OMG Digital Magazine OMG Issue 335 13th December 2018 | Page 16

OMG Digital Magazine | 335 | Thursday13 December 2018 • PAGE 16
10 THINGS THAT MAKE A JOB AWESOME
BY WORKOPOLIS
We talk a lot about the ways that a company can
attract – and retain – top talent. From a great candidate
experienceto  employer branding, there’s a seemingly
endless list of ways to woo seekers.
There’s a chance, however, that we’re overthinking it. In
reality, attracting top candidates might be as simple as
offering them an awesome job. But what makes a job
awesome? It’s easier than you’d think. It’s not necessarily
about far-flung locales or huge salaries – in reality, any job
can achieve awesome status with a few tweaks.
Here are ten things that make a job awesome – and, in
turn, attractive to top talent.
1. Flexibility
Considering a reported 43 per cent of employees would
choose flex hours over a pay raise, it’s definitely a coveted
perk. Allowing your team to work remotely, or simply
being flexible to appointments and life in general – that’s
a huge one for most people.
2. Communication
The best leaders talk to their employees. A lot. A major red
flag for potential candidates is a company or employer
that is notorious for bad communication. Whenever there
is a change on the way or other important news, take the
time to disseminate the information to your team clearly –
you’ll be rewarded with happy employees.
3. Recognition and feedback
Never underestimate the power of recognizing a
job well done. As we recently discussed,  employee
acknowledgementleads to employee engagement.
Getting consistent feedback, both good and bad, makes
your team feel like someone is noticing all the effort they
make.
4. A challenge
Great employees want to work hard. Millennials in
particular rank training and development programs as
the  third most attractive  aspect of an employer. What
does that say? Workers want to be challenged. Once a job
stops feeling challenging, and an employee feels their job
is easy (or worse,  boring), they will soon be moving on.
And if they don’t, they might not be the type of worker
you want to keep anyway.
5. Amicable coworkers
Putting in the extra effort to find team members that mesh
is worthwhile – it ensures that office culture is upbeat and
happy, rather than pessimistic. This is also an important
reason why its important for management to keep an eye
out for the toxic employees that can bring down a whole
team in one fell swoop.
6. Variety
There aren’t many people who enjoy doing the exact same
thing day-in and day-out – and if you have employees
that do, they might not be engaged. Varying the projects,
assignments, duties, clients, or whatever other elements
are applicable to that role, does wonders for keeping
minds engaged, and people interested.
7. Money
Of course, money. We all work for a reason, and that’s so
that we can afford to do the things that in life we care about
the most. An awesome job pays fairly – ideally, slightly
above industry average – with a salary that continues to
grow with hard work.
8. Perks
Little perks make a big difference. And the best part
is, there’s so many options to choose from: catered
lunches, car allowances, iPad giveaways, tickets to events,
employee discounts…the list goes on and on. These perks
attract top talent, and keep them hooked long-term.
9. Creative freedom
A fulfilling job is an awesome job, and a fulfilling job means
trust, decision-making power, and empowerment. Being
able to make decisions without having to go through six
levels of approvals – even if it’s just part of the time – has a
major impact on employee engagement. After all, there’s
nothing more soul-crushing than a micromanager.
10. Inspiring mentors
When you pick the brain of someone with an awesome
job, they’ll inevitably talk about a person at work that they
truly admire. Having a colleague or superior that inspires
and encourages can be a huge perk at any job.
It’s easier than you think to offer an awesome job – and
you don’t need to be a huge company to do it. Follow
these ten things that make a job awesome and you’ll
attract more candidates, every time.