Do You Know If This Job’s Right for You?

If you are an American with disabilities deciding whether to take a job, it usually comes down to professional and personal reasons. A good idea to create two columns and list your reasons for accepting or not taking a job.
“This is a good opportunity, to be honest with yourself and what you want out of a job, professionally, and personally,” said Alan Hubbard, LandAjob’s Director of Operations.
Salary: If you feel you are going to be not paid enough, that will be a long-term problem for you as you will always be trying to catch up. If you are going to take the job and make major lifestyle changes, you are going to have to be very willing to make the sacrifice. You also want to see if the benefits are something you are looking for. If you undersell yourself, chances are you won’t be picking the right job.
Job Skills-Are you going to learn new things? Are you going to be doing things you enjoy? Are you going to love the work you are doing? If you want to be challenged, you won’t be happy in a job where you won’t do new things or learn new skills.
The Person in Charge: One question you might want to ask yourself is, would you invite your boss to dinner? If you wouldn’t, then you are telling yourself one of the questions you want an answer to.
You want to ask the manager about their management style. Is the boss going to be demanding and hands-on? If that works best for you, then it won’t be a problem. If you don’t like that style and prefer a hands-on approach, then you don’t want to work with that type of boss.
What are the company’s culture and reputation? -You should ask yourself what kind of place do you want to work at? Is it important for you to work for a company that has a long, well-established company or are you OK with being with a company, that is new or is trying to rebuild its reputation?
“You also want to be sure you are a fit with the culture of the company,” said Hubbard. “Are you the type of person who likes a formal atmosphere and the company is very casual? That is going to be a problem for you.
“Are you someone who wants to work 40 hours and practice life-work balance? If the people at the company are working 60 hours, then that’s not the place for you. You are going to quickly feel the pressure of working more than 40 hours if you are the only person leaving after eight hours.”
Job Security-Are you looking for a place where you get the skills and build your portfolio to move on? In that case, you aren’t going to be looking for a company as a long-term home. On the other hand, this might be a case where you are looking to stay for a lot of years.
“You want to look at the financial health of the company,” said Hubbard. “If you want security, then you aren’t going to take a job with a company influx. You also want to look at the track record of the people in the company. Is this a job that is open every six months? If that’s the case, it might be a sign that there are problems there.”
Location-How I am going to get there? What is the commute going to be like? Is it accessible for Americans with disabilities?
If you are looking at a long commute and that’s something you don’t want, then this isn’t the right job for you.
If you have any questions about the commute, a good idea is to go to the business during the time you would be going on a normal business day. That will be the best indicator of the time you are expected to be at work in the morning.
“Good advice is not to take the job if you have any major concerns,” said Hubbard. “We don’t want to rush into a position and hope that things will work out. It is much better to wait for the next job to come along that is right for you.”
(LandAjob is a nonprofit organization, helping Americans with disabilities, who are collecting SSI or SSDI, find job opportunities. When you register for free at www.landajob.com, you will have access to a job database of more than 600,000 jobs. You will also learn how to receive up to $13,000 in job reimbursements and expenses.)
“This is a good opportunity, to be honest with yourself and what you want out of a job, professionally, and personally...”