When you’re choosing a new job, it’s important to ask about benefits - and think about what’s important to you. As there’s a lot of demand for craftsman jobs at the moment, you can take the time to make sure you get the benefits you want.

Here’s three key benefits to think about when choosing your next job in construction:

1. Financial benefits: get more on top of your salary

Apart from agreeing on a salary you’re happy with, there are other financial benefits you might be able to get. For example, you could ask about: • If you get bonuses, or how they’re achieved • How tax is managed and if you get any tax-free benefits • If there any childcare vouchers or benefits offered to help save money • What schemes the company takes part in, such as electric bike loans

These are all financial benefits unrelated to salary, which can really help make a difference to your financial situation. Even if the company does not offer any of them, it may help them consider what else they could offer you or what might persuade you to take the job.

2. Training and development benefits: be a part of important decisions

Every job should help you develop professionally and it’s important to check that your next job will let you do this. Depending on the type of company, the sort of development will differ - a bigger company might be able to pay for you to gain more qualifications while a smaller company may give you the opportunity to learn more through working on a different range of projects. New projects and tasks can help you further develop expertise and skills and learn more.

Whatever type of construction company it is, you can develop skills relating to the tools that they use - and even have your say in choosing new tools, whether that helps you learn how to use new tools or just make sure you’re properly equipped for your tasks. Having an opinion on new tools and being a key part of decision making is an important benefit, as it also lets you have a say in company decisions, with your opinion respected and taken into account.

3. Community benefits: enjoy the team experience and make new friends

When you take a job, you’ll be spending a lot of time there. That’s why it’s important to consider the community benefits of any work you might take.

At any job conversation, you should ask about the community and work culture - both what it’s like and how it’s promoted. For example, you might want to consider if there are social events that you can take part in, to get to know your fellow team members and make friends. Or if there’s a culture of regularly spending time together to celebrate. It’s a good idea to find out whether management also participates in these social events, because that gives an idea about how the company works.

Use the information that you learn about the community-based benefits to work out if it’s the right company for you - if you appreciate a social workplace then it’s a very important benefit to have one!

Conclusion

There are a lot of other benefits that can be taken into account in any job, but these are the three main ones to get started with. Where possible, ask more than one person about the benefits before you agree to a job, so you’re not just hearing it from someone who wants to hire you, but also from people within the team who can offer more direct experiences about what the benefits mean to them and how they help them.