Offering a role and getting new recruits to start at your business isn’t as easy as it seems. You’ve done the hard work of advertising your role, shortlisting candidates, and interviewing them. Then there’s the changes to the role, and dropouts but you’re almost finished with the process. All that’s left to do is tell the candidate how much they impressed you, offer them the job, and get them started in their new career. However, there are still a lot of steps to go through.
Extending a job offer to a candidate
First, contact the successful candidate as soon as you have the relevant internal sign-off and agreement from the hiring manager and any other stakeholders.
It makes sense to call the candidate and give a verbal job offer before following up with everything in writing and starting formal processes. This means you can get a gauge of the candidate’s initial reaction, and gives the candidate a chance to voice any concerns or make you aware if they have another job offer on the table.
If the candidate verbally accepts the job, that’s great news! You can let them know you’ll follow up with the job offer in writing which will give them more information, including the contract which they’ll need to sign and return (either by post or email).
If the candidate seems enthusiastic but asks if they can take some time to think about the offer, you can still share a written offer and contract with them to help them to decide. They might be waiting on feedback from another employer, or have another job offer they need to weigh up. Highlight how well the candidate did at interview and why you want them to work for you, to leave them with a positive impression while they make their all-important decision.
Give the candidate a deadline to return the signed employment contract. If you don’t hear back from them by this deadline, you might consider withdrawing the offer. Around three working days should be enough time – leave it too long, and you could risk a competitor stepping in with their own offer.
What to do if a candidate wants to negotiate the salary
A candidate may ask if there’s any wiggle room when it comes to your salary offer. Before the role was advertised, you should have reached an internal agreement on the salary bracket and the available budget for the role.
If a candidate’s desired salary sits within your budget, that’s ideal. However, if they ask for a higher salary than the budget allocated, avoid making any commitments until you’ve had further discussions with your HR and finance team.
Sometimes, salary negotiations can take a bit of time – but be patient, and hopefully both you and the candidate will reach an agreement that works for you both, and you can hire the candidate you want!
What to include in a written offer of employment
An official written job offer might be via post or email, following the initial phone call. The letter or email should first of all congratulate the candidate and highlight why they’re the right person to add to your business.
Then, include the following:
• Candidate name
• Job title
• Start date
• End date (if relevant for a fixed-term contract)
• Probation length (if relevant)
• Salary
• Contracted hours
• Workplace address
• Any documents/references the candidate should supply
(e.g. passport, driving licence)
The candidate should sign and return the contract to officially confirm their acceptance of the job offer.
Types of job offer
Conditional job offer: It’s common for employers to make conditional job offers. This provides the business with a level of protection as it gives them the opportunity to confirm the information a candidate has shared about themselves. For example, contacting the referees provided by the candidate.
A conditional or provisional job offer means as a business, you’ll agree to employ the candidate in the role, as long as necessary requirements are met. This might include clearing background checks (such as a criminal record), or the submission of certificates to confirm a candidate’s qualifications, such as a degree. If this is the case, make sure this is clearly referenced in your written job offer.
With this, you might consider including a probation period as part of an employment contract. This means that if the candidate’s work is not up to scratch once they’ve worked with you for a certain length of time, as an employer you can dismiss them without the employee serving their notice period.
Typically, probation lasts around three months, but can last as long as six – it’s up to you as an employer to decide what best suits. Either way, make sure these terms are clear in the contract.
Unconditional job offer: An unconditional job offer means that the business is committed to offering the candidate the job and they are satisfied that the person meets the expectations of the role – there’s no need for further checks or documentation before a candidate can officially become an employee.
Once a candidate has accepted your job offer, ensure you have a robust onboarding plan that allows them to hit the ground running in your business.
The crucial role of a perfect job offer
In a competitive talent market, a lot can go wrong at the job offer stage, so it’s important to get it right. Not only does the remuneration and other benefits have to meet expectations, but you also need to move quickly and have regular touchpoints to avoid losing your prospective hire to another employer.
The job offer process should not be an afterthought. It is an integral part of your recruitment process. A stumble at this stage could mean you have to go back to the beginning of the hiring journey. Ensure you have all the necessary sign-offs and approvals in place before you reach final interviews so you can progress swiftly once you’ve decided who to hire.