Good decisions are the foundation of a successful career. One of the most important career decisions you will make (or are currently making) is what company to accept a job offer from.

When you work for a top-rate company, you enjoy the following benefits:

– A happier career.

– A higher class of co-worker.

– More money.

– More room for advancement.

– More employer appreciation.

– More intellectual stimulation.

– Better future prospects for your next job.

Conversely, when you don’t approach your job search correctly, you run the risk of waking up every morning unhappy, underpaid, unappreciated and little to no future job prospects. Our recruiters have also seen poor career decisions take adverse health tolls on individuals.

Needless to say, you want to avoid bad companies at all costs. Life is too short. The first way to do so is to keep an open mind about industry, function and size.

Job offers and industry, function and size

a. Industry – Look at any and all industries. There are some really great companies in verticals that you probably have never considered.

This is not to mention that some of the “hottest” industries have so many job applicants applying to their open positions, that you run the risk of just being another number to them.

b. Function – You should always follow what you’re passionate about. Although, a bit cliche and overused, I don’t disagree with that.

However, many job seekers don’t realize that they could be passionate and effective at more than one thing. Thus, they fail to look at opportunities that could turn into very fruitful careers.

The first step to opening your mind to other experiences is understanding that no job is perfect regardless of what you may be told.

c. Size – Don’t mistake a company’s size with their ability to provide you with a good career. The best companies in existence are the one’s that can make the most money with the least amount of expenses.

Traditionally, our recruiters have also seen very little correlation between a company’s size and their stability.

Determining if you are going to accept the right job offer

Any recruiter who knows what they’re doing will tell you that just because someone offers you a job, doesn’t mean you have to accept it.

Interview enough places and you’ll eventually get some offers. It’s getting job offers at progressive, interesting companies which separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls.

Here are 3 questions to ask yourself prior to accepting that job offer:

1. Does the industry have a moat? The best businesses are the ones that are not easy to get into. They have a fortress in the same manner that Kings would put water around their castle (hence, the reference).

For instance, anybody can become a social media manager, therefore the industry gets saturated. However, opening up a viable competitor to Wal-mart is a bit of a different story.

2. Are they technologically up to date? If the firm is running outdated servers, has outdated web programming and old computers, consider them less viable. Technology moves too quickly for any firm to not be on top of what’s going on in the tech arena.

3. What are the tones of their speech patterns? Of the 5 analysis listed, speech pattern analysis is probably the most subtle to pick up on. In our recruiters’ opinion, it’s the most important gauge of whether a company can provide you with a fitting career.

In a nutshell, look for people who convey positive thoughts. Optimism is a key component to a quality company that you want a job offer from.

Author:

Ken Sundheim is the CEO of KAS Placement Recruiting a sales and marketing executive search firm based out of New York City. He is also a writer for Forbes.