YourFit

The model for landing

your next job

Introduction
Jos Paiva
Co-Founder of Landing.jobs

Ive worked in technology companies for over twenty years, and

in that time interviewed thousands of candidates and personally
hired more than 500 people in Europe and Brazil, from dozens
of nationalities. Its honestly a little exhausting just thinking
about all that time spent in meeting rooms! But it really has been
an incredibly rewarding journey of both helping people grow as
individuals, and consulting companies on when they need to
up-skill or take on more staff.
I feel like Ive learned a lot in my career of helping others build
theirs, and despite an always-unique mix of people, companies,
roles and timing, there are still key themes and areas that need
to be aligned between candidates and employers to ensure a
successful hire.
Even before I launched Landing.jobs with Pedro, I had developed
a model in order to help colleagues, friends and family achieve
just this. After years of really positive feedback from using it in
the wild, I think its time we officially unveil it as a key instrument
in the toolkit.
Were calling it YourFit.

Contents

YourFit Model

06

1. Why

08

2. Work Environment

14

3. Challenge

24

4. Economics

36

5. Competencies

46

6. How to use

58

YourFit Model

Challenge

Environment

why?

Competencies

Economics

The YourFit model is comprised of five elements. At its core is

Why, and where it begins. The fundamental question that must
be asked first about any job; either one you have already,
or one youre trying to figure out if you should apply for.
Environment, Economics, Challenge and Competencies are the
other four parts, comprised of multiple chapters. These cover
where you work, what you get paid to do that work, what set of
challenges you undertake, and the necessary skills, achievement
and potential to be a success.

1. Environment

2. Economics

Cool Office/Location

Fixed salary

Culture/vision

Variable salary

Flexibility

Benefits & perks

Type of company

Equity & shares

3. Challenge

4. Competencies

Responsibilities

Skills

Team & leadership

Work Experience

Learning opportunities

Achievements & potential

Growth opportunities

Life history & Ambition

Part 1

Why?

Challenge

Environment

why?

Competencies

Economics

But to kick things off, lets start with what should be a fundamental
first question that should be asked on both
sides at the start of the process Why?
But why why? Because it gets to the heart of whats important
to us as individuals and whats necessary for a particular job to
be done well. It goes beyond describing what? and dives
deeper than who?.
We spend most of our waking lives at work, so if we are going
to take steps to make that time more fulfilling, to achieve results,
to remove stress and really, to gain the happiness we deserve
we should seek to truly understand what makes us tick before
making a change.
As a candidate who is job hunting you should ask yourself,
why am I looking for a new challenge?. Some typical
answers might be:
It may be something else. Whatever your reasons, figuring out the
honest answers to this question will help you start making better
decisions when it comes to your career path. Along with the rest of
the YourFit model, it will help you figure out how to better sell your
skills, experience and personality to potential employers.

10

Why am I looking for a new challenge?

Typical answers

for personal growth

to earn more money
to develop my career
to work in a dream company
to improve my work-life balance
to gain international experience
for personal reasons: family, health, etc

11

But its not just candidates who can benefit from this exercise.
Before companies begin the complex process of recruitment, they
too must consider the question why are we hiring for this role?.
It might be:
Finding the answer(s) will help hiring managers and founders write
better job descriptions, and better understand how to sell their
work environment to attract the most suitable candidates.
We think YourFit provides a lot of value to the hiring process,
distilling the essentials required for a great professional match
between candidates and employers, but the model was not
developed in isolation. Its morphed and changed over the
years from contact with, and use from, those on both sides of
the hiring process.

12

Why are we hiring for this role?

Typical answers

for growth
to support a new product or service
to replace someone who has left the company
or become redundant
to firefight an out-of-control project
to upskill quickly and increase knowledge
in the startup/corporation
to draw top industry talent

13

Part 2

Work Environment

Challenge

Environment

why?

Competencies

Economics

Once youve figured out why youre looking to recruit new staff
or find a better job, you can start to think about the other four
quadrants. Now well be looking at workplace environment as a
deciding factor.
Basically, it is the answer to the question, whats it like to work
there?
All across Europe and beyond, theres a chronic lack of qualified
tech professionals for the opportunities available, so its
critical that companies invest in their workplace environment
and selling its appeal (AKA employer branding) to attract the
best candidates.
More and more potential employees will expect to see content
of, and have insight into, how the company operates day to day
what the office is like, etc. Rich media in the form of photos or
videos of the work environment, interviews with staff and the like,
are incredibly effective at getting this information across in a way
that a simple job posting increasingly does not.

So, whats it like to work

there?

15

Office and Location

16

If youre going to spend most of your waking life working in an

office, its pretty important to make sure its one that you feel you
can do a good job in. In fact, workplace environment ranks as one
of the highest factors in employee satisfaction.
According to a survey, people who liked their workplaces were 31%
more likely to be satisfied with their jobs, with over half of those
looking for work saying that a companys office space affected
their decision on whether to accept a job. Fostering an attractive,
comfortable physical environment enhances productivity and
success, and attracts a higher calibre of employee as a result.
Employers dont need to invest millions in limited edition furniture
or sculpture to make the office a welcoming and fun place
for workers to be happy to arrive at each morning and spend
productive days in. Involving employees in the decision-making
process for office decor and decoration can help increase a sense
of teamwork.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, an uncomfortable office
that is inconvenient to commute to can foster a contagious sense
of dissatisfaction that not only hurts productivity, but can work to
bring down an entire company in the long run.
Location is equally important. A company with an inner-city office
can sell the surrounding culture as a key benefit to potential
employees. An out of town business park with on-site parking and
gym facilities may appeal to a different type of candidate.

17

Culture/Vision

18

Products, services, strategies and tactics can all be readily

duplicated, but how they all come together, are made and delivered
is very much down to a companys culture and vision.
While many companies have lofty mission statements and brand
values, its important as a candidate to make sure that this isnt all
hot air, because it is these intangible qualities that give a company
its personality, and inspire its employees to do great work.
A sense of shared purpose and a commitment to deliver work to
a high standard with a good attitude not only helps a company
vanquish its competition, it makes organisational learning
effortless as co-workers teach each other the latest thinking and
practices, brings down fear, stress and improves the overall health
of the team.
Youll feel much more motivated and engaged when you work in a
company and industry that fits your ideals and interests, and you
need to be motivated and engaged to deliver your best work.
A question for both sides: is the company delivering on its
purported brand values? This will matter a lot in the long run.

19

Flexibility

20

You wont be a stranger to the concept of work-life balance.

Were all expected to burn the midnight oil on an important
project or an unanticipated early deadline from time to time, but
if employees are working overtime every evening and sacrificing
all of their weekends to work too often, then theres a real risk of
burnout, and that irreparable damage is being done to employees
and employers alike.
In the tech sector, many jobs are organised around task
completion, so its quite possible that flexible work hours are
or can be made available to employees to deliver on their
responsibilities in time slots that suit their lives best.
Lets face it, some people have already been to the gym and
done an hours work before the sun rises, and others are at their
productive peak when most people have gone to sleep, and still
others seek to fit a full-time job around their families biorhythms.
Ubiquitous computing and network connections are even making
mandatory office presence a thing of the past for all but the most
essential meetings, so if top performers are capable of delivering
great work from a laptop at home or by the beach, its certainly
worth considering giving a bit of leeway.

21

Type of Company

22

Large or small company? Startup or corporate? Programming global

systems at a pharmaceutical company or developing the first code
for a music app? There are pros and cons to all of the above, but
doing your research will go a long way to ensuring you end up with
a match thats good for you.
Large companies have obvious structural advantages.
Theyve been around for longer, offer clear paths of career
progression, associated training schemes and benefits packages
that would bankrupt your average startup. But if youre looking
to be more than a cog in a machine you have little influence over
and seek continual change or company-wide recognition, you may
be in for disappointment.
Smaller outfits can offer more accountability, challenges and
acknowledgement, but they also tend to lack effective workflow
processes, training opportunities and you may not be as well
rewarded financially.
Also consider the industry tech is continually subsuming
all sectors, so you may relish the chance to transform a business
stuck in an analogue world, or be more comfortable working in a
company whose employees dont know how to use a fax machine.

23

Part 3

Challenge

Challenge

Environment

why?

Competencies

Economics

Challenge is perhaps the most important part of the YourFit

model, because technology has advanced so quickly (and continues
to change at an exponential rate), that if we dont seek out new
challenges, we will quickly find ourselves without a professional
purpose. Its essential that we continue to seek out challenges that
make us leave our comfort zone, help us learn and keep up with
this rapid pace of change.
We should therefore be continually asking ourselves, and of our
current occupations:
Am I, or am I not, being challenged in this role?
Am I, or will I, continue to learn new things?
If its going to take up the majority of our time here on earth,
our jobs should do more than help us pay the rent. Look for ones
that will help you grow through challenging assignments, or
new educational opportunities. Demand excellence of yourself
and inspire it in others. Be a part of a team that sets the same
expectation and youll be so much more than the sum of your parts.
While we clearly have a viewpoint on the importance of YourFits
segments, remember this is a framework for asking whats
important to you, not a set of commandments to obey. Lets have
a closer look at what you should investigate of yourself and new
opportunities that come your way.

Whats the challenge?

25

Roles & Responsibilities

26

Ill-defined specifications = ill-defined products.

The same can be said of jobs and the people asked to do them.
Each role should have a clear role purpose, a definition of what a
person will do within an organisation, and what is expected
of them to do that job well.
Likewise, an outline of responsibilities directly related to the role
is essential. Who will the employee report to? Who reports to
them? What business KPIs are they responsible for? What are the
measures of success?
If theres confusion in this matter, there might be a mismatch.
Candidates should be careful when analysing a proposal whose role
isnt clearly defined, as you might end up doing things you dont
want or will not contribute to your learning and career progression.
Its easy to understand that this will only contribute to demotivation
and dissatisfaction with your assignment.
Clear communication of this at the start will not only attract
great people, but make day-to-day life far more fulfilling and less
confusing. As a candidate, you should seek out opportunities
whose functions and criteria for success are clearly articulated.
As a hiring manager, you should keep this in mind when seeking
out top talent.

27

Team & leadership

28

Who are your colleagues? Whos your boss? Pretty important

questions, and if the answers dont lead you to feel confident,
then youre probably looking at the wrong opportunity.
You dont need to be best friends, but you need relationships
based on confidence and honesty or else the spirit that keeps
teams motivated will evaporate.
Leadership, in the form of your direct boss, or the management
structure he or she is a part of, is hugely important and is often
the key point of motivation or the main reason for quitting.
A bad relationship with a boss is not always enough to quit.
If everything else is good, then these issues can usually be
worked out or improved over time. However, if its so bad that
your performance, advancement or sense of wellbeing is being
affected, then it may be time to call it a day.
When youre able to ask deeper questions in job interviews, inquire
about internal communications processes. Be on the lookout for
constant feedback loops. Everyone likes to know how theyre doing,
to be recognised for achievements and alerted to missteps.
Do you have frequent catchups with your manager? Are objectives
clearly defined? Are colleagues rewarded when they hit milestones?
Sometimes thank you is enough.
People who feel appreciated do better work.
People who dont, wont.

29

Learning opportunities

30

As I stated earlier, we must never stop learning in order to

keep fresh and up to date with what the job market has to offer.
Being employed does not mean this comes to a halt.
Quite the opposite.
It helps to think of your ongoing professional learning and
development in three strands:

Self-taught
Ongoing professional learning and development

Autonomous and on-the-job, the bulk of your

learning comes from having the discipline to make
sure a portion of those background browser tabs are
something other than Facebook.

31

Peer learning
Ongoing professional learning and development

Also in the workplace, you should volunteer to work on

projects with more experienced colleagues who will push
the limits of your knowledge.
Get your hands dirty.
Youll learn a great deal and increase your stature.

Formal training
Ongoing professional learning and development

Advanced certifications for new technologies, evening

classes to learn business frameworks, or a part-time MBA
on the weekends over a couple of years will all pay off
and not just at the end.
You can apply much of what you learn as you go,
and could even get funding from your employer to
do these things.

32

Whether its a firm that invests in formal professional development

schemes, or a corporation which organises mentoring programmes
that allow for on-the-job training, or perhaps its a startup where
the learning comes from experimentation and building everything
from scratch, people want and need to learn. To sharpen their skills
and pick up new ones. To find new ways to solve new problems.
Keep an eye out for roles that dont penalise failure learning
from mistakes is often more useful than from success.

33

Opportunities to grow

34

The primary reason for changing jobs is career advancement.

People hit the ceiling in terms of progression within the company
theyre in, they get bored, or an irresistible opportunity from
without comes along.
Opportunities for advancement are often oversold in interviews,
so candidates should be prepared to discuss this with detailed
questions on available paths of progression.
If a company is growing, then opportunities will appear
for employees to seize. But whilst companies without the
hypergrowth to generate a multitude of future career paths do
not have this advantage, they can still seek to grow those who
work for them through clear continued learning, training and
supporting other initiatives.
But lets not forget that growth is not just about goal-setting and
achievement. Often, just keeping your options open consciously
leaving space and time for serendipity, being observant of your
surroundings and passionate about personal hobbies and interests
is the difference between stagnation and progression.

35

Part 4

Economics

Challenge

Environment

why?

Competencies

Economics

We know that people value challenge and the work environment highly
on their priorities list when they are looking for new opportunities.
But what about that big elephant in the room? Money.
The financial incentives and benefits of a job weigh heavily when
considering a new opportunity. The main motive for wanting to
change jobs is often the desire to seek out a new challenge, but
an increase in salary or other economic benefit is almost always a
prerequisite for someone to actually make the leap into a new role.
Inertia is a powerful force and often the only way to overcome
it is from the momentum that better pay (or the delayed potential
of monetary reward) brings with it.
Its become fashionable of late to say that money isnt a principal
motivator. In a recent survey we found that, while its not one of the
main concerns for techies, its a big factor to entice professionals
who are not actively looking for jobs. This is especially true when
dealing with senior candidates, since they usually have more
monthly expenses to cope with. They might be interested in a
new challenge, but if the salary doesnt match their expectations,
companies will fail to hire them.
So what are the types of compensation and benefits one
should keep in mind when thinking about the next step in their
professional life?

Pay me.
37

Fixed/Base Salary

38

Most commonly listed as a gross or net yearly figure.

Make sure you figure that one out first! Depending on the country,
job, local tax systems, you might have to do a bit of calculation
in order to figure out what amount of cash ends up in your bank
account every month. Be sure to ask your prospective employer the
exact details on this so you dont end up having a bad surprise.
Base salary will be the money you can expect to have to make
ends meet. You can see this as your baseline, the level of
your purchasing power.
Experience, specific skillsets, role responsibility, your geographic
location and local demand will all influence this number.
As such, if your own experience and skills have gone out of
fashion or just arent as relevant to a new path that you know
you need to take to ensure better opportunities down the line,
you may need to accept a lower salary in order to change area
or career path.
Whatever the case, do your research and check out benchmarks
(websites, peers, mentors) for each variable to understand what
youre worth and what you should aim for.

39

Variable Salary

40

Sometimes listed as a percentage of the fixed salary, sometimes as

an additional amount, this is most often utilised to provide a financial
incentive for specific goal achievement in a set period of time for
instance in commercial roles, where the values are indexed against
sales figures, and can be well over 20% of total pay.
Sales arent the only roles to use variable salaries though:
You can also find variable salaries attached to productivity
gains, whereby high-performance employees are awarded more
cash for better-than-expected results;
Stack-ranking is a somewhat-controversial performance
measurement system whereby managers have to place all
their direct reports on a bell curve. Only a small percentage of
employees, usually 10%, can be designated as top performers,
relative to their team, with a similar proportion of mandatory
low performers, who are often fired;
Project pay versus timesheet pay can also be considered
variable, most often with freelancers. The former is paid a set
amount to deliver on agreed-upon requirements, while the latter
receives money for the hours worked.
Whatever the variable in your salary package, youll need to think
about what suits you best. What do you need coming in each
month to survive and pay your expenses? Start from there and you
can plan your next move.
Once your basic costs are met, you can more effectively judge fixed
and variable offers.

41

Perks & Benefits

42

Perks, benefits in kind, prerequisites these are the various types of

non-wage compensation that employees can be granted in addition
to salary. In most countries, these benefits are taxable, and can
include things like health insurance, retirement schemes, sick leave,
meal allowances, rental support and educational supplements.
Perks tends to be a catch-all term for more discretionary benefits
like company vehicles, free refreshments, summer half-days, choice
of stationery and IT equipment.
All of the above can add up to a considerable amount, so theyre
very much worth keeping in mind when considering new offers of
employment. Not only are they things you dont need to pay for
out of your post-tax salary, you can often deduct them from your
liabilities to benefit even more.
For instance, lets say a company provides you with a health
insurance plan worth 1,000 a year. If they didnt offer this, and you
wanted to get the same for yourself, the company would have to pay
you that plus your tax, plus their tax and admin obligations to make
it worth your while.
Perks are a great way for employers to make the workplace more
enjoyable. Half-day Fridays, on-site gyms, casual dress codes,
catered lunches, nap rooms, snack carts and on-site daycare all take
the sting out of the worst and most stressful aspects of work. By
keeping employees happy and healthy, retention rates go up, costs
go down, and everyone feels a little bit better about themselves.

43

Equity Compensation

44

Quite common nowadays in the startup world, the risk of joining

an unproven company just starting out is balanced by owning a
percentage of it, which could turn out to be a substantial sum of
money if it becomes successful.
Its a common way to attract top talent when there isnt a huge
amount of money on the table. Usually meant to vest (accrue
and become available in chunks over a set period of time), it
ensures longevity of the initial waves of hires, and with a sense
of ownership comes talented employees who see themselves as
partners willing to go the extra mile.
If you are more of a risk-taker, this can be a great opportunity to
trade a lower salary now for big gains later.

Conclusion
Lets face it, if youre doing alright in your job, even if youre
tempted by a new challenge, even if that new company has a
really cool office with free food, video games rooms and designer
furniture the most likely reason youll move to something new
is a big financial incentive to do so.
Just be aware that when comparing financial benefits of your
current job with a new one, or multiple new offers, theres more
than gross salary to consider. You really have to bring your
negotiation skills to the table!

45

Part 5

Competencies

Challenge

Environment

why?

Competencies

Economics

 The competencies that

I like and Im good at.

47

Last but not least, we come to the final element of the YourFit
model: Competencies. This is all about the abilities that an
individual possesses to do a job properly.
It is therefore different in overall concept than the previous
elements: where they referred to what the company could offer
to the candidate, Competencies is about what the candidate can
offer to the position.
YourFit is a model to evaluate the fit between a persons interests
and skills and a given job offer. Working as a self-assessment
tool, its up to the users to evaluate their current competencies
and those they wish to improve by selecting jobs that require the
practice of those competencies.
Alongside YourFit, we created YourValue to help candidates
discover how much their competencies are valued by companies
in the market.
YourValue is an assessment service being developed by Landing.
jobs specialists that evaluates a candidates information and job
history, further complemented with tests and interviews. YourValue
can be described as a seal of approval given by an expert to a
candidate that guarantees they are fit for a given job/position.

48

Regarding this, theres a very particular concern that candidates

must have when they plan to change jobs: your value in your
current job might be different from your market value.
A good example is when someone works in a given position for very
long and knows all the tricks of the trade. In this case, that person
is very valuable for that job, since they know much more than
a potential newcomer, but that knowledge will probably be almost
useless in other companies, meaning their market value will be
lower than their value at that specific job.
On the opposite side, there are those people that do a job far
below their skill level, which is common if there are no growth
opportunities in the company. In those cases, they will have
a bigger market value, because their skills are underused in the
current assignment.
Our suggestion is for candidates to do a YourFit self-assessment
to understand what is good and whats not so good about their
current jobs and, if they decide to change, to try YourValue before
starting to look for new opportunities. Knowing is half the battle.

49

Skills

50

Evaluating ones fit when it comes to Skills is complex, because

it really requires us to separate the skills we perform well, which
ones we love to use and which ones create value for companies.
Only in a very few cases would the picture be a single circle with all
3 areas merged together and those people are very lucky indeed!
But, for the rest of us, we have to carefully evaluate the situation.
Trying different things helps a lot, because you dont know if you
like or are good at doing something until you try it. Ever thought
about doing side projects or moonlighting? They are perfect
opportunities to figure this out.
You always have to consider the present vs future perspective
of your skills. Even if the Good at/Love it/Add value triangle is
working out for you now, that doesnt mean it will stay like that
for long. Your company can change its work methodology or
technology and render some or all of your former skills obsolete.
On the other hand, the practices your company uses can become
outdated and that starts to impact your productivity. You have to
always #Aimformore.

51

Work Experience

52

The value of work experience is always increasing in the jobs

market, not only because its a sort of guarantee that the
professional knows how to succeed in a given position, but
also allows recruiters to qualitatively assess the candidates by
evaluating their previous employers.
Working at highly reputed companies (Google, Apple, Microsoft,
etc.) increases the candidates desirability because employers
know that they already underwent and succeeded in previous
rigorous recruitment processes. Tell me for whom you worked and
Ill tell your value.
We usually measure the work experience in flight hours or years
in a given position or industry, as this is a clear indicator of success
for future employers. One thing is to hold the title of product
manager in a major company for 3 years and another is to only do
this for 3 months. Which one would you trust the most? You have
to take into consideration if your practice is up to date: 3 years
doing something 10 years ago is not the same thing as doing that
in the last 3 years. You have to keep practicing and exercising your
professional muscles to keep fit!
You also have to think if the jobs requirements are in line with
what you want and need: are you a junior applying for a junior
position or are you a senior that had to step back and do some
lower level work? From the candidates perspective, the most
important thing is to understand if a prospective employer and
job offer will improve its curriculum and market value. Always
compare present and future scenarios!

53

Achievements & Potential

54

We usually talk a lot of what weve done and very little of what
was achieved. However, achievements are much more important,
since they are a clear indicator, both to us and to others,
of whether we need more challenges or if we still have a lot of
learning ahead of us.
If youre successful in your job for a year, it could be considered
luck. Do that 2 years in a row and you can ask for further
challenges. Achieve that for the 3rd year and you can almost
demand it. Otherwise, you should start looking for new,
more demanding opportunities.
We also have to have to carefully look at the opposite case, when
were having a bad performance, and question ourselves if thats
happening because were biting more than we can chew or if it has
to do with being demotivated. Either way, it could be a cue to start
looking for something more in tune with our desires and skills.

55

Life journey
(History & Ambition)

56

This is all about connecting the dots and understanding the whys.
To reach our goals, such as working in a company we adore
or creating a new business we have to make a career plan.
Our lifes history is made of what we achieve and what we aim for,
and our career is built the same way, e.g. our high school grades
will impact the college degree we can choose and the degree will
open the doors for specific careers.
Its no coincidence that in most job interviews the recruiter spends
most of the time trying to understand the why behind every step
the candidate took and wants to take during their professional
experience. A few examples of questions: what was your favourite
subject in college? Why this 2 year hiatus between jobs?
How do you keep your skills up to date?
From my experience, the more talented someone is, the more
control they have (and want to have) over what they choose
and their career history.
An easy way to measure this is to ask ourselves: is my value today
greater than this time last year? How about the next year?
Will changing to another position increase my value more than
if I stay in this one?
You need to be aware that any choice you take professionally will
directly impact your future.

57

Part 6

How to use
How to use YourFit Model
in your job search

First things first: you need to know how to evaluate your current
job. You could be one of those persons who hates their job, but
the worse thing to do is to be emotional about it. You really need
to pinpoint what you dont like in your current assignment, so you
avoid making the same mistake.
Ive seen a lot of young students stressed beyond reason with
questions such as which is the most prestigious university to
attend?, whats the best degree to choose? and other academic
related nervous breakdowns. However, its not uncommon to see
people accept a job just because its near their home or they have
a friend there.
The truth is, deciding the kind of jobs you get and the ones you
look for is even more important than choosing your degree, as
its an ongoing, long-term process. It could empower or debilitate
your career progress and your freedom of choice in the future.
Becoming a rising star or a stagnant fish in a small pond is an
outcome that correlates very strongly with your skill in managing
your career path. And for succeeding in that you need to do some
self-assessment to know what you want and where to go.

59

The YourFit Calculator

With these necessities in mind, weve developed a tool to calculate

the YourFit score of your current job (or prospective job offer)
by considering your personal preferences.
Thus, the YourFit Calculator was born!
In each quadrant, there are four categories (e.g. Environment has
Office and Location, Culture/Vision, Flexibility and Type of Company)
and you can give a score to each one according to how well the job
offer fares in this domain or will satisfy your needs.
Example: you give a score of 4 to Office and Location for an offer that
is near your home and 2 to one that is too far away.
This is all good and proper, but imagine that you dont consider the
offices quality and location to be a very important factor.
Thats where the Weight comes in. You can give custom weights to
each factor and tailor it as you please, and it will tell you if the job
is a good fit by weighting the relative importance that you attribute
to each factor.

60

The combination of Weight and Score will produce a 1 to 5 Fit

score for each of the four quadrants and a 1 to 5 Overall Fit Score
for the job offer.
You can then compare oranges with oranges by using a
standardised way of evaluation. You can also evaluate the current
level of satisfaction by understanding how many quadrants the
professional has with a positive fit, ranging from 0 to 4.
Next, Ill share with you a few tips for gathering info and interpreting
the results.

61

The Precious Info

Its rather easy to collect information about your current assignment,

but prospective job offers can get a bit shady sometimes.
Usually, the hardest to obtain are:
Economics as a whole
Team and Leadership
Culture and Vision
To wrap up this chapter, well cover the most common scenarios for
professionals by understanding the 0 to 4 fit in the YourFit quadrants.

62

Economics as a whole
Most companies bury this in the negotiation process, but you
can use a few tricks to get this.

Team and Leadership

Its really hard to understand the leadership part, but you can
try to speak to current or former employers using LinkedIn or
attending events such as the #LandingFestival to understand
what makes that company tick.

Culture and Vision

One thing is what they say to potential candidates and
another completely different thing is reality. Nowadays theres
interesting possibilities (moonlighting, challenges or freelance
work) that allows you to really dig into their way of doing things.

63

Are you in or out?

When I evaluate how close someone is to leaving their job,

I divide that by 4 stages:
Away (from the market)
When they are completely satisfied with their job;
Thinking
When they talk with a few people about that, but its just
a remote possibility;
Gathering (information)
When they wish to leave, but dont take action;
Applying
Theyre set to leave and start actively searching and applying
to offers.
The most interesting thing about these stages is that they correlate
perfectly with how many YourFit quadrants they are satisfied with.

64

Quick example:
Imagine a very talented professional whose job got
stale. Everything else is fine, but the Challenge part
is getting worse every month. Thats the part where
someone starts to wonder how it would fare in other
places.
Our math:
Fit in 3 quadrants = candidate is Thinking.
Therefore, this is more or less my conclusion:
Away: 4 fit
Thinking: 3 fit
Gathering: 2/3 fit
Applying: 1/2 fit

65

How Fit are You?

Its very rare to find someone who has a fit in all 4 quadrants.
Usually that only happens when someone enrols in a new job
they love. It is even rarer to find someone that doesnt have
a fit in any area: if they are not (even) doing it for the money,
why are they there?
The most common and stable cases are when theres a fit in 3
areas, usually leaving Challenge out of the equation. This happens
mostly when people start getting older and want to raise a family,
sacrificing exciting and unstable jobs for something safer.
In these cases, professionals enjoy their companies, the money
they make and the position itself, but are getting quite bored.
They will assume this status-quo for several years and only
later, when their children are more independent, will consider
changing jobs or even starting their own business. This is one of
the main reasons top companies are providing more flexible work
arrangements and perks that help their workers have a more stable
and rewarding work-life balance: they want to retain them during
their best years.

66

Another (unfortunately) stable case occurs when professionals

enter mercenary mode and are doing it just for the hard cash.
They sacrifice Challenge and Environment for a job they can excel
at (Competencies) and pays them a good salary (Economics).

Other particular cases:

Family businesses
The professional works there because its meant to do that,
so it is only fit in Competencies;
Positions obtained through Favouritism
Fit in Economics, possible fit in Environment, lacks skills and will
(Competencies and Challenge);

67

Do you recognise yourself or someone you know

in any of the scenarios mentioned before?
Just contact us at wegotyourback@landing.jobs
if you have any questions.

And thats it!

Ready to get started?

69

You are? Great!

70

Go to landing.jobs/yourfit/calculator
to calculate YourFIT today.
And remember were always here
to help!

#Aimformore

71

Title
YourFit: The model for landing your next job
Author
Jos Paiva
Literary review
Hugo Monteiro and Matthew Carrozo
Illustrations
Bernardo Mota
Design
Mafalda Sequeira
1.st edition
September 2015
Landing.jobs, 2015

73