A job offer should always be presented on paper.  It is frivolous and unprofessional for an employer to expect a new employee to accept employment terms if they are not clearly laid out on paper, and agreed to by all parties.  Verbal agreements may be binding in some courts, but they leave far too much room for misinterpretation and discrepancy.  Of course, you will likely have discussed the details of the offer verbally to come to agreement on all points before it is laid out on paper, but no work should commence until there is a signed physical contract.  With modern technology, there is no logical reason why an employer wouldn’t be able to produce a written contract.  It can be printed, faxed, mailed, or e-mailed.

During your job search, you will likely come across many possible organizations that seem to have the basic make-up you are looking for. But be sure to take a closer look and get an accurate picture of the company’s history and current status in the market.

Here are a few things to look for when considering an organization:

Stability: publicly owned companies will have posted financial statements so that you can get an idea of their financial stability. But privately owned companies can be trickier to evaluate. Pay attention to certain factors such as how long the company has been in business, and the success rate of competitors, and market share. Find out whatever you can about their history and financial stability. Corporate closures and foreclosures happen and it can be extremely disheartening to lose a job you spent months trying to get. If you are considering an offer from a new or not well established business, you may want to consider adding a severance payout clause in your employment agreement.

We can probably all agree that the ultimate sign of success in job hunting is getting a job offer. But we also realize that there are many steps to getting there. It’s a process that takes a lot of thought and it is important to stop along the way to take stock of what we’ve accomplished and assess how we are doing. The sooner we identify accomplishments and goals; the sooner we can align our approach and stay on the track to results.

For starters, you should be keeping a record of all your pursuits: e-mails sent, follow-up phone calls, any and all correspondence. Dates are very important in maintaining an accurate view of a job search campaign. It also helps if you jot down notes referring to what was discussed in a previous phone call or meeting. When you start to accumulate contacts and manage multiple job pursuits, it can be tricky to keep track of every detail. Keep your records up-to-date so that you can run occasional evaluations and progress assessments.

There can be many factors contributing to the interview structure. The sheer volume of applicants can force an employer to add an initial round of screening interviews; especially, if he is unable to narrow down the applicants sufficiently from their resumes. It may be impossible to eliminate candidates with equal qualifications; so, the first round interview is put in place to help with the process. That first interview will be a make or break meeting for you.

Before you start to look for a job, you need to have a clear idea of what you want and where you see yourself. There may be many potentially suitable industries or companies that would require your expertise, but regardless of your academic credentials there may only be a select few that truly suit you.

When looking for a job, we tend to focus on pleasing the employer. Although this is a very good attitude, and as important as it is, it fails to satisfy the equally important element which will inevitably be an issue sooner or later: pleasing yourself. The right job is not just about matching your professional qualifications with an employer.