Thought I'd weigh in on this a bit. I've been through a LOT of different jobs in the past, in different careers and locations. I would strongly agree with those that say that benefits may get someone to take a job, but work environment and atmosphere play a BIG part in keeping them. I've work for some large companies where the benefits were great but the management were just so bad I couldn't wait to leave. And they didn't particularly care if I did or not. Versus smaller companies that might not offer as great a package, but value you a lot more. Keep in mind that small companies if managed right will grow over time! Generally you will have better chances for advancement with a smaller company as well. The last company I worked for was small, but did just about everything right. They did the best they could with health insurance...offered multiple plans for different needs. You could get the cheap HMO plan or buy into a more expensive PPO plan. Good prescription coverage, vision, dental, etc. 401K with matching. 3 weeks vacation/1 week sick, flexible hours. All the usual stuff. To top it off, everyone was great to work with, the boss was superb, if you did a good job, they let you know it. And if there was something he wanted you to improve on, he would sit you down and discuss that as well. I remember one job in the past where I just had a feeling the manager was not happy with me for some reason. I finally cornered him and asked if there was a problem. He told me he didn't like my direct approach with clients (I tend to be very up-front if something they want is not a very good idea) and wanted me to just agree with anything they asked for. I was very frustrated that he wouldn't just tell me this, since it certainly was something I could easily do differently. So even if you aren't happy with an employee, for heavens sake, be honest with them! It's the only chance they have to improve.
The other thing I really appreciated with my previous job was outings as a group where we had lots of time to sit and chat together over lunch or dinner or bowling, whatever. Often the clients we worked with would be invited as well. Companies that do this are showing that they really put a premium on everyone knowing each other and getting along as a group. Training and education are big in my book too. Our field moves to fast for an employer to not help keep their workers up to date. And finally...I like having challenging, interesting work to do. I've been in a LOT of jobs where they really didn't have enough work to keep me busy and that really drives me nuts! I hate having to do "busy" work or trying to look like I'm doing something. Being overworked isn't great either, but having a job where I am always busy is definitely a big plus in my book. Now I have the joy of being my own boss and having NO benefits at all. I don't get real vacations anymore, my email comes with me because there's no one else to handle customer issues. No retirement benefits, education, etc. I do all that myself. And if you think finding good health insurance when job-hunting is tough, try being self-employed! It's really a wake-up call for me how bad the situation really is in the country. I naively thought I wouldn't have too much trouble since I don't really have any major health issues right now. How silly...if you've had just about *anything* in the last 5-10 years, you are out of luck. I at least am lucky enough to live in a state with guaranteed BC coverage (actually I considered that when choosing where to move to) and am able to afford the ridiculously high-priced premiums, deductables and co-pays, no way that most families would be able to. It's now something I look very closely at when elections roll around. BTW - my last employer was Cascades Technology in Herndon, VA. They have a job or two on CF-Jobs right now, and I could not recommend them any higher...great great folks to work for. Leaving them was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made! --- Mary Jo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Introducing the Fusion Authority Quarterly Update. 80 pages of hard-hitting, up-to-date ColdFusion information by your peers, delivered to your door four times a year. http://www.fusionauthority.com/quarterly Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:216669 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5
