When we are seeking a role, life has a way of dictating what our priorities should look like.
You could be out of work and have a pressing need to earn money,
Be in a toxic working environment where you realise you have to move elsewhere or
You might have entirely different external factors such as caring responsibilities, childcare or a busy side-hustle you’re managing.
Either way, our priorities are a huge determining factor and are as important as the job descriptions are.
However we spend nowhere near enough time considering what these look like before we submit that application.
Why is this important?
Imagine you’ve applied for a role because you need a job asap.
Six months have passed.
Now that you’ve settled into the role, you realise that you’ve compromised too far…
- Your parents who said they could do that extra day of childcare for you are exhausted.
- The company values that you glossed over because you needed the job are not aligned to yours.
- That boss you got a bad vibe from in the interview is starting to wear you down.
When you fail to consider these priorities up front, you run the risk of burnout down the line and end up back to square one, or worse off than before.
It’s key to consider your priorities and make a balanced decision on whether to apply for a role or accept an offer if it comes.
This framework will help you to do that.
The key questions you must ask yourself.
What are your external factors?
Take a moment to consider what external factors play a part in your work life balance that could impact your ability to be flexible when applying for a role.
These are the basics, such as being a parent (human or animals!), having caring responsibilities, having a partner who travels a lot with work etc etc etc.
Document the things that influence your ability to be completely fully flexible with your career.
What are your non-negotiables?
These are the things that are absolute “must have’s” when it comes to selecting your next role.
Usually these are things like relocation, travel, remote/hybrid/office and salary requirements.
It’s important to take a moment to document these as it makes it much easier to discount roles and save the time of applying if the role compromises these.
What are your preferences?
These are the “nice to have’s” which help create an optimised work-life balance.
For example, picking up the kids after school, an early finish on a Friday to go to that gym class, private health care etc etc.
Another way of looking at this category are the things you’d want but be willing to compromise for high job satisfaction and/or high reward.
What are you flexible with?
This helps you to consider how you can be flexible with your priorities to help you determine if you can go for the role.
For example, fully remote work with one team collaboration day per month in the office. Hybrid working, but full-time office in month 1 for training.
In the same way that we want flexibility from the companies we work for, our companies want it too, so it’s important to consider what is possible and not possible upfront so you’re both aligned.
What is your price?
Money makes the world go round, and even though you’ve spent the time documenting non-negotiables and preferences, it’s important to consider what offer could make you reconsider these.
The sky is the limit here!
You should never be considering market value or what you think is realistic.
The question is simple.
How much would it take to compromise on your preferences and your non-negotiables?
Consider any extra expenses or additional benefits you’d need and how long you could compromise for as nothing in life is permanent.
Your circumstances will heavily dictate how flexible you can be with this.
For example, if you are out of work and the next mortgage payment is at risk, you may need to go lower than you’d like, but shorter on the duration before you’re looking for the ideal role again.
If you are financially comfortable, you can really consider this and aim high, but always consider how long you could do it for as no matter what the reward package is, you are compromising which is rarely sustainable in the long term.
To give an example, I’ve gone through the exercise myself to show you how it could look.
What are my determining factors?
I have elderly parents that are starting to require more and more support and I want to help them during this time in their lives.
I have a needy dog who hates other dogs meaning day care options are limited.
What are my non-negotiables?
I wish to work from home as much as possible to keep the dog company.
He doesn’t like to be left alone for a full work day.
I’d also prefer to work for myself.
I do not wish to relocate.
I’m flexible on earnings as long as the bills are paid and I have my husband/savings as backup however I am ambitious and I wish to earn more to retire early so I need a role that has growth opportunities.
What are my preferences?
Every few weeks I like to finish early on Wednesday’s to have lunch with my Mum and sort my parents’ daytime life admin.
I also need weekends off to match my husband’s time off so we can spend time together as we both have busy careers.
What am I flexible with?
I don’t mind occasional travel, in fact, I enjoy it!
I can work evenings but only if it benefits my work life balance (ie. get it done now, flex later).
What’s my price?
In order to compromise, I would need extra money to cover additional caring costs for my parents, pay for a private dog walker for Bowser, gain decent pension contributions to secure my future and have a healthy sum of money left over to top up my savings and overpay my mortgage.
For me to compromise on my preferences, I’d need to be earning £150,000 + benefits.
For me to compromise on my non-negotiables, my husband would have to be on board with a relocation and it would need to be £250,000 + benefits with a relocation bonus and high annual leave so I can travel home and abroad regularly.
I’d also need to have enough time to have up to 2 private coaching clients per week to keep my business running as a side hustle.
I’d do it for 12 months then reconsider my position because I can choose to ramp up the private clients at any time, and by then the bank balance would hopefully enable me to re-align focus fully on my business again.
What’s next?
So now that you’ve gone through this exercise, apply it to your job search.
- Discount the roles that don’t align to your preferences and non-negotiables, or apply with a salary that matches your price.
- Ask the questions about preferences and flexibility when you get the initial call about the role.
- When you receive an offer, consider these points before you accept and negotiate that offer to a package that aligns with your values.
Secure a role that means in 6 months time, you won’t be living with regret about what you wish you would have considered carefully before you accepted the offer.
Would you like some help to pull your plan together, or help to determine the right roles that can attract the right reward package?
Book a free, no-obligation 30-minute consultation with me and tell me your story.
Let’s see if I can help you shift the dial and secure your new career.