How to Extend a Job Offer

It is always exciting when it comes time to extend an offer. All your hard work is hopefully about to pay off. By the time you are about to extend the offer you should have gathered enough information from the candidate to know their current salary and what salary they are seeking. At hand is your salary range and what you can extend to the candidate beyond base compensation. Keep in mind that bonuses and commissions are potential and not guaranteed income. If your candidate is currently earning a base of $85,000 plus 20% bonus and your role does not offer a bonus you do not have to factor in the 20% bonus as it is not income that is guaranteed to the candidate. If the candidate is seeking a base of $95,00 to $110,00 and it is within your salary range then that is a reasonable request.

Components to consider are the hard and soft skills the candidate will bring to the team. Hard skills are those day-to-day hands-on skills the candidate will use and the soft skills are communication capabilities including the ability to present in front of executives. Other components to consider are education, certifications and association memberships. Your potential new hire should be able to get along well with the other team-members as well as fit into the overall company culture.

The offer stage reminds us why it is critical to establish a salary range at the very beginning of the staffing process. At the offer stage we are also grateful we received as much information as possible from the candidate from early interviewing steps so as to avoid wasting precious time on an offer that never had the chance to go through.

Following are the basic segments of an offer letter:

• Position title
• Start date
• Location
• Compensation
• Sign on bonus and/or commissions if eligible
• Benefits
• Identity for employment eligibility such as legal documents for citizenship
• Background checks
• Employment at will
• Time frame to accept or reject offer

The simple steps to extending the offer are:

1. Extend offer verbally
2. Candidate verbally accepts
3. Initiate background check
4. Email candidate the offer in writing
5. Candidate signs offer letter
6. Background check clears

The candidate accepts and signs the offer, their background check clears and they start at the mutually agreed upon date... simply put, that is a successful new hire scenario.


 By Kelly A Smith

Article Source: How to Extend a Job Offer