The June Poll Results

I think that we hit a nerve with our June Poll: 89 RESPONSES! Thanks to those of you who took the time to complete this poll, and who once again offered up some interesting, and even somewhat surprising results. In this poll, we asked you what are the top 3 things that you consider when in a job search. Let's review the results:

Salary/benefits (64%) - I'm not surprised that salary/benefits (i.e. Total Compensation) would be ranked at the top, but I have to say that I'm surprised that it was the #1 choice by such a large margin. It's no secret that we could all use for our dollar to stretch more and more all the time. It's also no surprise that a good benefits package is important at a time when it seems that companies have to cut back on what they have been offering. When it comes to this survey though, a new job is clearly All About the Benjamins (and other perks too)...

Work/Life Flexibility (43%) - No surprise that this ranked high either. We all need more time to do more things in today's society, and those organizations that offer good work-life flexibility options are clearly placing themselves ahead of the game with their candidates. Fortunately, McGladrey has several great work-life flexibility options that place us as a leader in our industry.

Career Growth (34%) - It's not just about getting a job, it's about what the future may hold as well. You indicated here that the future, and how an employer can help you achieve your goals, is very important to you. McGladrey is doing some great things in formalizing Career Development plans with their employees. Check back here in the coming weeks for more information on how we are helping our employees understand and take control over their own career growth options.

Nature/Scope of Work (33%) - Now this one really shocked me. This essentially what the job is all about. For me personally, it would of been my number one choice, but that's just me.

Surprisingly, Job Security (30%) comes in tied for 5th in the results. With unemployment at 25 year record highs, layoffs still threatening many organizations, and many people still concerned about their current job stability, I really expected this selection to be ranked much higher.

Also in 5th place, Location (30%). I also thought that I would see this ranked a bit higher. With concerns about work-life flexibility and the environment, I expected that the location of the job would play a much stronger role in one's decision making process. I guess however that when jobs are not as plentiful as they once were, that location can take a back seat when it comes to landing that next ideal job. For those of you who have a strong interest in location, you can check out our McGladrey Location Google Map to see just what type of commute you would have to one of our offices.

The only other selection that surprised me in this poll was Company Reputation (23%). In light of the scandals and challenges that many organizations have experienced over the past year, I really had thought that more people would of had this high on their radar when considering future employers.

Since you only had three choices however, they all couldn't be ranked high. These are interesting and unusual times, which makes me wonder just how different the results might of been if we had run this poll a year ago.

Thanks again to all of you who participated in this poll. Check back in the next few days for a new poll for July!