Doing an Online Career Search? Think Insurance First

Advancing your career can often mean regular job changes. Now, more than anytime in the past, people have more job changes and are regularly doing online career searches. With new job changes comes benefit changes. Sometimes, you may choose to advance your career and get a new job just for a bigger paycheck but you may want to slow down that career search because that new job may not pay off like you expected.

Think Benefits Before that New Job

If you are considering switching jobs, especially if it is just for more money, don't forget to compare what health care and insurance benefits you may be losing with your new job's benefits. Health care benefits can be substantial and it may not pay off to advance your career if you choose a company that lacks good insurance coverage. Below is a list of three major employee benefits that you should compare before starting your career search and getting that new job.

Three Major Employee Benefits to Compare before Your Career Search

1. What's their employer sponsored health insurance like?

Checking to see if your new employer has health insurance is not enough. You need to find out how much your premium will be along with what benefits are offered. Don't just assume that your new job has great health insurance because the premium is low... what is a good insurance plan if it does not cover you? Something else to look out for: employers that pay for employees to purchase individual coverage. This is not so bad but the downside is that you won't get your pre-existing medical conditions covered as easily as an employer sponsored health plan.

2. Will your new job offer any vision or dental insurance?

This is an important benefit but again, check out the premiums. If the employer does not pay anything toward the premiums, for some people, they may do just as well using a health savings account (see below #3) and paying for their vision and dental bills themselves. Not all employers offer these coverages. When considering a new job it is best to think about what expenses you may be expecting like a child's braces or dental surgery when deciding weather or not a dental or vision plan will suit your situation.

3. Does the employer contribute to a health savings account?

A health savings account is a supplement to your current insurance coverage. These types of plans pay for medical expenses that your health insurance coverage typically does not pay for. Depending on the plan you choose, the money in a HSA is deposited either by you or an employer before it is taxed so it's like paying for out of pocket medical costs tax-free. If you find an employer who contributes to a HSA that can be a great way to save a lot of health care dollars.