Going beyond in your career

Whether starting or changing to a new job, it is never an easy decision.  Many valid candidates show great enthusiasm during the interviewing process and demonstrate a genuine interest in a new role that is being offered to them.  But it is not uncommon to find that, at the very end of the recruitment process, a significant number of candidates “freeze” in their tracks and decline the opportunity.  Of course, candidates do shop around and some might even use the offer to leverage their position with their current employer.  Some do not find the courage to make the bold step and simply withdraw.

Although it may be rather difficult to know exactly what a candidate may be thinking, experience lead me to conclude that such candidates fall into a self-designed trap of disillusionment, rather than have the courage to go beyond what is on the surface, and to also go beyond what the employment community preaches to be the ideal set of employment conditions.  The most common doubts surface:  Am I being offered a position at the right level or do I feel I deserve a superior level?  Am I being offered the right package or do I feel I am worth much more than that? Is the firm’s name prestigious enough to appear on my CV or should I just be choosy and simply follow what others would perceive to be the better brand?

It is my view that these are not the most important questions to discern upon when considering a change of job.  No doubt, there are factors that are important ingredients to one’s considerations, like the salary and position being offered.  I would normally term these as “hygiene factors”.  The challenge is to go beyond these factors.  Imagine waking up every morning to go to work and the first thing you think about is your salary or your position or the popularity of the brand you are working for.  After a few days you would get tired and it stops being a realistic scenario anyhow.

So what should be the burning questions you need to ask yourself when considering a change to a new job?  Well, how about: do I get a strong sensation that this organisation is focussed on learning and development?  Do I get a good glimpse about career progression within this firm or will I be stuck because I would hit a glass ceiling the moment I set foot inside?  Do I feel a fair amount of joy and challenge about this new role and can I see myself being happy doing this kind of work for an appreciable amount of time?  Rather than getting lost in a myriad of introspective questioning, the challenge is to look forward and to get a glimpse of the future and what it could look like for you in the next 3 or 5 years.

This is the approach that we take with all our candidates at Grant Thornton.  We may be impressed with the way some people try to sell themselves, and that is fine.  But we also know that a good recruitment process is a two-way choice: the firm chooses the candidate and the candidate chooses the firm also.  This is why we are so different.  Together with the applicants we try to explore what the future could look like and how such progression could be achieved.  This is why we seem to strike a good feeling with those who apply for a role with Grant Thornton, because we go beyond what is traditionally expected, and we challenge our candidates to go beyond their normal “hygiene” factors on their list, in their deliberations.

Today’s generation of young adults is looking for more. I think that Grant Thornton could be an ideal “thirst quencher” for them. Let’s learn how to go beyond. Check out our Careers page for the latest job openings https://www.grantthornton.com.mt/careers/