Writing Offer Letters

Part Six

You've completed the interview process and you're now ready to make an offer to the candidate who has been successful throughout. But where do you start?

Make sure you've made a verbal offer

As soon as you've made the decision that you'd like to offer them the job, let them now! Give them a call and briefly discuss the details, ask if they have any questions and when you can expect to hear back with a decision. Finish off the call by letting them know you will be following up with a formal offer letter.

At this point, you'll want to act quite quickly so that you don't lose your top choice candidate. Keep in mind, they may be considering other offers for roles they might have interviewed for.

Write the offer letter yourself

Stay away from the impersonal template offer letters and take a little bit of time to write something more original. By writing it yourself, and specifically for this occasion, you're more likely to win over the successful candidate when they can see the effort you have gone to make them feel like they'd be a valued member of your team.

If you are unable to write it yourself, edit your businesses standard template to make it more personal. Also, try to express how excited you are to offer them the job, it will be much more likely that they will accept.

Sell the offer and talk about the benefits

Although you have chosen them as your top choice, they still have to decide whether they want to work for you or not, remembering this when you are writing your offer letter is important and can sometimes easily be forgotten.

You want to sell the offer and highlight the most tempting benefits as well as listing all the basics. Make sure you include the specific reasons of why you chose them and how you feel they'd be able to contribute to your business, you can refer to specific skills, experience or particular projects the candidate expressed interest in at the interview.

Add a personal touch

Adding a personal touch to the offer letter, making it more like a welcome package will make that person feel like they are really wanted and already a part of the company. You can include anything from an invitation to after work drinks to get to know their colleagues before they have started, to a personalised company mug or just a simple and genuine message in the offer letter letting them know just how excited you are for them to join.

Conclude and Reiterate

Finish off by letting the candidate know that you're looking forward to hearing about their decision. This is the last step in the recruitment process before a candidate decides whether they want to work for you or not so make sure you reiterate your excitement of offering them the job.

Part 5 - Conducting an Interview Part 7 - Counter Offer Advice