How to Make a Job Offer to a Candidate

You’ve gone through the whole hiring process and made your decision on who you want to hire. Job done, right? Not quite. You still have to overcome the last hurdle which is making the job offer to the candidate. Just because you’ve made your decision, that doesn’t mean that the candidate has. You now need to ensure that the candidate accepts the offer. Use these 6 tips to ensure that the candidate says yes to your job offer.

Move Quickly

Once you have made your decision, move fast to make an offer to the candidate. If the candidate is a super star, they will most likely have other offers made to them from other companies. If you move quickly, you’ll not only get to them before other companies but you will also make them feel that you really want them and that can make a difference. 

Make Offer Over Phone First

When making an offer, don’t send it over email or a text message. Get the candidate on the phone and make the offer personally. Your goal when you on the phone is to get the candidate to verbally agree. 

Competitive Compensation

When making the official offer, make sure the compensation is competitive. No matter what a candidate says, money does talk. A normal pay increase that a candidate will look for when changing jobs is a 10% increase. Competitive compensation could make the difference between the candidate accepting or declining the offer.

Focus On What Matters 

After various interviews and conversations with the candidate as well as their references, you know that matters to a candidate. You know what benefits they are looking for, work-life balance, and opportunities for growth they are expecting. Include these things on your offer and you can be sure to expect a yes.

Set Deadline

Once you’ve made the official offer, set a specific deadline for the candidate to accept. Whether it’s a couple of days or a week, set a specific deadline that you need to hear from them. This can ensure that they get the time they need to consider everything in the offer and talk to their family, etc. 

Stay In Contact

Don’t lose contact with the candidate. Check in often to see where they are at mentally and in the decision process. Ensure that you are not being too pushy or that you are causing them to have second thoughts about accepting the job offer.