Questions Millennials Should Ask Before Accepting a Job Offer

You’ve received your first official job offer. Congratulations! While it’s a thrilling prospect that someone wants to hire you, especially if it’s right after graduation, you’ll have to come down from the clouds eventually and learn more about the offer before you accept it. This can be more intimidating than it sounds. Students often find themselves wondering whether they will somehow offend or turn off the employer by asking the wrong thing or framing their question the wrong way.

In this post we’ll help you shed some of those fears by highlighting what you really should know before you make a decision. After all, both you and the potential employer want to turn this into a lasting relationship. So curb surprises by asking questions on these topics!

What questions should you ask before deciding on a job offer?

Salary and benefits

Every offer letter should come with a proposed salary (if not, it’s a bit of a red flag). But they sometimes lack more information regarding benefits such as healthcare or other employee perks. Even if they do include this information, it can be a bit confusing to understand if you’ve never been off of your parents’/guardians’ insurance plan. But don’t be afraid to ask for more detail! People who spend time recruiting young employees are very accustomed to clarifying these things for those who don’t completely understand the lingo.

While we’re on the topic, many people ask about their ability to negotiate during their first-ever job offer. While you’ll find arguments for both sides, there’s a gentler way to handle it especially considering that you haven’t yet had time to develop much experience. If your gut is telling you now is not the time to ask for more money, you can tweak it slightly by asking whether there will be the chance to make more in a six-month time frame. Most companies should have a review structure in place, so start by asking about it. If they say reviews happen annually, ask them if this is the time when they also discuss potential salary increases. This will give you an idea of when you can expect to make more money.

Promotion availability

This brings us to a bigger question: What will the job look like to you six months from now? One year? Two? While some companies have established tracks for rising through the ranks, others—especially smaller or newer companies—might be more vague. Nonetheless it’s important to ask whether there would be opportunity for promotion in your particular department in the near future if you prove yourself worthy.

If bottlenecks exist, you should know about them. But even if they do, it’s not necessarily a reason to say no. Think about it: If a company is hiring you, it likely wants to retain you as well. So even if the recruiters don’t have promotion opportunities readily available, they will understand that promotion is a priority to you and might find some other ways to appease you moving forward, such as raises or added benefits.

Expectations regarding time commitments

I knew someone who experienced both ends of the spectrum regarding time expectations at work. At her first job, which was at a litigation firm, her recruiters were absolutely straightforward about the need to anticipate many late nights. They explained that this was especially true during trials and other cyclical events. Thus when she had to cancel plans and burn the midnight oil, she didn’t mind it because she knew this was a mutually understood expectation. In fact since all of the other new hires at her level felt the same way, it became a sign of camaraderie.

Fast-forward to another job, which lured her in with the promise of lower pay, but a strong “work-life balance.” While she knew that she would certainly have to stay late certain nights to get projects finished, she was surprised that the business’s leadership was taking notes on who stayed late and who didn’t, which was in direct contrast with their promise. She found that many people started staying late simply for the “points” they were garnering with leadership. As you might expect, this led to a very low level of employee morale.

While these are two extremes, they bring us to an important point: You should know what is expected of you in terms of time and workload before you agree to any job. This can be a bit intimidating since you don’t want to make it seem like you’re unwilling to stay late if necessary, so make sure to frame it in such a way that shows you’re asking for the right reasons. A good way to do this is: “Tell me more about your seasonal or cyclical events?” or “What sort of deadlines do you anticipate for this role?” By knowing what’s to come, you’re more likely to enjoy preparing for it!

Willingness to hear your ideas

Chances are you’re being offered the job because the recruiters have identified something special in you that made you stand out from the rest—rather than just being another pair of hands. Even though your work experience is minimal at this point, you’re certainly an expert in something, whether that’s social-media management or soft skills such as time management. If you see an opportunity for process improvement at the company or a have a new idea for rolling out an app, you should have a means to submit it.

While there’s no promise that your idea will be automatically accepted, it’s nice to know you’re working somewhere where your voice is heard. So ask the recruiters about their current methods for sharing ideas or an example of a time when an employee idea was brought to fruition to make things better. They’ll probably be pleased that you’re already expecting to go above and beyond to make their business more efficient!