Before you accept that job offer…

So you’ve done all the hard work and rifled through several job boards, LinkedIn adverts and Glassdoor company reviews, applied to a range of jobs and spent hours researching each company…and finally, your offers are coming in thick and fast!

Well, before you race back to accept an offer, we recommend you complete this checklist first:

Before accepting:

• Have you met your future Line Manager? You will be reporting to this person most days so make sure you understand their management style and believe you could have a good working relationship together.
• Check your references! Keep them up to date and ensure that they really are the best advocates for you.
• Have you clarified the contract? The last thing you want is to find some nasty surprises down the line, take a good read and raise any queries. Make sure you understand how the pension, bonuses, and benefits package work.
• Have you read their Glassdoor reviews? Make sure the information you gather about a company doesn’t come from the company alone. Glassdoor reviews provide both employee and ex-employees’ honest opinions of the culture and management.
• Leverage your network! If you know people who work there currently or have done previously, have a chat with them and get an inside view of what the company is really like.
• Check that the offer was as you expected! Make sure that salary, hours, job description/title and benefits are as previously described and that you will receive exactly what you applied for. If not– negotiate!
• Do you have a solid understanding of the work you will be doing? This includes the level of responsibility you will have, how you will be evaluated, and who you will be working with.
• Is the salary in line with comparable roles in your area? Do your research. If needed, it is perfectly reasonable to raise this with your Hiring Manager.
• Are there other financial aspects you need to take into account, such as longer commute time? Your employer may be able to compensate for this.
• Have you met your team? Your personalities blend well? – Go for it! Can’t imagine sitting next to them for a whole week?- It’s probably not the team for you.
• Look up employees on LinkedIn! I can’t stress this enough; this will tell you how long people have generally stayed at the company. Check if most people stay there more than a year and also how long it’s taken for people to receive promotions there.

Things to ask yourself:

Of course you want your response to be timely but do not feel rushed to respond straight away. Many people can get carried away by the excitement of receiving a job offer, especially if it’s a step above their previous role. However, you want to ask yourself:

• Are you genuinely excited by this job?
• Can you see this job advancing your career and helping you meet your long-term professional goals?
• Will you be able to utilise your skills effectively here, but more importantly, will you be able to learn here?

We hope this checklist will help remind you of the importance of questioning the value of a job offer before accepting it. A job offer demonstrates that you are in demand and you are in a position to query any part of your contract before starting in a new company. However, if you are pretty set on accepting a job offer, then our Internal Recruitment expert has some very useful tips for going about the acceptance and on-boarding process:

Samantha’s Dos and Don’ts:

DOs

• Be speedy! This isn’t to say you need to rush your decision-making process, but rather make sure that once you have made your decision that you keep your employer updated. Timeliness demonstrates eagerness.
• Keep in contact during your notice period! If you need to work your notice period then it’s good to keep in touch with your new employer throughout this. Maybe meet up for coffee or after work drinks with your new team. This way, by the time you join your new firm you will already feel like part of the team.

DON’Ts

• Go quiet! Employers don’t want you to suddenly disappear off the radar once they’ve offered you a position. Even if you haven’t decided on your response yet, it’s still good to send them an email thanking them for the offer and letting them know that you’ll get back to them in the next couple of days.
• Be negative! Employers want you to be excited by the prospect of joining their company. The last thing they want after delivering you the good news is a rather uninspiring, unexcited response to their offer. If you’re not excited then it’s probably not right for you.
• Suddenly move the goal posts! Many people feel that a job offer gives them the right to challenge the advertised salary and start asking for more. This can put employers in a difficult position and should have been raised during the application stage. If you would like to negotiate a salary, you should make it clear how much you feel your skills are worth throughout the interview process.

There you have it, a bundle of tips to consider during the offer and acceptance process from myself and our internal recruitment expert, Samantha! We hope this has been helpful – if you have any questions or concerns about a job offer you have received, give us a call...