As a college student looking for a job or thinking about career paths, it’s very easy to fixate on one variable – salary. While it’s necessary to find a job that supports your needs and lifestyle, there are other factors that are crucial to be aware of. Before starting my internship with Wealthy Habits this summer, the only thing I was considering in my career search was whether or not I would enjoy the field and how much money I could make. However, engaging in a more formal work environment has opened my eyes to other aspects that are equally as important to me.

The management environment at Wealthy Habits is very focused on the growth of the interns and employees, as well as allowing for open communication between employer and employee. This environment allowed me to learn, make mistakes, and consistently improve in my role, rather than having to worry about being perfect from the get-go. Although I may have been able to earn more elsewhere, I actually enjoyed my time at work, and came home knowing that I was bettering myself and improving my skills every day. This was a sharp contrast to many jobs I held in the past, where I came home frustrated, feeling like I accomplished nothing but draining my hours in the day. This brought me to the realization that company work culture and the opportunity to learn on the job can make or break a position for me in the same way that a salary can.

Making a job decision solely on salary without looking at other factors can lead to frustrations and dead ends down the road. If you are going to have to spend hours of your week at work, why not do it somewhere that you don’t hate? There are numerous aspects to evaluate when deciding if a job is a good fit, and understanding now what is most important to you can help you decide between options. Here are a few examples of job offerings to consider your search:

1)  Benefits – Even if a job doesn’t have the highest paying salary, pay attention to the benefits packages they offer. Health insurance benefits, education and tuition assistance, retirement packages, and paid vacation and holidays are just a few of the benefits to look into beyond salary. Many of these benefits are expenses you would have to pay otherwise, so take into account how much money you can save with various packages – that’s money that won’t have to come out of your paycheck, effectively increasing the amount of your salary you can use. Keep in mind that different benefits will be useful in different stages of life; you may realize that a great paid time off deal is more essential to you if you need more flexibility, or that the tuition assistance offered will allow you to save money on school and finish your degree sooner, or that the retirement plan would set you up well for years to come.

2) Company Values – Making decisions or doing things that go against your conscience can cause a lot of anxiety and turmoil, so being aware of company values (and whether or not they align with your values) before accepting an offer is one of the best ways to avoid unnecessary job stress.

3) Work/Life Balance – Try to get an idea of what your work/life balance would look like in different positions, considering both the company’s expectations and your boundaries. Will your workday end when you leave, or will you be expected to check your work email and solve issues over the weekend? If you work from home, will you be able to separate work life from home life? Ensuring that your place of work won’t take over your life will afford for a healthier balance of other activities and relationships outside of work.

4) Skill Acquisition and Growth Opportunities – Finding an entry-level job in which you continue developing yourself and growing your skillset is extremely important for the future, setting you up for career growth and making you a more valuable employee. Think long-term about what positions you would like to work towards in the future and what skills must be acquired to get there. Examine whether the role in question might equip you for those positions down the road. Having the chance to invest in yourself through work allows you to spend each day actively preparing for the next opportunity, whatever it may be, rather than feeling like you are gaining nothing at work.

5) Job Environment – Job environment includes the team culture, team communication style, and the management style of those you are working with. There is no single “right” team culture; rather, it comes down to what you are looking for in a job, and how well the career or position you are looking at matches that. Maybe you are looking for a role in which you and your coworkers are encouraged to interact and learn from one another, or one where you can learn from the example of your superiors. Managers that have unrealistic expectations and care only about the work done rather than the employees do not foster this type of growth, so it’s wise to get an idea ahead of time depending on what you want out of the job.

These are just a few of the many aspects to examine when weighing between positions. Even if you’re not looking for a full-time career yet, it’s judicious to go ahead and consider what qualities are important to you. This will allow you to take control of your job search, rather than allowing it to be exclusively controlled by the dollar amount under the description. If you really care about being prepared for the future, find a place with great retirement benefits. If you want to invest in yourself, find a place where you are passionate about the skills you’re learning. A job shouldn’t solely be a place where you make money; your place of work can be fulfilling and even beneficial to other areas of your life, giving you the best of both worlds.

Here are some ways you can find information about potential employers:

• Look at the company website to assess how they describe their employee expectations, what benefit packages they offer, what type of culture they claim to have, their professed values, etc.
• Research the company on a site such as Glassdoor or LinkedIn to see what current and previous employees think about their places of work, and how they evaluate things such as team culture and work/life balance. Compare this to what you’ve seen on the website.
• When you have a job interview, don’t be afraid to ask questions such as:
  • How would you describe the work environment/team culture here?
  • How much time do your employees spend working after hours?
  • What does the employer-employee relationship look like here? What is the communication like here?
  • What are the growth opportunities offered by this position?