5 Benefits to Look for in a New Job

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of people have been looking for new jobs after reassessing their current schedule and goals during the next few years. This is an exciting time, but it’s easy for us to get overwhelmed with the many benefits that companies are offering, and the speed with which most firms are looking to hire. To stay focused and find the best fit for you, we’ve outlined some of the benefits to look for in a new position that go beyond traditional perks. 

Flexibility

Flexibility is currently a hot topic for all companies. After working from home for around a year, most employees know that they can be successful working anywhere, and want the option to come and go, as necessary. Before jumping at a fully remote offer, or settling for an in-office schedule, think of what would work for you. If you’ve been thriving during this work-from-home period, but miss social office benefits, ask if the team ever gets together in person. On the other hand, if you’ve been struggling to find peace and quiet at home and would like to go back into the office more often than not, ask if this is normal for the company or team; it could be just as difficult sitting alone in the office. Whatever works for you, ask how the team is working in this hybrid world to see if the company’s style and expectations match with yours.

Professional Development

Some of the best learning opportunities while working are professional development options that many companies will cover for you. This can include graduate certificate courses, professional organizations in your industry, and a wide variety of networking events. The level of reimbursement varies greatly among different companies, so it’s important to ask about these options during the interview period. What exactly is covered each year? Would you be able to join multiple organizations or attend more than one event a quarter? In this way, you’ll be able to plan out the correct development opportunities to meet your personal and professional goals and not be surprised by the lack of company support. 

Parental Benefits

Although you may not want to discuss your personal life or future family planning in an interview, you can still attempt to garner parental benefits at companies during this time. It’s easy to find out maternal and paternal leave options, but how are family emergencies or flexible schedules for pick-up/drop-off routines handled? Speaking to individuals on the team about their benefits and how (or if) their schedules and needs are personalized may help you to better understand if your unique situation will be taken into account. Being treated as just a number is a tough situation to be in, so hearing from employees and receiving first-hand accounts will help you envision if this is the right place for you. 

Internal Opportunities

It is critical that when we start a new job, we can easily see how to grow and rise through a variety of laddered positions. However, these positions are not the only thing that some companies are offering. During interviews, you can ask if there are groups in the office that you can participate in, such as mentorship, social or diversity groups that may offer management or other skills that you can practice outside of your main role. If a company has these groups, it is showing that they value a positive and proactive workplace, while offering extensive opportunities for employees to grow and self-improve.

Mental Health Support

Mental health has been brought to the spotlight with the challenges most individuals have encountered during quarantine and extensive time at home and socially distanced. Now that we are looking for new jobs and opportunities, mental health support should be something that is held to the utmost importance at any company that we work for. During your interview, you can ask how the company supports mental health. Are there regular check-ins with your manager or an unbiased co-worker so you have the option to check in? Can personal time off be used for mental health days to make sure you have the time to get the support you need? Does leadership take mental health into account when making any changes or updates to the day-to-day operations? These sort of benefits are becoming more commonplace to see in a variety of industries, and never something that we should settle for. Mental health is critical to every aspect of our lives, and employers should support their workers in this aspect. 

Taylor Borowiec is a marketing coordinator living and working (and writing!) in Boston. You can follow her for book recommendations and hiking pictures @teaylur.

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