The interview for the customer service position is coming to an end and now the job is being offered to you. It’s time to discuss the benefit package and what the company can offer you. How do you go about this? What are the right questions to ask? Here are a few ideas that may help you with that question.
What kind of health benefit does the company offer? If you’re not married but have a partner, will it cover them? How much will you have to pay for health insurance through the company, if anything? If the employee pays, how much is it for individual coverage and/or family coverage? How is the premium deducted and when does coverage begin? Some plans do cover spouses but some plans only cover same-sex partners. A lot of companies have insurance that is part of the perks with you paying nothing. However, with the rise of health care costs, some companies have their employees pay a percentage.
What about pre-existing conditions for you or a family member? What restrictions and limitations are there? When does coverage on pre-existing conditions begin? Not all insurance plans cover pre-existing conditions. They may have a longer waiting periods for coverage if they do cover it.
What is the companies sick time policy? Do they allow sick leave if yourself or a family member is sick? Do they allow time off for taking children to the doctor? What about paid time off if your child is sick?
Some other questions that you might ask that are important are the following:
*What type of pension plan is there?
*Does the company contribute to it at all?
*What about disability coverage? Do they provide short-term, long- term or not at all?
*If you’re paying for any benefits, how much will the cost be on an annual basis?
*Is the workplace family-friendly? Or do they frown on visits from family members?
*Is there an opportunity for life insurance coverage?
*Does the company offer educational and training benefits? Is your family included or are they just for employees?
*How much vacation time is provided? Are there paid holidays?
*Is there on-site child care, if needed?
There isn’t any one answer to the above questions. It depends on the job and what perks and benefits they offer you. You need to see what would benefit you need and what is important to you before you make a decision regarding taking the offered job. Take the time to review the benefit plans so you can decide to accept or reject the job based on everything rather than just one part of it. When you know all the expected costs or benefit issues, then you can make an intelligent decision.
Any comments are always welcome!
By Linda Lee Ruzicka
Linda Lee Ruzicka lives in the mountains of Western PA , happily married and with her 6 cats and three dogs. She has been published in Twilight Times, Dark Krypt, Fables, Decending Darkness, Writing Village, June Cotner anthology, The Grit, Reminisce , the book, Haunted Encounters: Friends and Family. She is an Affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association. She also does freelance work for Beyond and for CSJobs.com. More of her blogs can be found at CSJobsblog.com.
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