Accepting a job offer is a bit like dating. If you contact the employer straight away, do you come across a bit desperate? If you play it cool and leave it a few days to think over, does that make you look uninterested? What if you feel like the contract terms offered need some negotiation, will you come across as a difficult person to build a working relationship with?
In this blog, we will explore the best strategies in terms of how to accept a job offer, so you can manage this process to your best advantage and find a job you actually love!
The process of accepting a job offer
Most companies will send an email with a formal job offer. Some may call you first to let you know you were successful, then follow up with a confirmation email. Whichever form the job offer arrives in, you need to make sure you accept a job offer in a positive way by clearly expressing your appreciation, then follow up with a written acceptance email or letter.
The employer may provide a deadline in terms of a response, which allows you time to examine the job offer and decide whether it’s a good fit. If they don’t mention a deadline, then politely ask if you can have a day or two just to review.
How can I ensure I accept a great job offer?
When you consider the impact a job has on your happiness, relationships, career progression, self-confidence, health, and well-being, properly evaluating a job offer is time well spent.
Bear in mind that you need to be realistic too, as not every job offer will be 100% perfect. There may be some trade-offs in terms of specific elements of the job, but if the role gives you an opportunity to progress and is a step up from your current role then it should prove to be a good fit.
1. Research your potential employer
Researching your prospective employer is the best place to start before you decide how to accept a job offer. You may have already visited the company website to prepare for your interview, but looking through the lens of an employee or customer will give you a good idea if the company is one you want to work for.
Social media is a great starting point and gives you great insight in terms of public opinion on the organization. Social networking sites and current news also provide a snapshot of how the company operates. Sites like Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and Comparably are good sources for checking salaries, employee benefits, and company culture.
2. Salaries & Benefits
While money isn’t everything, it still really matters when you are deciding to accept a job offer. Making sure you are being offered a fair starting salary and the opportunity for a percentage raise in the future are extremely important. Check out sites such as Glassdoor or Payscale to find out what peers in your industry, region, and job sector are bringing home.
Look at the benefits package too. Benefits can offer a good insight into the company and how it looks after its employees. Healthcare insurance, maternity/paternity benefits, wellness programs, and retirement options may not be exciting job aspects to consider right off the bat. Further down the line though, they could work out to be equally or even more valuable than your salary.
3. Flexible Working
Flexible and hybrid working is now one of the top deal breakers for job seekers deciding whether and how to accept a job offer. If the employer provided specific details of flexible working at the interview, double-check that this has been included in the written job offer.
If the position wasn’t advertised as flexible, then it may be time to negotiate. While this may feel a bit uncomfortable, it’s worth giving it a go and you may find the employer is totally on board. Before you start any negotiations though, make sure it is realistic for the role itself and the duties/responsibilities required to fulfill expectations.
If it’s a resounding yes, then follow this process to tackle negotiations the right way:
Ask if the company has a flexible working policy and how it works?
If the answer is no, consider whether a flexible (5 days a week/flexible hours) or hybrid (office and working from home) solution would work better for this position?
How does the employer benefit from flexible/hybrid arrangements? Sell to the employer how successful this was in previous roles. Were you more productive? Will working remotely mean you can work more hours instead of commuting?
Compromise if needed. Suggest starting full time and moving to a four-day week once you are settled in the job. Could you work flexibly from time to time around business needs?
4. Team Culture
Team culture is the attitude, values, goals, and ways of working that a team shares. Joining a company that promotes a team-first culture, is focused on bringing out the best in its employees, and supporting their goals cannot be underestimated.
Research as much as you can about team culture via the company website, social media posts, and independent employee reviews on Comparably, Salary.com or Glassdoor.
Another good idea is to ask about team culture during the interview process. Companies with a forward-thinking approach to team culture may offer:
Diverse learning and development opportunities
Employee Resource Groups and team-building events
Health and wellbeing programs
No door policy – values like collaboration and transparency are valued over hierarchy
In summary, researching the company, evaluating salary and benefits as well as exploring flexible working and team culture, will help you make the right decision for both yourself and the employer in terms of accepting a job offer.
So, if you’re ready and committed to your new career journey, it’s now time to navigate how to accept a job offer in writing.
How to accept a job offer
You’ve made the big decision and now you need to formally accept your dream job! Even if you have verbally communicated your decision, you still need to put this in writing.
A job offer acceptance is usually sent via email or in a formal acceptance letter attached to an email. Some companies may send a formal offer letter in the post. The best option is to reply to the employer in the same method they used to make the formal job offer in writing. Whichever option you choose, you need to ensure the following areas are addressed:
1. Clear and concise subject line
In terms of how to accept a job offer, this may seem like the last thing you need to do and not very important. However, creating a clear and concise subject line ensures that your email doesn’t get overlooked. The subject line is also the first thing the employer sees when scanning their emails, so making sure it is relevant and professional is actually really important.
The best option is to include the job title, ‘Job Acceptance’ and your full name in the subject line, for example: ‘Operations Manager Job Acceptance – John Smith.’ Highlighting ‘Job Acceptance’ in bold helps make this stand out to the employer.
2. Address your job offer acceptance to the correct person
Ensure you send the acceptance to the right person and that their name is spelled correctly. This will usually be the person that made the job offer and you will have likely met them during the interview process. If anyone else has been involved in the recruitment process, such as the HR Manager, you can cc them on the email, so they are in the loop.
3. Express your appreciation for the opportunity
Open your job offer acceptance with a thank you to the employer for offering you the role, express how excited you are to join the team, and further the goals/objectives of the company. Ensure you refer to the role via the full job title and include the company name.
4. Confirm terms of employment
Confirm the key terms and conditions of employment, including agreed job title, salary, and benefits. If you negotiated some terms post the offer being issued, then mention these in this section of the acceptance email/letter. For example, if you negotiated flexible working, you should include ‘As we discussed on our phone call on DATE, I will be working from home two days a week.’
5. Start date and notice period
Confirm your start date and notice period with your present company if this is applicable. This will make sure everyone is clear on when you are able to start your new role.
How to Accept A Job Offer - Top Tip: Informing your future employer at the interview stage (or before) of any notice period is a better idea than surprising them with this information in an acceptance email/letter
6. Close the letter and include your signature
Conclude the letter as positively and enthusiastically as you opened the letter and convey how excited you are about this new opportunity. Your closing salutation could be ‘Sincerely’ or ‘Best Regards’ and then your full name below. You can also include a digital signature and of course, make sure you proofread before clicking send!
How to accept a job offer via a letter follows broadly the same layout – just keep the letter as professional, direct, and succinct as possible. Here are some examples to help you construct an engaging acceptance email/letter:
How To Accept a Job Offer - Email Template
Here’s a template you can use (by editing, adjusting, and filling in your information as appropriate) to accept your desired job offer:
Subject: JOB TITLE – Job Acceptance, FULL NAME Dear NAME (Person who offered you the position) Thank you for offering me the position of JOB TITLE at COMPANY NAME. It is with great pleasure that I accept your offer. I look forward to joining the company and contributing to your vision and mission. As we previously discussed, my starting salary will be SALARY and ENTER ADDITIONAL BENEFITS AND ANY NEGOTIATED TERMS. I can confirm that my notice period will end on DATE, so my start date with COMPANY NAME will be DATE. If there is any further information or paperwork you need me to complete, please do not hesitate to contact me on MOBILE NUMBER. I look forward to working with you soon and thank you again for this amazing opportunity. Kind Regards, YOUR NAME |
How To Accept a Job Offer - Acceptance Letter Template
In case you’re sending your job offer acceptance response via standard mail (or simply want to make your response more formal), you can use the job offer acceptance template below.
Just make sure to adjust, adapt and fill in your info as needed, don’t copy and paste verbatim!
Dear NAME I am writing to formally accept the role of JOB TITLE with COMPANY NAME. I am grateful for this opportunity and look forward to joining such a reputable company in the INDUSTRY sector. As the offer letter states, I accept the salary of AMOUNT AND ANY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS. Following completion of my XX-week notice period, my start date will be DATE. Please let me know if you require any additional information. I look forward to working with you soon and thank you again for this amazing opportunity. Sincerely FULL NAME |
Don’t feel that you have to accept a job offer proposal!
It’s important to point out that just being offered a job doesn’t mean you should accept it. Clearly, it’s very flattering and exciting to secure a job offer, but if it is not aligned with your long-term goals, then you are doing both yourself and the company a disservice.
Key Takeaways
Ensure you and the company are a good fit before you work out how to accept a job offer via company research, salary benchmarking, exploring benefits, and researching team culture.
Create a clear, concise, and professional acceptance email or letter and respond to the employer in the same method they made the formal job offer.
Don’t accept a job just because you have been offered the role. Explore the areas covered in this blog to make the right decision for you and the company offering you the opportunity.
