‘Don’t let your emotions have the final say’, one of my friends, William Tincup, told this to me when Nishant and I were searching for a new home to buy.

We were kind of pondering about all the awesomeness of every single house that we stepped in – the wooden floors that shine like glass, the spacious kitchen with top brand appliances and the interior extravaganzas that were decorated in a way to manipulate our eyes and overlook important flaws if any.

Well, the same can happen while deciding on your next company to work for. The fame of the company, a high salary and attractive perks can positively influence you. And you might end up making a wrong choice. But what really matters is, do you see yourself continuing there for a longer period, can you be yourself and use your skills and help you grow as a professional. Or would you need to compromise who you are as a person?

Here are a few things that I suggest you look at while deciding on where to work

Know yourself first

In our case, we both are kind of outdoor guys who always spend their weekends playing some sports, doing gardening, painting & sculpting and we do all things that can make a home dirty. We always wanted a home that suits our personality, where we can be comfortable enough to do everything that we want to do. And we didn’t want a high class house that always needs a lot of maintenance and care and that would restrain ourselves from being what we are.

So choose a company that is suitable to your personality. Do great research that helps you know everything about the work culture and check if your values match their organizational values. For instance, are you an upbeat person who wants to work in a interactive work culture and can your friendly and upbeat nature help nurture the culture of the organization?

Don’t force yourself to fit in

Home should be a place where you can live peacefully without worrying about how to make your next loan payment or worrying over a maintenance work that you ignored and now has turned into a bigger problem. When you see all the great things about a house, chances are there that you tend to compromise on your budget or any flaws and might over commit. You won’t be able to sleep well concerned about your over commitments.

And while choosing a company that needs you to relocate to another place or if the job requires you to travel frequently, don’t compromise and commit if you don’t enjoy doing that job. Work should be a place that you should be excited about stepping in everyday and you should love what you do. So don’t try to fit in just because they offer great money.

Understand what you really want out of your job

In our case we were very particular about the things that we want from our home. For example, we were looking for a home that is near to where we work, and were very particular that we need a home that has a yard and a balcony. Listing down these things helped us make our choices faster and easier to select from the available options.

Would you want a job that allows telecommute? Are you looking for work life balance or career advancement? Understand your priorities and then look for a company that allows you to be who you are and provides what you are looking for. So you can focus on your work and excel in your career.

Choosing your next company to work for can be quite tricky and daunting at the same time. It requires continued research on how it’s like to be working there. It can be one of the hardest decisions of your career. To settle at a company where you see yourself continuing for a longer time, that gives you an environment where you can be yourself, helps you utilize your skills, contribute and grow along with organization. But what if the organization doesn’t promote career advancement or if the job doesn’t provide an opportunity to develop. Always look for a job where you can learn something new and that can strengthen your possibilities in future.

So how about new home? Yes, This is our dream home, indeed.