How to avoid a bad job

When searching for the right job, the best advice I can give is to be choosy. There are plenty of less than great jobs out there, many of which you may easily obtain. But no one on the professional level should settle for just a J-O-B.

Even more important, as you search for the job that’s right for you, you need to be particularly vigilant and avoid the bad jobs. Anyone who has ever looked for a job on any major job site like Monster or CareerBuilder will find a myriad of quality jobs, but woven into that fabric of jobs are many bad jobs that look very attractive at first glance, but upon further examine turn out to be bad jobs. This likelihood increases when looking for a job on free online classified sites like Craigslist.

In order for you to avoid falling hook, line, and sinker for what I like to call a “sexy dud” of a job, here are some signs that you may be pursuing a bad job:

• Job listing requires applicants to specify their salary history and/or requirements. When a prospective employer asks candidates to reveal salary history or requirements, it’s a pretty clear indication that the company has a limited budget. While this may not necessarily mean the company is in financial trouble or facing bankruptcy, what it does mean, is that there will be very little wiggle room to negotiate salary, and there will also likely be few chances, if any, for future promotions and/or salary increases.
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• Listing does not mention required skills. In cases where required skills are not listed in a jobs listing, chances are the entity that listed the job is looking for affiliate partners, rather than employees. While this may work well for someone in the multi-level marketing crowd or a candidate who can afford to enter into a partnership in lieu of a job with consistent income, unless you are willing to put in the time and risk career continuity and progression, it is probably best to skip this one.
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• Job listing is vague, inconsistent, or incomplete. A vague or inconsistent job listing can mean that the employer is ill prepared to hire, train, and develop the right candidate. Somewhere along the line there is a chink in the company’s armor, from HR to executive management. Your goal should always be to find the right job that will get you where you want to be in your career. A company that demonstrates from the start that they may not be in a position to develop you and provide you with the best work experiences to advance your career is not worth your time.
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• Listing has too many or impossible requirements. Some companies will require 10 years of experience in a technology or process that has existed for far less time. Still others will list a laundry list of desired requirements that not only is much too long to read, but also seeks the perfect candidate. Employers who list impossible or excessive requirements end up spending a great deal of money and time on finding qualified candidate, which can slow down growth of a company. You want to have a job at a company that is moving forward, not one that is running in place.

There are thousands of jobs out there, despite the struggling economy. Just be sure to filter out the great jobs from the bad jobs when searching for a job.