There's more to jobs than money
Hooray! After years of living on two minute noodles and baked beans, you can finally look forward to your first full time pay and a lovely piece of steak. But while cash is king, a good salary is made up of more than just money and it’s important to keep an eye for the potential perks that add value and bump up your pay packet.
The thing with added benefits is that they hold different value to different people; one person may really value their mobile expenses being covered, where another may be looking for a role that offers on the job travel. Keep in mind which kinds of perks are more beneficial to you when negotiating your package and also work out their approximate value. Many will save you money, which in turn keeps more cash in the hand ready for spending.
If it is your first contract negotiation, you may not be aware of what the options are, so here’s five thought starters.
- Holidays: Extra holiday leave is a fantastic perk as it allows you additional time for travel, time spent with family or friends, the ability to fit other passions and interests in around work or simply a little extra downtime. When negotiating your package, asking for a week’s additional holiday in place of extra cash could mean your offer fits within the staffing budgets when other candidates’ don’t.
- Training: Employers offer varying degrees of on the job training and its worth finding out the organisations learning and development policy prior to accepting a job offer. Training can range from formalised learning through a third party education supplier, to a structured mentoring programme within the company or internal courses to assist in development. Training opportunities can also take the more simple form of a company culture geared towards nurturing and developing its staff.
Each company is different so be sure to ask in the interview how the company encourages employee growth and development to find out more and ensure it aligns with your expectations.
- Flexibility: Increasingly, employers are making work-life balance a priority for their employees, having realised the benefits that flexibility has on the levels of satisfaction and motivation for their staff.
- Technology: Everyone wants the latest and greatest technology, so it can be a huge score if your employer is willing to provide you with a laptop, tablet or smartphone and cover the running costs. If your job requires a lot of travel then these kinds of perks are more likely to come your way but they are increasing across the board.
Bear in mind though that, for some, providing these tech tools can relate directly to an expectation on your availability when you’re not in office. Make sure the understanding about personal versus work use are clear before saying yes to the iPhone or you could find yourself with a hefty bill to pay or, on the flipside, fielding calls over dinner!
- Transport: Forking out for parking, public transport or maintaining a car can take up a fair whack of your salary so company cars and car parks are often highly sought after. Usually a company car will only be provided if your role involves a lot of day-to-day travel but car parking can be huge cost saver if you’re working in the inner city.
Click through to more tips on negotiating a winning package for your needs.
Make sure you check out these other graduate articles:
- The leg up and the foot in the door
- Put the jeggings away - the working wardrobe and what's appropriate
- Degree done, but it's not really what I want to do
