You have undergone the most challenging tasks you can undertake today; job searches. After weeks or even months of handing in CVs and sitting in interviews, you finally receive an email.
You open the email to find a job offer. After you jump up and down doing your victory dance, you realize that you have to respond to the offer.
The hardest thing at this stage is not to send a resounding acceptance in response to the offer. You need to figure out how you will respond to the offer and that is where I come in.
There are numerous issues to consider before you reply to a job offer. You need to evaluate the compensation, working hours, allowances, bonuses, job requirements and other terms. You can then reply to the email with an acceptance or refusal of the job offer.
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Replying to a job offer email is not as simple as sending a yes or a no. As you can see, there is a lot to mull over. Just because you got a job offer does not mean the hard work is done. In fact, the hard work might just be beginning.
This time present a whole new challenge. It is time you start working harder on finding more about your future job. Do research to find out more about the company. Read on to find out what you need to do after you receive a job offer email.
Once you receive a job offer, you now enter into the process of making the final decision especially if you have received multiple offers. During this period, you can build or ruin certain relationships. The most important thing is taking the time to know how you will respond to the offer.
How Do You Reply to a Job Offer Email? – Read The Email Carefully
The first thing you should do is to scrutinize the email with a fine toothcomb. Go over every detail included in the email to understand exactly what the job offer entails.
Reading the email several times over is recommended. The letter should have all the terms and conditions associated with accepting the job offer. You should not expect to understand everything that is in the letter as they are bound to be some complicated details.
If you find any issues of contention, you should write them down at this point. You will present them to the responsible party when the time is right.
Thanks for the Offer
It is considered common courtesy to send the sender of the email be it an individual or organization thanks for sending you the job offer.
They most likely had many candidates for the job and you are one of the few they would like to have the job. Therefore, you should ensure that you send a thank-you note to the relevant party. Try and make the thank you note as authentic and genuine as possible and the receiver will thank you for it.
Even if you do not plan on accepting the offer, you should let the prospective employer know that you are thankful for being considered for the position. If you plan on accepting the offer, a heartfelt thankyou will enhance your stature.
Clarify Uncertain Terms
The next step should be contacting the relevant party about the terms of the job offer that you did not understand or were unclear. The person you contact may be a hiring manager or human resource employee.
You can decide to respond to the email in kind or choose to call them if you urgently require clarification about the job offer. Having the contentious issues already prepared should save you a lot of time in this regard.
Having clarity of the terms of the job offer will help you make a better-informed choice about which job to take. If you are to contact the person in charge of clarification, it is best to do it within 24 hours of receiving the job offer email.
Ask for More Time
The date by which you need to respond to the job offer will probably be outlined in the job offer email.
On the other hand, you may feel that it is not enough time to consider the offer especially if you have received multiple offers that are all competitive. There may also be other considerations to make including family matters. You could always gain some perspective by stepping back.
Fortunately, you can always ask the sender of the email to give you more time to consider the offer. In fact, it is quite common for people to do that. You need to contact the sender as soon as possible for you to gain more time to consider the offer. As a matter of fact, the sooner the better. When you ask for more time, you should have a date by which you will be ready to respond to the offer.
Negotiate
If you clearly understand the terms of the job offer but are unhappy with them, there is room for negotiation in most job offers. Even when it is stated there isn’t room for negotiation, you should always give it a try.
You can respond with a counteroffer about some of the terms and await a response. You should also expect a counteroffer from the relevant party as negotiation is a two-way street.
Even if the offer went back on previously discussed terms, you should negotiate in terms of asking questions rather than making demands.
Accepting the Offer
When accepting a job offer, even one sent via email, it is recommended that you respond both orally and via text.
One method is usually the official channel while the other is simply a method of confirmation in case the other form of correspondence is currently unavailable. Your main point of contact who will be the one who sent you the email should be the one you respond to orally and in text.
You should express your gratitude and zest when responding to the offer both in the email and call. Your acceptance will depend on whether there were any negotiations included in the acceptance of the offer.
If there were negotiations, you will need to sign the most updated offer. If there were no negotiations, then you can simply sign the initial offer sent to you in the first email. You should also ask them what else is needed before you can start the job.
Ask about anything that would help the process of getting the job along and wait for a response. You can decide to be proactive and ask about starting the job if you do not receive any information from the person in charge of the process.
You should receive a response soon enough that is typically infused with excitement and enthusiasm. You should also appraise each individual that was involved in the recruitment of your acceptance. You should also not only send them emails but also call them and call them since it is considered to be more personal. Make sure you acknowledge receipt of the email.
Also, you need to introduce yourself and call them by their name. It gets personal and helps you have an upper hand and shows your prospects that you have done your research. If you can send them a token of appreciation or a gift, even better.
Don’t be afraid to ask them for advice about your new job when calling or writing to thank them. Starting a new job is a daunting endeavour and you can use as much help as you can get.
Declining the Offer
Not all job offers will be accepted. Declining a job offer is undoubtedly less exciting than accepting one.
There are usually two reasons for declining a job offer. One reason is if you determine that the job offer, the organization or its culture are not a good fit for you. The other reason is that you choose a competing offer that simply beats the one you are declining.
Even when you decline a company’s or individual’s job offer, it important that you maintain a good relationship with them. That is why sending them an official letter of declination is crucial. You should also call and email the relevant party to tell them you decline the offer. If they don’t see the email, they’re bound to receive the phone call.
The key to properly declining job offer is, to be honest yet professional. You should ensure that you thank them for any help they offered during the recruitment process, alert them of your decision to decline the offer, the reason for declining the offer and you are sorry to decline the offer. Also tell them that if there is ever another opportunity for you to help them, they should contact you as soon as possible.
Declining the offer may not simply mean that the job offer is retracted. It may open up room for negotiation so even when you decline an offer you should be ready for any negotiations that may follow. Even when declining an offer, you should ensure that you thank anyone who helped you get the job offer via call and text.
Tell them that you have declined the offer but are thankful for their help and would like to stay connected if you do. Remember, you need to be courteous and approachable. Ensure that whenever you reply to a job offer email, you should be kind and thankful for the consideration that you were given.
