When looking for a job, we often look at a wide variety of factors. Many of us start with things like salary, benefits, type of job, and location. In fact, I think the majority of people search for a job using these main criteria. For example, you might want a job in Boston and so that becomes a main search criteria for you. Or you may want a job as an Epic EHR consultant and so you search for a job of that type.
All of these are important criteria. You definitely don’t want to take a job with a small salary, poor benefits, doing something you don’t enjoy in a place you don’t want to be. Actually, I think a job like this is a specific location: hell. No one wants to work there. So, those factors are important and shouldn’t be disregarded.
With that said, there’s another criteria when searching for a job that is often not given the weight it deserves: Your Boss.
Your boss can have a greater impact on your job happiness than almost any other job factor. They often determine the type of work you do. They’ll determine the deadlines for the projects you work on. They can impact for good or bad almost every aspect of your job. That’s why they’re called a boss. Having a great one is wonderful. Having a terrible one sends you back to that place mentioned above.
Determining what kind of boss you’ll have can be a challenge during the job interview process, but it can be done. First, take note what the boss is like during the interview. You can learn a lot about them by their actions. Plus, you can certainly ask them questions about their management style and their expectations for the position. Second, talk to those future colleagues who are under the same boss. You’ll be surprised how open many of them will be about the work environment if you act interested.
Don’t underestimate how much a boss can influence your happiness at a job. If you do, you’ll be unhappy and back on the job search again.