We're Hiring! Wait...What Do You Look For In An Employer?

I've been procrastinating on this topic for a while now. This blog post topic came to mind whilst scrolling through job postings a while back. We often see all these job postings about what characteristics & qualifications employers are looking for in the right employee for the advertised position but what are we looking for in the right employer?

You don't have to have a long work history to know what the top qualities you look for in an employer are. Even if you are new to the job world, there must be a few things that are either important to you or are non negotiable when selecting a company to work for. Remember this is a place where you are going to spend at least 8 hours of your day and you want to ensure that it is a company that you are proud to work for.

For me I think the top 5 qualities that are important to look for in a company are (in no particular order),

• Benefits

• Company Culture

• Work Life Balance

• Reputation

• Growth Opportunities

Benefits:

My dad always says, in order to attract quality employees you have to offer some sort of benefit(s). Two being health insurance and a pension plan, which are a couple of the most common ones offered here in The Bahamas. The cost of living is VERY expensive in The Bahamas and having an employer who offers a health plan is very attractive to a potential employee. For me, seeing that an employer offers a health insurance plan means that they care about the health of their employees. It's nice to know that should you become sick for instance especially if it is work related you can rest assure that you can easily go to a private physician and even the private hospital instead of relying on the public health care system. It is especially important for women and children to have health insurance, as we know women are the ones to give birth and need medical care before, during and after pregnancy. Children break bones, have accidents and it is just a great safety net to have that eases the financial burden. If you're employer doesn't offer health insurance I recommend negotiating a salary that allows you to afford your own personal health insurance coverage.

Pension plans are another great benefit that an employer can offer. The type of pension plan that I am referring to is one where your employer (sponsored contributor) makes a certain contribution and so do you. For example you may put 2% of your monthly salary and your employer may match that with 2%. This means that every month you have a certain amount of money allocated towards your retirement / pension fund. This is so beneficial because so many of us live for the now, often not putting aside funds for the time when we are no longer working a 9-5 job. As soon as you start working I recommend opening a pension plan. Even if your company doesn't offer it you can open one by yourself and as you move from job to job just continuing to add to it. CFAL has an individual pension plan called the Blue Marlin Personal Pension Plan where you can sign up for a voluntary or self-employed contributor plan, meaning that you are the sole contributor to the plan. Check out their website for further details.

Company / Organizational Culture:

IMPORTANT! Company / Organizational culture "refers to the attitudes and behaviors of a company and its employees" according to thebalancecareers.com. It encompasses things such as work ethics, work environment, expectations, values etc. Just because it sounds good on paper doesn't mean that the company is the right fit for you. The way in which they operator or treat their staff may not sit well with you or it may go against your morals and values. Do your research & ask the questions.

Work Life Balance:

As a millennial work life balance is super important. Why? because I want to know that yes I have a job but I also have a life outside of that job. When you lack work life balance feelings of resentment, being overwhelmed, stress and anxiety come into play. I'm sure we have all had those moments where we gave our employer much more of ourselves than what they give to us in earnings. Those moments can and will happen from time to time based on various factors but its imperative that you don't make that a habit. My mom always says, if you start something with an employer they are going to continue to expect it. If you always go into work at 7AM when you are scheduled for 9AM they may just continue to expect that from you. This is fine for times where you need to put in that extra work in an effort to meet a deadline but try not to make it a habit. Burnout is real and the feelings that come along with it. When not at work don't check your e-mails, that just might be the day that you get one that may put your whole day off in a sour mood. When not at work take advantage of your free time to do the things that make you happy and bring you joy. You don't want to just work, go home and repeat. Remember to enjoy life. Work is a part of your life but it is not your life.

Reputation:

This is a big one! Just how an employer wouldn't want to hire someone with a bad reputation and or references. As a job seeker you wouldn't want to work for a company with a poor reputation. Do your research. The good thing about living in The Bahamas is that it is a small island. I'm sure you either know someone, or know someone that knows someone who works or worked at the company you're interested in. Find out what is it like to work for the company, how they treat their staff, do they pay them fairly, do they have structure? An employer can tell you they are the best company in that industry for the reasons that they may think matter but what are the employees saying? Taking a few notes from the noise in the market never hurt no one.

Growth Opportunities:

Not a lot of companies offer opportunities for their employees to partake in higher educational courses. It is very appealing to see a company offer workshops, classes, university scholarships & other various educational opportunities to their staff. To me it shows that they place a high importance on the growth of their employees who will then in turn use that gained knowledge to better that company.

We are grateful to have our employers and they should be grateful to have us as well. It is a mutual relationship that should be built on mutual understandings.

Let's chat in the comments below! What do you look for in an employer?