Things to look out for when applying for a job

6 mins read

When you’re looking for a new job, one of the incredibly important factors is the size of the paycheck, isn’t it? But from our own experiences and friends’ stories, we learned to look for something more than that. Here’s a tiny example that can make a difference: it’s vital to consider how happy you’ll be at work because sometimes a high salary does not always guarantee job satisfaction.

And it’s not just us who say it, the statistics from the career bubble confirm it:

The 25-34 age group of employees are more willing to learn new skills (14%) or change careers in a completely different direction (14%) compared to people in all other age groups (10% and 9%).
Almost 9 out of 10 (87%) people under the age of 25 plan to reconsider their current situation at work and, potentially, change their career path in 2022.
A combination of mid-career stagnation and financial stability causes most people to make a major career change at the average age of 39.

If we look at the statistics on career change, it is crystal clear that starting a new professional adventure is not always easy. If you are looking for a new professional challenge, here are eight things to consider before applying for a job.

Work schedule

An essential part related to the employer, for a healthy balance between work and personal life, is the work schedule itself.

If we have learned anything from the pandemic years, it is that a 9-to-5 program is no longer mandatory. Make sure you get information about working hours, what it means to be on-call and also how overtime is rewarded, and how often, or under what conditions overtime can occur. Turn your attention to a company that is willing to be flexible and understand certain situations when you need a few free hours if something unforeseen occurs.

For instance, during the lockdown period, the parents from Grapefruit had a different schedule, just so they could spend enough time with their children, without feeling overwhelmed due to work. Flexibility became the core of Grapefruit’s culture, so this decision came quite naturally. At the same time, when it comes to the subject of overtime, that isn’t encouraged within the company. However, if the situation requires it, this overtime is rewarded by either adding the worked hours as extra vacation hours or financially.

The benefits package

When you have a short list of jobs or companies you want to apply to, be interested or find out as much information as you can about the benefits offered. It is no longer a novelty that companies have begun to offer private health insurance, but maybe you should look for a fair package. Also, look at how they manage days off, sick leave, or extra days off. If they cover relocation costs, meal vouchers, or how they are willing to support employees’ hobbies—for example, library subscriptions.

We’ve continuously added extra benefits for our employees throughout time. Whenever we notice someone having a period of greater work volume, or they’ve gone the extra mile to achieve something, we offer them the possibility to choose between having a day off or enjoying a week with shorter working hours. In addition, each of our colleagues receives free days for their birthday, access to Bookster Library and financial support for courses and certifications, or access to various industry events, oh, and therapy sessions with our therapist!

And… although, we are in different corners of Romania, we do like to spend time together, as a team. So we often bring our colleagues to the office in Iasi.

Organizational culture

You will definitely feel good if you are surrounded by people who have common values and principles, a winning point is also if the whole company works on the same principles.

Therefore, we encourage you to find out as much information about these things, the values are usually presented on the website, but through clarifying questions in the interview you can get the answers about the level of happiness of future colleagues, and the employee turnover rate.

At the same time, you can ask for details about social events that the company organizes among colleagues – from Christmas parties, teambuilding, conferences, or various internal events.

The recruitment process in Grapefruit focuses on each individual’s set of values. The aim is to match the principles and personal values of each potential colleague with the company’s. If you take a closer look at our team, you will quickly notice that we have, more or less, the same sets of values, even if our personalities are different. At our core, we are actually very similar.

Learning opportunities

When we venture into the journey of a new job, we must make sure that we have all the support of the company in our professional growth. You know the saying, there’s no such thing as being too old to learn something new. During the interview, you can ask how are they measuring employee performance and on what criteria are promotions based. For example, at Grapefruit, we have a Learning Plan based on something called „Seniority Principles” You can confirm the information by asking the company’s employees directly, or if you cannot do that you can always check the company’s reviews on platforms such as glassdoor.com or undelucram.ro

The process of evaluating and recognizing performances

Everyone appreciates praise and recognition of performance for a job well done. When looking for a job, find out how potential employers reward the work and how they support employee growth.

To perform at your job, you need to find a position that aligns with your strengths. Analyze the job description very well, and make sure that your personality is aligned with the job requirements, company culture, and the optimal way of working for you.

After all, the evaluation process is a win-win situation. Both for you, to be able to evaluate your performance, workload, future goals, and the need for improvement through training. But also for the company, to analyze and improve the team, to be able to perform as a whole.

The way of working

A key point learned in the last two years we’ve learned is that working from anywhere is an option and has challenged many productivity myths. Many companies have embraced the remote work culture, while there are also companies that have encouraged the return to office buildings.

Ask for details from the interviewer, or consult websites dedicated to evaluating employers in terms of how they work – Is it strictly remote? Working from the office? Or is it hybrid?

The pandemic began with concerns even for our company, regarding a company-wide work-from-home, but it proved to be very favorable, increasing productivity by 10%.

Our organizational culture is based on flexibility, that’s why we opted for a hybrid way of working, to be ok for everyone – both, colleagues who prefer remote-office, and the company’s needs. At the same time, we decided to recruit new colleagues from anywhere in the country. Interaction is in our DNA, therefore, from time to time our colleagues who work fully remote fly to Iasi for some quality offline time spent with colleagues. Basically, it is a mutual agreement.

Work-life balance

Make sure you get all the necessary information from the potential employer about how this balance between life and work within the company is valued and encouraged.

Finding the perfect balance between work and life is an essential part of our well-being.

Our HR and Well-being team makes sure we are overall well, all of us. For example, we use Officevibe for anonymous feedback on certain processes that may impact the life part of the balance. We benefit from workshops on various topics of wellbeing and personal development. From time to time, we organize „Pink Days” that are made for relaxation and collective learning.

In Conclusion

„Will I meet colleagues as cool as in the previous team?” Will the learning process be just as well-developed? Will management be transparent? Will the work environment be friendly and respectful of my boundaries and encourage work-life balance?” Certainly, there are questions and doubts you might have because changing a job is not the easiest thing to do.

Do detective work before applying for a job. Let all the information found about the company convince you if it is the place to be – from company values and principles, the learning processes, benefits packages, their way of working, their working system, the work environment, and so on.

„I decided to join the Grapefruit team for several reasons. First of all, the company’s set of values includes values that I am guided by. Secondly, I met in the interview some people with whom I resonated from the first seconds, the job description and my clarification questions made me feel that this job is designed for me. And, more than that, the way the company works suits me #workfromanywhere – I even found out in the interview that there are colleagues who have moved to Barcelona for a month and others are going to go to Greece. I can say that it is a very good decision that I have made.”

— Lavinia, Social Media Specialist

“I’ve decided to join the Grapefruit amazing team because my wife actually worked here on two separated occasions. The first time, she worked there, and she really enjoyed the colleagues, the projects, and the general feeling among the peers. I remember quite clearly that she used to come home and talk to me about what she did on that particular day, and I was thinking – That sounds like a pretty incredible place to be! It looks like they are my kind of guys! So, when the opportunity arise to me, I was not taking my time very much, but jump right there on the Grapefruit bandwagon!”

– Eduard, Content Editor