When you've been waiting for a job offer and a recruiter or your hiring manager calls you on the phone to make the offer, it's tempting to accept on the spot.
Rrring!
YOU: John Cena!
THEM: Hi John, this is Chuck Jones from Acme Explosives. We've finished our interviewing process and we'd like to make you a job offer.
YOU: Sounds great! When do you want me to start?
Don't do that! Wait until you get the offer letter. Sometimes the recruiter, someone from HR or your hiring manager will call you on the phone to extend a job offer. Sometimes they'll send you the offer letter through email or by mail, but in both those cases, they should tell you the offer is coming. If you receive your offer letter via email or in the post and you weren't expecting it, that's a big red flag.
It means that the employer's need (to fill an open position) is important, but your need to be kept in the loop is not important. Plus, it's presumptuous to send out an offer letter that the candidate (you) isn't expecting - why would you think the job-seeker would accept your offer when they don't know what the offer is going to contain?
A better idea from the employer's side is to make a Supposal, by calling the person you plan to hire on the phone. You'll say "So John, if we go ahead and make you a job offer, and of course that's the reason we're checking references right now, what will that offer need to contain in order for you to sign it right away?"
You can talk about salary in that conversation. You can talk about bonus potential, employee benefits, working hours and anything else that's important to either of you.
Let's say you have the Supposal conversation described above, and at the end of the conversation, the company recruiter, Vince, says "John, I think we're in very good shape. We're putting an offer letter together now." You'll already know what the offer is going to contain. You'll say "That sounds terrific, Vince. I'll look for the offer letter in my inbox."
Vince says "Outstanding! Assuming the offer letter looks like you expect it to, then, John, should we set a starting date for you?"
You'll say "Terrific! I'd like to wait until I sign the offer before giving notice at my job - even though it's a six-month contract, I feel that I need to give them two weeks notice and I'm sure you'll agree - so let me get the offer, read it, and get back to you with any questions or with my signed offer letter in a day or two."
Vince says "Great!"
People ask me all the time "Why do I need to get a written offer letter before accepting a job, when I already know what the offer contains?" You have to read the offer letter. There can be weird language and surprising things in a job offer. You don't want to accept the job and then get the offer letter and find that there's an aspect of the job that doesn't work for you!
The work world is changing fast. There are some wacky things going on out there. One of our clients was offered a job as a Branch Manager, and in his offer letter it said that he had to pay his own phone bills for business calls when he was out of the office.
In other words, he had to use his personal cell phone for business and pay his phone bill, and apart from that the company required its Branch Managers to make sure they had an iPhone or Android phone of a model that was not more than one year old. Talk about cheeky!
Our client would never have thought to ask the question "Will you pay my cell phone bill for the business calls I make?"He assumed that since he'd be traveling around in his car for business all the time, his employer would pay for his business calls. He was wrong.
It's a good thing he waited to get the written offer before he accepted the job. Once he saw the offer, he called his hiring manager to ask why he would be expected to cover his cell phone cost when ninety-nine percent of his use of his phone was for business. The hiring manager told our client that the company had recently changed its policy. Our client asked why. There was no good reason. It was just another way to save money.
"I can't accept the job on these terms," said our client. "What's next - should I pay rent for the desk?"
"To be perfectly honest with you, that idea has been tossed around," said our client's hopeful next boss, but it was not to be.
Our client started consulting with his own business card and got a job within a few months - a higher-level job than the Branch Manager, as it turned out. I want you to accept a great job offer soon, but I don't want you to accept a job just because you get an offer!
When you say No to the wrong job, you dodge a bullet. Learning to slam doors (politely!) in your job search is the key to growing your career mojo.
If you get your job offer through email and want to accept the offer using an email reply, here's how you can respond:
Dear Chuck,
Thanks very much for the job offer. I'm excited to accept it and to join your team!
I'll sign the offer letter, scan it and send it back tonight when I get home. Please let me know if there's anything else I need to do.
If it works for you, I'll plan to start at Acme Explosives on Monday, October seventh. I'm excited. Thanks again for the offer!
All the best,
John Cena
