How to Deliver a Job Offer

It’s the home stretch of the interview process and you’ve already held several rounds of interviews and conducted reference checks for your top candidates. You’ve met with the interview team responsible for providing recruitment support and have identified the candidate that will be offered a job with your company.

But once the actual offer has been approved by your company’s management teams, what do you do?

Of all the steps in the hiring process, delivering the job offer is one that few people put much thought in to. But neglecting that step is a big mistake. The job offer delivery is very important in the overall recruitment process and its significance should not be overlooked.

In a blog post at HiringJuice.com, Sloane Barbour details the importance of a sound job offer, suggesting that it can sometimes be the difference between getting the candidate you want or settling for someone else. Among other things, a successful job offer should take into consideration the candidate’s decision process, any remaining questions they have, the expectations for the position (including job requirements, compensation, and time commitment), and a timeline for the candidate’s decision.

Companies always prefer to mitigate risk and minimize surprises in every aspect of their business. The process of extending a job offer should be no different. To make sure that happens, there are a few steps every company should take throughout the interview process and as it prepares to deliver the job offer.

Here are a few pointers I’ve followed over the years, along with a few others from a great Boston.com article about delivering a job offer:

Be Open

Companies need to make certain that the candidate they want is never surprised by the salary component of the offer. If you openly discuss money issues throughout the interview process, then you should already know the candidate’s current compensation (or what their most recent salary package was) before drawing up your offer.

The candidate should also be aware in advance if the compensation may result in a lateral move or if they are at the end of the range you had budgeted for the role. You should be clear about your company’s policies on salary negotiation (if there are any), commission structure, and start date flexibility before delivering the offer.

Be Prepared

Before you make your offer, it’s important to know the company’s benefits package. With that information, you can give the candidate the full picture of what the offer includes. Make sure to discuss insurance coverage details, vacation policies, and any other benefits that your company offers (free lunch, getting the day off for your birthday, etc.). Those little things are not only important for a candidate to understand as they assess the offer, but they also provide an opportunity for you to show how your company cares for its employees.

Keep it Personal

Once you have the candidate on the phone and have confirmed that it’s a good time to talk, begin the conversation with the good news. It’s likely that the candidate is highly interested in the job at this point, so they’ll be excited to receive the offer. Be sure to convey your own enthusiasm and it will let the candidate know that the company is excited about bringing them aboard.

Keep Communication Channels Open

If a candidate doesn’t immediately accept the offer, don’t misunderstand their interest. Many candidates won’t accept job offers on the spot, preferring to take time to evaluate the offer and think about a potentially life-changing decision. It doesn’t mean that they aren’t interested in the job.

Make it clear to candidates that if they have any questions, they can reach out to you at any time. If there is someone else at your company that may be better equipped to answer a particular question, put the candidate in touch with that person.

Be Understanding

The hiring process is a personal experience and each candidate enters it with their own set of expectations and perceptions. Some will think that they should always negotiate an offer. Be careful not to overreact to a candidate’s actions and instead try to see things from their point of view.

If you’ve offered them the job, you’ve done your due diligence on their capabilities and character. Don’t let something as relatively harmless as attempted negotiation be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Joanne Sammer at HR Magazine wrote an article last fall that discussed the evolving practice of salary negotiation during the hiring process. True to a few of my previous points, Sammer suggests that companies should be honest and understanding when extending a job offer. It benefits neither the candidate nor the company if either side operates with unrealistic expectations.

Put it in Writing

Once you deliver a verbal offer to a candidate, email them a PDF or priority mail them a hard copy of the offer as soon as possible. When sending an email offer, attach or include details that were discussed during your call regarding company vacation policies and benefits information. That written offer will make it easier for the candidate to discuss details with any other person involved in their decision making process and will remove any chance of confusion.

Each of those steps will increase the likelihood that the candidate you want will accept your offer. A more lackadaisical approach to the job offer delivery may leave out one of those key guidelines and you may lose the candidate as a result. So make sure you spend as much energy and time on the job offer as you have throughout the recruiting and interviewing process. It will pay off in saved frustration and a higher rate of attracting the top talent you need to succeed.