2.3.7.

F1

Asyoumovethroughyourcareeryouwillprobablyhaveopportuni estotakenewjobsandpossiblyrelocatetoa
dierentpartofthecountry.Theseopportuni escanhaveasignificantimpactonyourlifestyleandwellbeingaswellas
yourfinancialplan.

Evalua ngaJobOer
Tofindjobsthatcontributetoyourwellbeing,considerallaspectsofajobbeforeaccep ngtheposi on.Considera ons
include:

Thejobdescrip onEvaluateifitistherightjobforyou.Considerthejobdu es/responsibili es,

scheduleandenvironment.Itmaybehelpfultoaskyourselfafewques ons:Howdoesthisjob
contributetomycareer?

Job
Descrip on

Howdoesthisjobcontributetomycareer?
Isthecompanyagoodfitforme?IsthecompanysmissionsomethingIbelieveinandvalue?
WillIenjoythejob?Doestheworkseeminteres ng?Isitchallenging?
DoIhavetherightskillsforthejob?
WillIenjoytheschedule?Willthescheduleaectmyfamilylifeposi velyornega vely?
Isthereanopportunityforadvancement?
WillIberequiredtotravel?

WagesDetermineifthewagespaidareenoughtomaintain(orincrease)yourqualityoflife.Are
thewagescomparabletosimilarposi onswithintheoccupa onand/orindustry?

Wages

EmployeebenefitsEmployersmayoeraddi onalbenefitsbeyondearnedwages.Productsor
servicesprovidedbyanemployerthatprovideextravaluebeyondyourwagesareknownas
employeebenefits.Thesebenefitscano ensaveyoumoneybyprovidingyousomethingthat
youwouldhaveotherwisepurchasedonyourown.

Employee
Benefits

Whenconsideringajoboer,learnwhatemployeebenefitsareincludedandhowthosebenefitswillaectyour
spendingplan.
Describeanycurrentorpastemployeebenefitsyouhavereceived.

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2.3.7.F1

Examplesofemployeebenefitsinclude:

Insurance

Employerscommonlyoerhealth,lifeand/ordisabilityinsurance.Employer
providedinsuranceisusuallylessexpensivethaninsurancepurchasedprivately.

Re rement
contribu ons/
op ons

Therearemanytypesofemployersponsoredre rementplansandthespecifics
dependontheemployer.Someemployerswillmatchthefundscontributedby
theemployeethusincreasingtheamountintheaccountatnoaddi onalcostto
theemployee.

Flexiblespending

accounts

Aflexiblespendingaccountallowsanemployeetosetasideapor
onofearnings

topayforqualifiedexpensessuchasmedical/dentalexpensesanddependent
care.Themoneyplacedintoflexiblespendingaccountsisnottaxedwhichresults
inemployeesavings.

Sick,vaca on/

personal,and
holidayleave
Childcare

Flexiblescheduling

Parkingand/or

transporta on
Formaltraining

Wellness

Uniform/dry
cleaning
Other

Employersmayoeracertainamountofpaidorunpaiddaysforillness,

vaca on/personal,andholidays.

Employersmayoerchildcareforemployees.

Employersmayoerflexibleworkschedules,suchasworkingfromhomeor

workingamodifiedworkweek(forexampleworkingfourtenhourdaysper
weekinsteadoffiveeighthourdays).
Employersmayoerspecialparkingortransporta onop onstoandfromthe

workplace.
Employersmaypayforallorpartofthefeesforclasses,workshopsandother

formsofformaltrainingthusinves nginanemployeeshumancapital.

Benefitssuchasdiscountedgymmembershipsandfreehealthscreenings.

Employersmayprovideuniformorpayfordrycleaningcosts.

Aworkvehicle,cellphoneorcellphoneallowance,discountedmeals,etc.

VisittheCareerOneStopwebsite,
h
p://www.careeronestop.org/,for
moreinforma onaboutaccep ngajob
andlifelongemployment.

Whatemployeebenefitswouldbethemost
importanttoyou?

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2.3.7.F1

Loca on/Reloca on
Howfarwillyouhavetotravelfromyourhometoyourjob?
Isthejobinanareaorcommunitywhereyouwouldliketolive?Whatisthecrime
rate?Aretheschoolsgood?Whatistheclimatelike?
Doesthejobrequireyoutorelocate?
Whatwillbetheoutofpocketcoststorelocate?
Willyouremployerprovideyouwithmovingexpensefunds?
Whatisthecostoflivingintheareainwhichyourjobreloca onmaytakeyou?

Costoflivingreferstotheaveragecostofbasicnecessi essuchashousingand
food.Costoflivingvariesdrama callyacrossgeographicalareasandcan
dras callyaectyourspendingpower.Acostoflivingindexhelpsyoumeasure
thecostoflivingindierentgeographicalareas.Costoflivingindicesare
availableontheInternet.

Loca on

CostofLiving(COL)Index
<100

100

>100

Lower
COL

Average
COLin
U.S.

Higher
COL

SupposethattheaveragecostoflivingintheUnitedStatesismeasuredat100
onthecostoflivingindex.Anindexvaluelowerthan100indicatesalowercost
oflivingandoneexceeding100indicatesanareamoreexpensivethantheaverage.AccordingtotheUnitedStates
CensusBureau(h p://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/prices/
SperlingsBestPlaceswebsite
consumer_price_indexes_cost_of_living_index.html)thecostoflivingindexin
(h p://www.bestplaces.net/)
2012was164inSanFrancisco,CaliforniawhileMemphis,Tennesseescostof
livingindexwasaround88.YoucanseeataglancethatthecostoflivinginSan providescostoflivingindicesand
FranciscoissignificantlymoreexpensiveforyouthanifyoulivedinMemphis, calculatescostoflivingcomparisons
betweentwoloca ons.
TN.Keepinmindthatcostoflivingcanvaryfordierentitems.Forexample,
oneareamayhavelowhousingcostsbuthighfoodcosts.
Ifyouareconsideringmul plejoboersorarethinkingaboutleavingonejob
foranother,youshouldcompareallfactorsofthejoboerstodeterminethe
bestfitforyou.employmentopportuni esareoeredtoyouindierent
loca ons,determinehowmuchmoneyyouneedtoearnineachloca onto
maintainyourlifestyle.Manycostoflivingcomparisoncalculatorsare
availableontheInternettohelpyoucompareloca ons.

Costoflivingcalculatorexamples
SperlingsBestPlace
h p://www.bestplaces.net/

CNNMoney
h p://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/
costofliving/

MeetSara.Saraisintheprocessofcomparingthecostoflivingbetweenthe
ci esofMemphis,TN,whereshecurrentlylives,andSanFranciscoCAwheresherecentlywasoeredajob.Ather
currentjobinMemphis,Saraearns$35,000peryear.SarasjoboerinSanFranciscohasanannualsalaryof$60,000,
whichissignificantlyhigherthanhercurrentsalary.AtfirstglanceitappearsSarawould
increaseherqualityoflifeifshemovedtoSanFranciscobecauseshewouldearnmore
money.However,a erusinganonlinecostoflivingcomparisoncalculator,Sarafindsthe
costoflivinginSanFranciscoissignificantlyhigherthanMemphis.Thecalculatorindicates
thatSarawouldhavetoearnatleast$92,000inSanFranciscotomaintainthelifestyleshe
currentlyhasinMemphisonasalaryof$35,000.
Useanonlinecostoflivingcalculatortocomparea$30,000salarywhereyoucurrentlylivetoanother
loca on.Whichloca ongivesyouthemostspendingpower?

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2.3.7.F1

Youcanuseatableliketheonebelowtohelpyoucomparejoboers.Foreachjob,describethecharacteris csofthe
posi on.Then,rateeachcharacteris cofeachjobonascaleof1(notacceptable)to5(highlydesirable)basedonhow
muchyoufeelthateachcharacteris cwouldcontributetoyouroverallwellbeing.
A eryouhavecompletedthetablecompareeveryaspectofeachjobwhilekeepinginmindthatsomepartsofajob
oerwillbemoreimportanttoyouthanothers.Forexample,apersonmaypriori zeloca onhigherthanwageif
livinginapar cularareaisanimportantlifefactor.

Current
Job
Ra ng

CurrentJob
Descrip on

JobDescrip on

Jobdu esandresponsibili es
Howdoesthejobcontributetoyour
career?Willyouenjoyit?Doyouhave
theskillsrequired?Istherean
opportunityforadvancement?
Schedule
Whatistheschedule?Istravel
required?Howwillthescheduleaect
yourwellbeing?
Environment
Isthecompanyagoodfit?Isthework
culturesuitedtoyourpersonality?
Wages
Wages
Howmuchwillyouearnatthisjob?
Arethewagesenoughtomaintain(or
increase)yourcurrentlevelofliving?
EmployeeBenefits
Employeebenefits
Whatisthemonetaryvalueofthe
employeebenefitsoered?
Loca on
Loca on
Considerallfactorsoftheloca onof
thejobincludingcommute meandif
youwouldenjoylivingtheloca on.
CostofLivingIndex
Whatisthecostoflivingindexfor
eachloca on?
CostofLivingComparisonEqua on
Whatwageswouldyouhavetoearn
tomaintainyourcurrentlevelof
living?
Other
Other
Describeanyotherfactorsthatmay
aectyourdecision.

Job
Oer
Ra ng

JobOer
Descrip on

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2.3.7.F1

LifelongEmployment
Yourpresentselfimpactsyour
futureself.

Considerwhatyoucandotodaytocreate
futureemploymentopportuni es.

Toadvanceyourcareerandcreatefutureemploymentopportuni es,investinyourselfbybeingalifelonglearner.For
eachjobyouaccepttodayconsiderwhatfactorswillmakeyoumorevaluableandhelpyouadvanceinfuturejob/
careeropportuni es.
CareerOneStop(h p://www.careeronestop.org)isanonlineresourceprovidingthefollowing ps:
1. Knowandmeetyouremployer'sexpecta ons
Rememberyouhavethejobbecauseyourskills,experienceandknowledgemeetyouremployersneeds.
2. Striveforconstantimprovement
Askhowyoucanimproveandthenbeopentofeedback.
3. Bealifelonglearner
Professionaldevelopmentisakeypartofcareerdevelopment.Takeclasses,a endworkshopsand
conferencesandkeepupdatedontrendsinyourfield.
4. Portrayaprofessionalimageinallareasofyourlife
Makesureyouareportrayingaposi veimageofyourself.Whenyouareemployed,youarea
representa veofyouremployer.Yourac onsreflectyouremployersreputa on.Yourprofessionalimage
willalsoaectfuturejobopportuni es.Yourprofessionalimagealsoincludesyouronlineimage.When
pos ngonline,rememberthatyouronlineiden tycanbothhelpandhurtyou.
Followthese pstoensureyourreputa on/imageisnotbeendamaged:
Doanoccasionalonlinesearchofyournametoseewhatinforma onand/orimagesofyouareon
online.
Dontpostphotos,comments,discussions,ordiscriminatorycommentsthatmayharmyourimage
andreputa on.Thinkbeforeyoupost.
Createaprofessionalonlineiden tybyjoiningonlineprofessionalgroupssuchasLinkedIn.
Checkyourgrammar,spellingandwri ngforonlineposts.
5. Besensi veandadjusttowhatisappropriateindierentsitua ons
Appropriatedress,communica onandac onsvaryacrosssitua ons.Whatisconsideredappropriatewhen
socializingwithfriendsmightnotbeappropriateonthejob.
6. Maintainhighcharacterandethicalstandards
Employerslookforemployeeswhoarehonest,reliableandpunctual.
Whatothercharacteris csdoyouthink
employerslookforinemployees?

Whataretwothingsyoucanbegindoingtoday
tocreatefutureemploymentopportuni es?

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