A job offer is the moment a hiring process either closes or falls apart. Weeks of sourcing and interviews come down to one call and one letter. Below: what a job offer must include, how to extend it step by step, a copy-ready offer letter, what to do with a competing offer or a counteroffer, and a free offer letter builder that flags what is missing.
What is a job offer?
A job offer is the employer's formal proposal to a chosen candidate: this role, these terms, this start date. It usually happens twice — first verbally, when the recruiter or hiring manager calls the candidate, and then in writing, as an offer letter.
The offer letter is not the employment contract. The contract comes later and covers the legal side. The offer letter has a different job: to show the candidate exactly what they are agreeing to and to make the decision easy. In my courses I call it the first onboarding tool — the more clearly it describes the money, the benefits and the first day, the earlier the person mentally starts the new job.
The offer is the last step of the selection process; how candidates get there is covered in Employee Selection Process: 7 Steps from Application to Offer.
The offer letter is not the employment contract. The contract comes later and covers the legal side. The offer letter has a different job: to show the candidate exactly what they are agreeing to and to make the decision easy. In my courses I call it the first onboarding tool — the more clearly it describes the money, the benefits and the first day, the earlier the person mentally starts the new job.
The offer is the last step of the selection process; how candidates get there is covered in Employee Selection Process: 7 Steps from Application to Offer.
What to include in a job offer letter
A good offer makes five things clear. If one is missing, the candidate will either ask — and wait — or assume the worst.
Add the date by which you expect an answer and the list of documents the candidate needs to sign and return.
- Clear work expectations. The job title, the team, and two or three lines on what the person will own and achieve in the first months.
- Clarity in pay. The salary, whether it is annual, monthly or hourly, how and when it is paid, and the probation period if there is one.
- Clarity in total compensation. Bonuses and how they are calculated, when the salary is reviewed, benefits, vacation days.
- A clear start date.
- Clear information about the supervisor. Who the person will report to, and where they will work.
Add the date by which you expect an answer and the list of documents the candidate needs to sign and return.
Don't be afraid to put every detail in writing
Some companies keep offers short because they worry that details will change later and candidates will hold them to the letter. When I joined Wargaming, I was told the December corporate bonus was a 13th salary. A few months later it was cancelled, and there was no note in my offer saying it could be reviewed. I did not resign over it, there were no scandals, and nobody left. Detail in the offer sells the job. Write everything down now and add one line: bonus and review rules may change in line with company policy.
How to extend a job offer: step by step
- Agree the final terms with the hiring manager. Salary, start date, title. The hiring manager should not tell the candidate about a positive decision or make the offer themselves — communication goes through the recruiter, so nothing is promised that the letter will not confirm.
- Check motivation and other offers before you make yours. Ask what else the candidate is considering, when their last salary review was and when the next one is planned.
- Call the candidate. Present the offer by voice, hear the reaction, answer questions.
- Send the written offer letter as soon as possible — ideally the same day.
- Set a reply date. It goes into the letter, together with the documents to sign and return.
- Stay in touch until the first day. Contact the candidate once or twice a week with something new and useful, keep the tone positive, and give them things to look forward to. The weeks of the notice period are when counteroffers happen.
Job offer letter template
Copy it, replace the brackets and remove what does not apply:
Dear [Name],
Congratulations! It is my pleasure to officially offer you the position of [job title] in our [team]. This is a [full-time / part-time] position with a salary of [$X] [per year / per hour], paid [how and when]. You will report to [supervisor's name, title] at [office address / remote].
In this role you will [two or three lines on responsibilities and first goals].
Bonuses and salary review: [how bonuses are calculated; when the next review is]. Benefits: [health cover, vacation days, learning budget, equipment]. Bonus and review rules may be updated in line with company policy.
Your expected start date is [date]. On your first day, [arrival time, who will meet you, what to bring].
Enclosed you will find [list of documents]. Please sign and return them by [date]. We are very excited to begin this journey together and can't wait for you to join the team.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Dear [Name],
Congratulations! It is my pleasure to officially offer you the position of [job title] in our [team]. This is a [full-time / part-time] position with a salary of [$X] [per year / per hour], paid [how and when]. You will report to [supervisor's name, title] at [office address / remote].
In this role you will [two or three lines on responsibilities and first goals].
Bonuses and salary review: [how bonuses are calculated; when the next review is]. Benefits: [health cover, vacation days, learning budget, equipment]. Bonus and review rules may be updated in line with company policy.
Your expected start date is [date]. On your first day, [arrival time, who will meet you, what to bring].
Enclosed you will find [list of documents]. Please sign and return them by [date]. We are very excited to begin this journey together and can't wait for you to join the team.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
How to present a job offer on the call
Don't read the salary figure and wait. Present the offer with the FAB technique, the same one recruiters use to sell a vacancy:
- Features — the facts of the offer: role, salary, location, team.
- Advantages — what the candidate gets from those facts: the tools they will work with, the learning budget, the scope.
- Benefits — which of the candidate's own needs this meets, in their words from the interviews: growth, visibility, a step to the next level.
What to do when the candidate has a competing offer
A good candidate rarely has only your offer. Don't just raise the salary — work through it:
- Ask for details of the other offer.
- Show the candidate a list of what an employer can offer — salary, bonuses, salary growth, the supervisor, benefits, recognition, company reputation, job security — and ask them to pick the five that matter most.
- Ask what is better there.
- Ask what you could do to make your offer better for them.
- Check what is realistic with the hiring manager.
- Make a proposal that is better on at least three factors from their top five — by about 20%.
How to prepare a candidate for a counteroffer
A counteroffer is what the current employer proposes when your candidate resigns — usually more money, sometimes a promotion. Act as if you are sure it will come, and treat it as a good sign: employers fight for people they value. Prepare the candidate before they resign:
- At the interview stage, ask when their last salary review was and when the next one is planned. If the last one was a year ago and the next is next week, be ready.
- Ask what their manager will do when they hear about the resignation, and what they will try to keep them with.
- Ask whether anyone in their company resigned and was retained — how, and how that person feels now.
- Sell positive reasons for the move — stability, location, work environment, growth — not only the money.
- Ask one direct question: “Are you ready to tell everyone at your company that your decision is final and you will not consider a counteroffer?”
If the counteroffer has already been made
Don't argue — ask questions and let the candidate answer them for themselves:
- Why did the manager decide to raise the salary now and not earlier? Will it keep growing in the future?
- How will the manager treat you now, knowing you stayed for a raise? Will they value you — or start looking for a replacement?
- Most likely you have been given the maximum possible for your current position. Ours is just a start.
Job offer acceptance rate: the metric that shows offer quality
Job offer acceptance rate = accepted job offers ÷ job offers made, for the same period. For most of my career — at Alfa-Bank, at a TV channel, at Wargaming — an offer we made was almost always accepted. Then I learned that some companies have only 20–30% of their offers accepted, and at first I didn't believe it. Why make an offer to a candidate who will not take it? It means recruiters are not checking motivation and do not know how to build the offer. If your rate is low, look at those two things first.
Common job offer mistakes
- Verbal only. Without a letter the candidate has nothing to trust.
- Vague money. A salary figure without bonuses, review dates and benefits leaves the candidate guessing at the total.
- Slow offer. Days between the final interview and the letter are days for another company or a counteroffer.
- No reply date. The decision drifts and the candidate keeps interviewing.
- The hiring manager makes promises. Terms said in the interview that the letter does not confirm destroy trust.
- Silence until day one. No contact during the notice period is the easiest way to lose an accepted offer.
The job offer template, the email for sending it, preparing the candidate for a counteroffer and the questions to ask when one is made are part of the Recruiter course, together with sourcing, interviews, assessing candidates and onboarding.
