How to make a job offer

Once you’ve selected the most suitable candidate for a job, there’s one crucial step left for employers to take as part of the hiring process: the job offer.

You will obviously be delighted by the prospect of picking the best from a shortlist of strong candidates, but everything now rests on how you deliver the terms of employment which you’d like your new employee to start on.

A job offer is an employer’s final incentive when it comes to attracting talent to the organisation, and, as such, a great deal rests on getting it right first time.

Making the offer

With more than 40 years’ recruitment experience, our specialist consultants can assist you through the entire hiring process, from writing an initial job spec to sealing the deal with your preferred candidate.

It’s essential that once a candidate has accepted a job by phone or email, they are immediately informed, by way of a formal letter, of all proposed terms of employment attached to role.

The job offer should provide your chosen candidate with all the information they’ll need to satisfy themselves they’re making the right decision in joining your business. A formal job offer should include:

• The new employee’s name

• The job title in full

• The salary being offered.

• The date from when employment will commence

• Terms and conditions (contract/temporary/permanent) on which the job is being offered

• Benefits and other compensations

• Conditions of any probationary period attached

• Request for any relevant documentation required regarding a candidate’s right to work in the UK

• Additional conditions including any legal, background checks that may be required to fill the role

Sealing the deal

Ideally a finalised job offer will outline exactly what a candidate will receive and what is expected of them once they take up their new job. It is also important that a job offer matches the candidate’s motivations and aspirations, so they’ll feel they can fit in and progress in their new role.

Once a job offer is made, it’s important to realise that the ball rests firmly in the candidate’s court and they may wish to negotiate certain aspects of the offer or discuss the inclusion of further incentives or conditions.

With negotiation being a two way street, any employer who has clearly defined and outlined (for themselves and the candidate) where the role fits within the organisation and what they can offer a candidate by way of compensation and benefits, will have little problem finalising any minor amendments or inclusions to suit both parties and seal the deal.

Often, top talent will receive a counter offer from their current employer as a final bid to make them stay; read our article on handling a counter offer-situation here.