Should You Take The Job? Don’t Let Your Gut Be Your Only Guide

I’ve had several conversations lately with people- particularly women- who were making decisions and said they would just “go with their gut” or that they “really felt” that something was a certain way.

In some circumstances, going with your gut is reasonable, such as deciding whether to go on a date with someone or whether to sit in a particular area of a waiting room. You get a sense of people when you first meet them. If you walk into a room, often you can feel tension if there is a conflict going on. But in those circumstances, what’s mostly happening is that you are picking up on non-verbal cues- is someone clenching their jaw when they smile, looking around you, rolling their eyes at the other person in the room?

With a big decision, one that cannot be made by relying solely on measurables like non-verbal cues, you need to be more methodical, more logical. For instance, if you have a medical issue, you can like the doctor, but is what she is telling you in line with the other research you have done and other advice you have been given? If not, you should get another opinion. The same kind of objective analysis must go in to deciding whether to take a particular job.

That is why I was particularly happy to see a new free e-book offering from The Workplace Review, a site which provides reviews of different companies posted by people who have worked there and other resources to use when deciding where to work. The Workplace Detective’s Guidebook provides users with a comprehensive workbook for assessing a job opportunity which can take the guess-work (aka the gut-work) out of the process. Topics covered include Work Environment & Culture, Employees & Managers, and Benefits & Perks. You can also use this book to determine where your dissatisfaction lies in your current position and point you in the direction of a better opportunity, one where you will find more personal happiness and professional fulfilment.

Add comment July 30th, 2009