So you’ve made it through the weeks of interviews, you’ve chosen the best candidate, and now all that remains is to contact them with the good news. It’s time to send the job offer email.
But what can you do to improve your chances of getting a “yes!” in response to your offer? And which important details about the job should you include?
Here, you’ll find tips on how to compose a winning offer letter email, plus an example email template for you to adapt.
A well-crafted job offer email will go a long way toward convincing your candidate to accept the post. But the best way to set up your email for success is to call the candidate first.
It can be just a quick conversation. Aside from making the offer, all you need to do is to tell them how excited you all are about them joining the team, give them some basic info about the job (such as salary and working hours), and ask them if they’re interested.
If they are, you can tell them to look out for the official offer of employment email that will be heading their way soon.
So, why start with a verbal offer?
Okay, you’ve called your top candidate and confirmed they’re interested. Now’s the time to craft an email that will persuade them to make the final leap.
So, let’s break down the key qualities of a great job offer email:
From the moment that email lands in the candidate’s inbox, it should be clear what it contains—and it should make the candidate want to open it.
That means you’ll want to use an attention-grabbing and informative subject line for your email. Something like:
You may also want to consider the first few words of your email that the candidate will see before opening it. Phrases such as “We are delighted…” or “We are so excited…” should help capture their interest straight away.
When you email to offer a job, your tone should clearly convey how excited and pleased you are at the prospect of the candidate joining your team.
The start and end of your email are the key places to get your enthusiasm across, as the middle will be taken up by important information about the job.
As well as giving them the good news about the offer, you might want to mention:
The candidate is more likely to accept the offer if they feel genuinely appreciated and valued by you and your company.
And don’t forget, you also want to get things across in an email that exudes your company’s brand identity. If you have a tone of voice guide, use that to craft a message that matches.
Your email will need to get across all the essential information about the job, so the candidate can make an informed decision.
It’s also important to bear in mind that, although it seems informal, the email is a legal contract—so remember to check all the details are correct before you send it.
Here are some key details to consider including:
You should also give a clear deadline for accepting or declining the offer. That means if the candidate performs a vanishing act before then, you can swiftly move on to your second best choice.
While you’ll want your offer letter email to convey the key details above, it’s also crucial not to overwhelm the candidate with information. Try to present the facts as clearly and concisely as possible.
Information that is useful but not essential (the finer details about benefits, for example) can be included as a PDF attachment, rather than being mentioned in the body of your email.
Another option is to include the official offer letter as a PDF attachment. You can then keep your email very brief, focusing on your enthusiasm about the candidate joining the team. In that case, you would just need to remember to tell the candidate to open, read, and respond to the attached offer letter.
Finally, make sure you take some time in your email to outline how the candidate can go about accepting the offer.
For example, let them know if you want them to print, sign, and scan the offer email to send back to you, or whether they can sign electronically.
It’s also a good plan to add your contact details and emphasize that the candidate is welcome to get in touch if they have any questions.
An email template can be a good starting point when crafting a job offer email. This will provide the basic structure and a reminder of the key details to include, leaving you to focus on shaping the tone to suit the individual candidate.
Here’s one example of a job offer email template that you can feel free to adapt for your business:
Subject line: Your offer from [company name]Dear [candidate name],
It has been a pleasure to get to know you over the past few weeks. We have all been impressed by your skills and experience, and we would like to formally offer you the position of [job title] at [company name]. We are really excited about the [creativity/expertise/other qualities] you would be bringing to the team.
The role falls within the [department name] department and you would be reporting to [manager name and job title]. The position is [full/part] time and you would be working [working days and hours]. While the role is based at our [location] office, there would be the option to work from home up to two days per week.
We can offer you an annual gross salary of [$X]. Additionally, [mention bonuses, if they apply]. You would also have [X] vacation days per year, as well as the following benefits: [summarize benefits]. [You’ll find further information about benefits attached to this email.]
We are flexible regarding a start date for the position, but we’d be happy for you to start as soon as possible. The deadline for accepting or declining the offer is [date]. To accept the offer, please [give instructions for accepting offer].
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, via [email address] or [phone number].
Once again, we would be delighted to welcome you to the team, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Once you’ve got your template, you can make writing offer emails even easier by using a text expander tool like Magical.
Simply create a keyboard shortcut for each offer email template (e.g. //offer1, //offer2) and then… Voilà! With just a few keystrokes you can add the text into the body of your email.
No more searching through files to find where you saved your template, before copying and pasting it. In fact, you never have to leave your window.
Magical has already saved recruiters over eight years of time in total. 🙀 How much time could it save you? Try the app today for free.