As a young computer science student most of the students around me dreamed of working for a video game company. They had an eye on what they wanted to do forever. In reality the video game industry isn’t always the best career, and although they didn’t all know that, they did know that they enjoyed playing video games. As good engineers they could see great ways to make the experience better, and started to develop a passion from the thing they enjoyed doing. As most of the students get into the job search they realized that there aren’t that many video game companies out there, and they don’t always pay the most. The majority would pick a job that started with a decent wage and move past the idea of chasing their dream.
Chances are high that the dream of becoming a video game developer wasn’t really their deep down long sought after dream, and the choice was probably easier to make than most realize. However, I do think that once we get past the allusion that we were destined to be a star video game developer we are willing to go after any job that will pay the bills.
Jim Collins says in Good to Great that one of the keys to going from a good company to a great company is getting the right people on the bus, and getting them on the right seat.
I believe this applies as much to a new engineer trying to become a great engineer. Finding the right bus, and finding the right seat is a crucial step. Often times we get so focused on getting a job, any job that we don’t realize how important this decision is.
Finding a job that will give you a shot and give you experience is often a necessary first step. If you are lucky enough to have the ability to choose between job offers I urge you to consider the following questions.
What are my values?
You will often hear of people use the core values statement to describe what they want to be. This is important, and I think you should consider that. I want you to consider even more, though, what your core values are, and not just what you want them to be. What are the things that make up your core. For example I hold integrity, service, respect, excellence, innovation, and authenticity as the tenets that cannot be shaken in my core. When you are looking at a company to work for how can you identify whether the company will stand to your core values or not? Finding a way to ask certain questions to your interviewers, or the HR recruiter so that you can gauge the conversation and decide whether your core values will align with the company’s. If you do not do this you will potentially find yourself in a situation where the misalignment in values causes a resentment between you and the company. This is never a good situation.
What is the mission and purpose of the company?
Every company in the world exists to a certain extent to be profitable. This is not a mission or a purpose that you can easily align yourself to. At some point unless you are the owner of the company, or partner the idea of being profitable will not be enough to get you through the hard days at work. Finding a company that has a purpose that you can truly stand behind makes the good and bad days at work even better. Finding a link between the company you want to work for and a purpose that is worthy of your time will always lead you to more successful results. If you can walk into an interview and show a glimpse of the passion you have for the mission the company is trying to accomplish you will definitely set yourself apart.
What is your 5 year plan?
This question comes up in some form in interviews all the time. It may not be exactly framed at 5 years, and you don’t have to have everything lined out. Having a goal or plan for where you would like to see yourself is something that I believe everyone needs to have. Will this company help you become who you were created to be?
It is also very important to be realistic in this regard. Looking to be a VP after 5 years isn’t necessarily something the interviewer will buy into. If you want to be in senior management that is a great goal. Finding a way to set your goal around how to build your leadership skills over the next 5 years is something that is easier to sell. Looking for ways to learn the business, drive results, and lead others to do the same is something that most any company will hold in high regard. Check out the Leadership section for more information on how to build these skills. If you have a realistic goal set for yourself make sure the company you are looking at can help you achieve that goal.