Before accepting a job in Bangkok, it’s essential to understand as much as possible about your salary, your day-to-day work, company goals and progression opportunities. You should be excited about the whole package, so here’s our 5 top questions to ask your Bangkok employer – plus an extra one when you have the 5 answers. First up, a biggie.
Questions to ask Before Accepting a Job in Bangkok
1. Is the Salary Negotiable?
If you’re feeling confident in your skillset and think you’re worth more, then ask if the salary is negotiable and say what you want. Remember, most employers aren’t going to tell you that they could pay more, but if you can give them a case for a higher wage then they may go for it. The employer may have a salary band for the role, meaning they might be prepared to pay more for the right person – and you already know they want you.
2. Are the Hours Flexible and Can I Work Remotely?
Whether it’s family commitments, work-life balance or just being a millennial, this is a perfectly acceptable question to be asking a potential new employer in 2022. Work isn’t 9-5 anymore, technology makes it possible to work from pretty much anywhere and as long as the work’s done, does it matter where – or when – you do it? Asking this question will answer that one, and give you a good idea of how progressive and trusting the company is.
While you’re there, ask about communication expectations as well. Do they expect you to answer emails and phone calls outside of office hours or on your lunch break? Modern employers know that being able to switch-off is not only healthy for their staff, it’s healthy for business too as employees are more alert, productive and have a stronger respect for the employee-employer relationship.
3. What Career Progression is Available?
This one is simply best-practice for any professional, whether you’re starting out or moving on up. You need to know that your employer has a progression path for you when you inevitably excel and want to move up. Don’t worry about this seeming inappropriate or presumptuous at such an early stage, it’s the responsible thing to do and any good employer with a long-term strategy should know how you can continue to grow within the company.
Of course, even if they have a strong progression track for you, you also need to know what direction you want to go in. The two may not match, which means your only route to progression may be out of the business. But that’s good to know too, and when it comes to recruitment companies, Bangkok has a number of reputable ones that will keep your professional career moving forward, including our expert team.
4. What Training and Development do you Offer?
The very best employers don’t just hire, they also retain and develop their employees by investing in them. It’s becoming a standard expectation for professionals who want to be continuously growing and increasing the value they bring to a role (and their CV). Ask about ‘back to school’ subsidised courses, in-house workshops and training days with experts.
Needless to say, this is probably one of the best questions you can ask a Bangkok employer as it shows you’re keen to progress within their business.
5. What Do You Want Me to Achieve in the First Six Months?
You’ve got the job, now you can find out exactly what it is. There’s a few excellent reasons to ask this question: firstly, starting a new job is a time of inefficiency as you’re getting used to the environment, systems, people and you’re often waiting for steps to be completed before you can get to work. Plus, it’s a time where you’ve gone from being in full control in your last role, to being somewhat out of control, as it’s all so new.
By asking this question, you can get a clear focus on what to work on from day one. Irrespective of laptops being ready or logins created, you can just crack on, start adding value and use those skills they hired you for.
Secondly, every professional needs clear direction and goals, so they know what to aim for and when they hit it. Both for productivity and rewards. If your hiring manager can answer this question straight off the bat, then you know they have the ability to set clear goals and expectations for your role going forward. This is a very important element for job satisfaction and career progression.
6. Ask Yourself: Are you Excited About the Job?
This a question for you, not your employer, and it’s a crucial one. The answer you give is quite possibly the most important of them all. Before you ask this, use the answers to the previous 5 questions to help you define the actual role and separate it from the job offer. Make sure you’re happy with both – not just the fact they want to hire you. Then everybody wins. Or as we say at RECRUITdee – stop searching and start smiling.
Discover roles you’ll love waking up to every day, in Bangkok and beyond with our specialist IT and Tech recruitment team – get in touch and we’ll show you who’s hiring.
Contact Us
For career and recruitment support, get in touch today to speak to one of our local experts in Bangkok, Thailand:
Call us: +66 2-258-3880
Email: contact@recruitdee.com
