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After those grueling weeks or months of waiting for a reply, sending hundreds of applications, undergoing countless interviews and putting you best foot forward, you finally land that job. But don’t relax just yet; it’s now your employer’s turn to give you what you deserve. Before you start working for a company, you need to check out a few things that might be able to help you in the future. One important thing to check is your employment contract.

Being an employee does not only mean impressing your boss. If they are really serious about hiring you, they should lay out clearly what you’ll get as their employee. So before you give your go signal and sign that contract, keep an eye out for these terms and qualities:

For starters, your contract should be legal and conform to the laws stated by your country’s government. An illegal contract not only puts the company in danger of being sued, but also jeopardizes your future, in case you got involved in it. With a legal contract, both you and your company can get benefits, without one monopolizing the other.

Next is to ask for a clear job description. Of course, you should’ve already done this the moment you applied for the position, but once you get hired, you can ask for the complete details of your duties and responsibilities. Make sure that you understand every aspect of the job so you will know when something is not within the scope of your agreement.

Basing on your job description, the third thing to check is your compensation or salary. If it does not seem enough for your workload, then feel free to negotiate with your employer. Be sure before you make any kind of demand, that you’ve properly researched the standards for that kind of work.

If you’re a contractual employee, then the period of your work should also appear on the contract. Otherwise, look for the number of hours per day and the possibilities for shift changes and overtimes.

Now I probably don’t have to mention this, but since we’re talking about contracts, you should check and double check the benefits. These include sick leave, maternity or paternity leave, holiday pays, pension or retirement plans, bonuses and the promotion structure. Along with the benefits, companies will usually subtract from your salary and pay your taxes for you.

The things mentioned above are only the general terms and conditions that can be seen in an employment contract. Each job will, more of than not, have different kinds of characteristics in the agreement. Each position has unique qualities and tasks specific to it so remember that there may be some things that you won’t get that others will, and vice versa.