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Dr. Frank Burtnett is the former President of Education Now, an independent consulting firm headquartered in Springfield, Virginia and Rockport, Maine. Since 1995, he has served as the principal consultant to NAPS on certification, accreditation, credentialing and educational matters. He was recently elected to the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS) Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the professional development of search and staffing industry consultants. Frank is a counselor, educator, consultant, and author whose career has been dedicated to educational and career development issues, as well as service to the profession through management roles in professional counseling organizations. Today, he serves as an adjunct professor on the counselor education faculty of Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. His most recent publication, Career Challenges, examines the things people “do wrong” and “don’t do” in their quest for career satisfaction, work life after COVID and life–work balance. Two earlier youth and young-adult oriented guidebooks concentrated on the school-to-college and education-to-work transitions. Frank earned a BS in education at Shippensburg University and an MA and an EdD in counseling at George Washington University. Frank Burtnett invites career questions to answer in his new Q&A on EMinfo. Submit to Frank at ednow@aol.com His book Career Challenges was published by the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. You can order his book: Career Challenges here > https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781475868081/Career-Challenges-Straight-Talk-about-Achieving-Success-in-the-Technology-Driven-Post-COVID-World-of-Work-3rd-Edition
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Making the Right Choice, Job Choice That Is!
By Frank Burtnett | Tuesday April 26, 2022
EMInfo Reader: The Department of Labor is reporting job switching at near record rates as members of the workforce have been trying to capitalize on economic momentum that is seeing U.S. employers add a record number of new jobs. I’m finding more and more candidates asking what factors they should factor into their new employment decision. What should I tell them?
Dr. Burtnett: In my book Career Errors, I introduce job seekers and changers to the Fundamental Employment Acceptance Test, or FEAT for short. FEAT asks candidates for new or different employment to examine six factors that must be considered when they are faced with choosing from among one or a number of job offers.
The FEAT test seeks to examine six elements that are critical to future satisfaction and success. Following, I have excerpted from Career Errors the basic question that each element seeks to address:
Work: Is the offered position one the job seeker is capable of performing at the required competence level and enjoy doing?
Employment security: Does the position under consideration possess the short-term and long-term security that will foster career success and satisfaction?
People factor: Does that workplace culture and interaction with people (i.e., peers, managers, etc.) correspond to the individual’s personal preferences and social needs?
Compensation and benefits: Is the salary commensurate with the job seeker’s knowledge and skillset and competitive in the business, firm, agency, organization, or institution where the work is performed?
Growth and mobility opportunities: Does the new employment promote workplace experiences, as well as continuing education opportunities, that will sustain and nurture the individual’s career development?
Life-work balance: Will the job seeker be able to satisfy personal and lifestyle interests and objectives both in their work and leisure experiences?
Using FEAT, the decision-maker creates a “yardstick” for measuring the acceptability of the job offer, including where she or he will place their unique priorities and preferences---thereby personalizing the process to the greatest degree.