The Moment of Truth: Presenting the Offer

Recruiting is like matchmaking but less romantic. Sometimes the candidate falls in love with the employer and job, but the employer chooses another candidate. Other times, the employer falls in love with the candidate only to have the candidate take another offer. We need a "spark" for both parties to make a successful match.

Assuming you, the employer, are the one who is starstruck, you want to give yourself the best possible odds of having your candidate accept your offer. Improve your odds by handling the offer stage with the same careful planning you would use to land a desirable new customer.

1.     Keep Commitments. If you are actively interviewing and still deciding which candidate will get the offer, be respectful of any commitments made to the candidate. If you promise an update by Wednesday, give an update by Wednesday. If you tell them you will reach out to references, do it promptly. A broken pre-offer commitment can be enough to break trust with your top candidates.

2.     Prepare. Review your notes. Be sure  to review any information on target pay range or benefits the candidate shares. Will your offer meet or exceed their expectations? Put the offer in writing!

3.     Be Personable. Call the candidate to present the offer. Express your excitement about inviting them to join the team. Reaffirm why you think they are a good fit. Verbally review the offer with them. Let them know that as soon as you end the call, you will email them a formal offer letter with everything in writing. Sometimes when you are short on time, it's easier just to email the offer, but then you must promptly follow up with a phone call. I could tell you many stories of missed opportunities because the attached offer letter ended up in a spam folder.

4.     Invite Questions. During your "offer call," invite them to ask questions or call you back at any time after reviewing the offer. Tell them to let you know if there was something that they were hoping to see in the offer that is missing. Essentially, you are opening the door for negotiations. But if it's a candidate you really want to hire, the last thing you want to do is lose them over $.50 per hour or a week of PTO!

5.     Connect. Offer letters typically have a deadline to make sure candidates decide in a timely fashion (and to give you time to move to a runner-up candidate if needed). If you give the candidate a week to decide, follow up after a couple of days to ask if they have any questions. Once again, you are opening the door for negotiations if they have other offers they are considering or if your offer isn't quite a match for their goals.

6.     Celebrate. Assuming the candidate says yes, always connect again to let the candidate know how excited you are to have them as part of your team. You want to ensure that you are building a solid foundation for a positive employer-employee relationship in each step of the process!

Presenting the offer and waiting for the answer can be nerve-wracking. To give yourself the best chance of success, build rapport with the candidate all throughout the interview process and the offer process. Treat the candidate with care and professionalism just as you would a potential new customer.