How to make a job offer that candidates don’t have second thoughts about
You finally found the one – the perfect candidate who makes all your recruiting dreams come true. Now you just need to put yourself out there and make a job offer that they can’t resist. So let’s discuss how you can do that.
How to extend a job offer?
Once you know that you have found the right fit for the role, you should immediately extend the job offer. You can do this by first calling the candidate and informing them that you would like to hire them for the role.
During this interaction, you should extend a verbal job offer wherein you give them all the pertinent information such as their job title, responsibilities, compensation, benefits, and start date. This will serve as an opportunity to discuss the offer letter in detail before you spend precious time writing it.
After making the job offer, you could ask them what they think about the job offer. However, don’t put the candidate on a spot and allow them a few days to reflect on it. Your job offer may be followed by negotiations regarding salary or benefits especially if the expectations have not been discussed during interviews.
Once you and the candidate are on the same page about the details, you can extend a written job offer. You can send this as an email attachment which the candidates can digitally sign or a traditional mail that they can sign and send to you.
What is included in a job offer letter?
Your formal letter for job offer should consist of the following:
1. Company logo
You should write the offer letter using the company letterhead that contains the logo and address. It makes the letter look professional as well as legitimate.
2. Job title and their responsibilities in the role
Before you even begin recruiting for the role, you should define the role and duties which it will entail. Additionally, you should also know who this role will report to. All these details should be clearly mentioned in the offer letter so that there are no conflicts later on.
3. Compensation
Compensation includes salary, bonus, and benefits.
The salary should at the least meet industry standards. Ideally, it should offer a hike of at least 10% since many employees change jobs to earn more.
The offer letter should also contain a compensation breakdown. Moreover, you should mention if the bonuses would be fixed or variable.
In addition to a fair salary, you should offer benefits, such as health insurance, stock ownership, flexible work hours, and learning and development opportunities.
4. Company policies
Your offer letter should contain all the company policies that are legally binding on the candidate and employer.
Including a confidentiality agreement is a common practice among employers. If you have a non-compete clause, you should mention and elaborate on it as it could impact the employee’s career prospects later on.
Other policies may include non-solicit clause, disciplinary action procedure, etc.
5. Probation period
If the job involves a probationary period, you should specify it along with any changes in the salary.
6. Terms for termination
You should mention the factors that can lead to a termination of employment. Other than this, you should mention if it is an at-will employment which means that either you or the employee can terminate the relationship at any time. If it’s not an at-will employment, you need to mention the notice period that you or the employee need to serve if they plan on ending the relationship.
7. Deadline
Give the candidates an appropriate deadline so that if they decline, you can still reach out to other qualified candidates.
Apart from the above-mentioned details, your job offer must include the start date and location.
Job offer template
So now you know what a job offer should include, but are you still far from getting started? Here is an idea that you can steal (while making it unique to your company).
Job offer email
Subject line: Job offer from [company name]
Hi [name of the candidate],
After interacting with you over the past two weeks, we have found your skills, experience, and approach to be a perfect fit for our team. We would like to extend you an offer for the position of [job title] at [company name]. Congratulations!
The details of your employment are in the attached offer letter. Kindly go through the same and feel free to ask me any questions that you may have.
If all is in order, please sign the offer letter and email it to me by [deadline].
We look forward to you joining the team and having a great experience!
Thanks,
[Your name]
[Job title]
Job offer letter example
8th March 2021
[candidate name]
[postal address]
Dear [candidate name],
We are pleased to extend you the position of [job title] at [company name]. Congratulations!
Please find the details of the offer below.
1. [Company name] is offering you the position of [job title].
2. As a [job title], you will be responsible for [duties], and you will report to [supervisor’s name].
3. You will be working at [company name] [office location] starting from [date]. The working hours will be 9 AM to 5 PM, five days a week.
4. You will be paid [salary] on a monthly basis.
[salary breakdown, bonus structure]
5. You are also eligible for [benefits].
6. Either you or the company may terminate the employment by providing a notice period of 1 month without assigning any reason.
I have read and understood all the terms and conditions of this letter and affix my signature in acceptance of them.
Date:
Candidate’s signature:
Name:
How to reduce offer rejection rate?
1. Assess current hiring process
Review your existing hiring process to identify any bottlenecks. For example, is the time between the final interview and job offer extension too long? According to a research by PricewaterhouseCoopers, a lengthy hiring process is the number one reason cited by 67% candidates for a poor recruiting experience.
Once you recognize the issue, understand what’s causing it. For instance, the delay in extending a job offer could be because the details of the position weren’t finalised before you started the hiring process. Work with all the parties to understand who would qualify as an ideal candidate and send an offer letter as soon as you find one.
2. Mention salary in job posts
Rejection could also be caused by a compensation that does not meet the candidate’s expectations. To avoid this, you can mention the salary and benefits in the job post so that you attract the right candidates and not waste recruiting efforts. If you are hiring for a remote job and the salary would depend on the location of the candidate, then gauge salary expectations early on.
You should also set up a budget for the position so that you are aware if there’s room for negotiation for the right candidate.
During the job offer process, you can also mention benefits that are unique to each candidate. For example, some employees may prefer flexible working hours while others may appreciate more time off.
3. Conduct a survey with applicants
You can conduct short surveys to understand the candidate experience. According to an IBM research, applicants who had a positive candidate experience are 38% more likely to accept a job offer.
You can ask questions such as:
1. Were you satisfied with the recruitment process at [company name]?
2. Would you recommend us as an employer to friends or family?
3. Any suggestions that you may have that could help us in improving our hiring process.
To make the feedback process more effective, you could conduct anonymous surveys.
4. Work on your employer branding
Before making the crucial decision of joining your company, potential employees will go through company review sites, social media, and career pages to understand if your organisation would be the right fit for them. Therefore, make sure that you have a positive employer reputation across all these channels.
Once you make changes to your process, make sure to measure how it affects your offer acceptance rate.
Job offer tips
1. Call to convey the informal job offer
Although an informal job offer can be conveyed both through email or call, you should opt for calling as this can help you in addressing the employee concerns early on.
2. Follow-up to ensure they have received the job offer
Besides making sure that the job offer actually made it to the employee’s inbox or address, a follow-up could be an opportunity to convey your interest and enthusiasm in recruiting the candidate. The applicant may also use this interaction to discuss anything that may seem out of place in the job offer.
3. Create templates
To save yourself time, you can create templates for various stages of the hiring process such as job offer email, job offer letter, onboarding email, etc.
These were a few job offer tips to help you get your favourite candidates onboard. If you still haven’t found the right candidate that fits the bill, then you can register and post a job on Fresher Jobs on Internshala.
Image credits: Source: Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash
