You received a call and was told you got the job at a salary that exceeded your expectation. You are overjoyed. Without much hesitation, you accepted the offer right away. But wait a minute? Isn’t the location a tad too far from where you are staying now?

It’s unwise to accept an offer purely based on a higher pay without consideration of other factors. Any HR professional that had conducted surveys or exit interviews will tell you that job seekers share some common factors and criteria when come to job satisfaction. They will tell you if someone left his/her job for another solely because of higher salary, he/she will not last very long in his/her new place.

So before making a leap into a new job, consider the following areas and ask these tough questions of yourself and your potential employer.

1. Working environment
Nobody can really tell you whether the working environment is conducive or not until you taste it for yourself. However, you would be able to have an inkling of that based on your interview experience with the interviewer. Be bold to ask questions – how the team works?, the organization structure – is it a tall or flat one?, how is the decision making process?, how is the staff performance evaluation done or is there any at all? and etc. Based on the answers, are you able to foresee yourself blending into this environment?

2. Location
This seems simple enough to decide but in reality, job seekers when offered an attractive pay tend to over-look this crucial bit. Reality sinks in only when they are stuck in traffic jams for hours after joining. Recruiters always find it amusing when job seekers cite distance to office as the main reason of looking out for another job. Be honest with yourself and decide how much time you are willing to devote to your daily commute. Think about the effect on your spouse and kids too. Stress will make you unproductive in the long run.

Looking for jobs nearer to home? Check out jobs in Allyhunt, search by location in Klang Valley. For example,

Jobs in Kuala Lumpur

Jobs in Petaling Jaya

3. Growth Opportunities
What is the market perception of the company? Are they growing rapidly? Again, find out if internal candidates have been considered for this job. If not, why not? What is their policy in regards to promotions?

4. Staff benefits and other rewards
Consider your salary package in totality. Besides the standard benefits, do they provide other incentives? Do a comparison with what you are getting right now. Sometimes the basic pay may be higher than what you are getting but you may lose out overall. Do your math right.

5. Travel
Is it part of the job scope? If yes, how frequent is it? Are you willing to travel more than what you’ve been doing now? How would this affect your personal time spend with family?