opportunities are coming onto the market and for certain positions, employers often compete against each other to secure the very best Accountants. For highly skilled Sydney Accounting professionals, you may find yourself in a fortunate position where you have several job offers on the table at the same time.
Whilst it is easy to be excited by more than one job offer at different companies, once that initial excitement wears off, you’re going to have to choose the one that best aligns with your career aspirations and motivations. It’s not always an easy task and if you’re not careful when reviewing your options, you can accept the wrong job. It’s important that you don’t lose sight of your priorities and end up exchanging a job you’re currently not happy with for one you’ll be equally as unhappy with in three months’ time.
As the quote says – The grass isn’t always greener!!
So firstly, Congratulations on your job offers! But how can you ensure you make the right call your future self will thank you for?? Read our 4 tips on multiple job offers etiquette to aid your decision-making process.
With several opportunities to choose from, it can be difficult to evaluate job offers objectively, and it is incredibly easy to forget what you were looking for and why you wanted a new job in the first place. In a candidate-short market, companies will have to sell their opportunity to you and it’s important not to get too bamboozled by the amount of fresh fruit they have or the flexibility around where you will be working from!! Having a Manager that you never see may seem appealing, but who will mentor and develop you?
So what were your goals at the beginning of the job search? What you are looking for out of a new role may include:
Irrespective of the reason or reasons, the easiest way to make sense of these different opportunities is to divide your priorities across the two areas:
Must haves and nice to haves:
Our Richard Lloyd job offer evaluation worksheet is a good starting point. This will help you prioritise the things you’re looking for and make it easier to focus on what is being offered across each opportunity.
Now that you have your priorities straight, you should compare each job offer against your initial reasons for looking for a new job. List the positives and negatives for each role; this could include:
Don’t just think about base salary but look at each offer as a total package! What benefits are included? Car Allowance? Share plan? Healthcare? Income insurance?
What about additional bonuses and incentives for good performance? Are these personal, team, or company incentives? These extras can make a big difference to the overall package of a role. Some companies offer great incentives whilst other companies’ incentive plans are hard to achieve as there are many components to the bonus. Make sure you take them all into account and add them up. Especially if money is your main motivator.
Company culture has a big influence on whether you will be happy in a job long term. Take a moment to think about the impression you got from the different office environments when you had your interview. How did the interviewers describe the culture? Could you relate to the culture? What was your gut feeling after you finished each interview? Could you envisage yourself working there?
Your job affects more than just the time you spend in the office. It’s important to keep in mind the kind of work/life balance you can expect. Consider the distance between the office and where you live and the commute you’ll need to endure. How many days can you work from home? Are their systems set up so you can work from home? How flexible were they about school drops offs etc? What hours will be required? Will it be possible to still take part in the things you like to do, outside of work?
It’s unfortunate, however many people leave a position because of their immediate Manager. What were your first impressions the first time you met? Did your impression change in subsequent interviews? Would the Manager further your skills through learning and development, mentoring? Could you relate to them? Would they have your back in a difficult situation? These are all important factors to think over before you accept a new role.
Do your research and discuss any aspect of the role you’re not 100% sure of. For example, if the benefits scheme is confusing then get the information clarified. If you feel like you haven’t seen enough of the company environment to identify their culture, request another meeting to discuss it and ask to meet some of the other team members.
If you’re conducting your job search through a recruiter, use their knowledge about the company and the culture to find out any additional information if you are still unsure about the roles so you can evaluate the offers objectively.
Once you have the clarification you need, review which of the roles tick more of the Must-Haves and Nice to Have boxes that you outlined at the very start. Working from home 5 days a week and a salary increase is one thing, but if the training was the main reason you were looking for a new position and it isn’t being offered, then it’s not going to be the right move for you.
Think of how you feel if you meet someone at a BBQ and they ask you – Where do you work? How are you going to feel when you say I am the ……….. and work for ………and we do ……..! It’s a great test to see how you think you would feel when answering the question. Is it you? If you are not into BBQs, a dinner party or a coffee catch-up will work just as well.
Negotiating multiple job offers is a tricky business, but by refocusing on your career and personal objectives it will be easier to identify the role that will be the best fit for you in the long run.
Remember, if there are several parties involved and you have multiple job offers, at least one of them is going to be disappointed. Make sure you’re considerate to everyone concerned by being honest. Thank them for their time and for considering you for the opportunity. One of the worst things you can do is to play one party off against the other as it never ends well – take our word for it. The Sydney Accounting market is a small place, and you need to be mindful of this.
If you’re stuck on what to do when you have multiple job offers or need advice on finding the right accounting or finance role, talk to a Richard Lloyd Consultant. We pride ourselves on only putting you forward for roles that we believe fit your career criteria and encourage you to choose the best opportunity for you, even if this means that we don’t place you.
With our knowledge of the Sydney Accounting profession and over 115 years of recruiting experience in total across Richard Lloyd, we can help you through the process to ensure you come back to us when you’re next ready to look for a new role or are in a position to recruit for your own team.
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