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Welcome to episode 16 of the Nerd Journey Podcast [@NerdJourney]! We’re John White (@vJourneyman) and Nick Korte (@NetworkNerd_), two VMware Solution Engineers who are hoping to bring you the IT career advice that we wish we’d been given earlier in our careers. In today’s episode, we have Part 1 of a two-part discussion on when to stop pursuing a career opportunity.

Original recording date: 2018-11-03

Topic – Reasons not to Pursue a Career Opportunity (Pre-Application Stage), Part 1 of 2

We’re highlighting some content from a Manager Tools 10-part podcast series on choosing a company to work for

3:29 Choosing A Company To Work For – Chapter 1 – Factors To Consider Part 1

• Compensation
  • Dig into the entire compensation package (or as much as you can in this stage)
  • Consider the risks of combination stock / cash
  • Use tools like Glassdoor to help
  • Difficult to rule something out without looking at the numbers
  • People make assumptions on how much of a pay bump would merit leaving
• Values
  • Deeper dive later
• Industry Stability
  • We lack a crystal ball and can rely on educational guesses
• Reputation
  • The company’s reputation affects your reputation, whether good or bad, so consider industry perception.
  • Validation by a well-known organization can be a “short cut” to be validated by other organizations
  • The “shine” and the “stink” can go with you to a new job
• Opportunities
  • Deeper dive later
• Locations
  • Review Tom Delicati’s strategy for choosing company location from Nerd Journey 013: The Sniper Approach to Job Hunting with Tom Delicati
  • Nick and John talk through strategies for analyzing commute times and weighing the cost
  • If you’re relocating for a job, is there financial assistance?
• Financials
  • This can easily be an area of oversight for many candidates
  • Financials for public companies published quarterly
    • Learn to read a 10-K
• Customer Base
  • Is the customer base growing / shrinking?
• Additional Items
  • Some research before applying is helpful, but don’t go overboard.
  • Check the job postings on the company site
  • John gives an example of tracking changes in number of open positions at a company to get an idea of corporate health
  • John mentions his list of open VMware positions: http://bit.ly/vmware-all-positions

22:18 Choosing A Company To Work For – Chapter 3 – Values

• Choose your Values
  • Do you know what your values are?  Introspection is required before continuing.
• Decide which ones apply to work
  • Companies publish their values online
  • Use those when considering companies
  • A value mismatch can rule out an opportunity on the spot
  • Is the company acting in line with its stated values?

27:13 Company Culture is Complimentary to Values

• Choosing A Company To Work For – Chapter 7 – Questions
• John speaks to how this episode came to be
• Consider Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
  • Physiological -> Safety -> Love/belonging -> Esteem -> Self-actualization
  • After achieving economic breathing room, one can start to consider higher-order concerns
  • Self-examination is required
  • Who am I and what does my job reflect about me?
  • How does this position mesh with my values?
  • How does this position fit with my future plans?
• Questions from Manager Tools
  • Is there anything else that’s important to me?
    • John wanted to work with smart people who disagreed with him and who were smart in different ways from him
  • What have I liked/disliked about jobs in the past?
    • Nick talks about choosing his own adventure
    • Flexible schedule / start time
  • What conditions bring out the best in me?
    • Nick shares the lunch time hack for productivity
  • What experience/relationships do I want to cultivate?
    • John speaks to the variety of roles available and the desire to work with people in these roles
    • Nick cites being part of a large team as a great learning experience
• See also Nerd Journey 004: Company Culture and Resume Writing.  Did we say similar things in this episode?  Tweet at us!

37:41 Choosing A Company To Work For – Chapter 6 – Opportunities (Part 1)

• Seemed to be focused on relationship of company to the marketplace
• Common Indicators
  • Cash/debt ratios
  • Place Of The Product In The Market Place
  • Consider longevity
  • Company Reports
  • Multiple sources of info on health of the company
  • Perks
• Look for more Subtle Indicators
  • Institutionalized development
    • See also Nerd Journey 012: Effective 1-on-1 Meetings with your Manager and Gracefully Leaving an Organziation
    • Next week we can discuss how to inquire about this
  • Regular Advancement of Good People
    • What would employees say about this?
    • Do interviewers give the same response?
  • Steady, Successful Growth