You think you've found the needle in the haystack.

You are speaking to a candidate who has an incredible background, a jovial attitude and a wealth of experience and would be a perfect cultural fit for your company.

The problem is that not only is he a perfect fit for your company, but he is also the ideal candidate for several other companies. And in today's talent market, your favorite candidate is probably applying elsewhere and comparing your offer to the others they receive.

The reality is that your proposal process needs to be a well-oiled machine to attract your dream candidates. If you like someone, you need to move forward quickly. But not so fast that you appear sloppy or inconsiderate. In this post, we'll go over what to do before making an offer and explain how to submit it in a way that gives you the best chance of success.

Before you make a job offer

Making a job offer is a big deal. If an applicant accepts the offer, they could work in your company for years, even if they are not the best fit for you. On the other hand, if he doesn't accept, you may have missed a great opportunity.

So before you think about making an offer, get as much specific information from applicants as possible.

Understand the candidate's expectations

First, your team should work hard to understand the candidate's expectations. When you hear this, you immediately think that you should ask an applicant about their income requirements.

But asking a candidate for a salary range can perpetuate pay inequality. Women and minorities tend to charge less, and unfortunately employers take advantage of this. In addition, asking about salary can be dangerous because asking about an employee's current salary is illegal.

So instead of asking about salary upfront, consider posting salary ranges for your position online. This is already required in many states. This will help you stay ahead of the curve and give your applicants the information they need for future negotiations.

In addition to compensation, you should also find out whether the candidate prefers to work from home and how this affects their salary, which is based on your location-based compensation policy. If getting to the office is important for this person, you should determine the cost of the move. Also inquire about the desired starting date so that you can quickly submit an offer if necessary.

Understand the applicant's motivations

You should also find out about the applicant's motivations. Some candidates may be more interested in career advancement, higher titles, and more responsibility, while others may prefer a better work-life balance. Treat phone calls and interviews as an opportunity to show candidates that there are opportunities within your company to achieve their goals, whatever those goals are. Start by convincing them about your company and the position before an offer is on the table.

The most important thing is to document your interest in the company and the position. Write down what part of your culture resonated with them and what they want to achieve in the long term. Remembering these details when making an offer shows how much you care about the candidate and want them on your team.

Answer general questions in advance

Use interviews and screenings as an opportunity to ask some or all of these questions:

• How much time do you expect to need to discuss an offer with your family or partner?
• Do you think your current company will make you a counteroffer? If so, is there any chance you would stay?
• Do you have other competing offers?
• When do you hope to make a decision?

The answers will help you strengthen your arguments, but perhaps more importantly, they will help you figure out whether a candidate is on the same wavelength or not. For example, if a candidate says they have three competing offers and hopes to make a decision by tomorrow, you probably don't have a good chance of them accepting your offer. Knowing this right away can save you a costly day of on-site interviews.

Consider having a conversation before closing

When an applicant makes it through the final round, you know they are the right person. Make an appointment to talk and let him know.

Explain that although you haven't made a decision yet, you think he is a very good candidate. Confirm the information you previously documented to show that you (1) listened carefully and (2) understood what the applicant wanted.

Ask if the candidate has any concerns about the expectations of the job and try to allay them. Once you have specific numbers, tell the candidate what you would have to offer them and make sure that range is acceptable to them.

Finally, remember that time can negate all offers. Ask candidates when they will be ready to receive an offer. Let's say your internal goal is to receive a final decision from an applicant within five business days

To give yourself some leeway, tell the candidate that they have three days to decide once you make them an offer and ask them when they would like to begin that period. This will let them know you are serious and speed up your process.

Expansion of job opportunities
Now that the preparatory work is complete, it's time to move on to the actual offer. Below you will learn who makes an offer, what an offer actually is and how to make an offer step by step.

Anyone who makes a job offer
Ideally, the hiring manager will tell an applicant the good news. After all, he is the candidate's manager and is therefore best placed to discuss role expectations and responsibilities. However, hiring managers have a lot on their plate, and it's not always possible to get them on the phone with a candidate as quickly as you'd like.

When hiring managers are not available, recruiters are a suitable alternative. Since they are in constant contact with the applicant, they have probably developed a good relationship with them and know what the applicant is getting into.

‍But keep in mind that candidates will probably have questions once an offer is extended. For that reason, whoever presents the offer must be able to articulate how the hiring team thought about equity and compensation. They must be capable of justifying why your offer is competitive in this market and answering a candidate’s tough questions.

This is why having a compensation philosophy is incredibly useful一anyone on your hiring team can leverage it to ensure a consistent message is delivered to every candidate. A compensation philosophy helps build credibility and trust with candidates.

(Not sure how to create a compensation philosophy? Check out our blog post to learn more).

Of course, don’t let these serious matters cloud how exciting it is to make the offer. When a team sounds delighted to extend an offer, candidates will naturally feel excited, too!

What is a Job Offer?

Simply put, a job offer invites a candidate to work for your company in a particular role. Typically, the hiring manager, recruiter, or other designated person will extend a verbal offer to a candidate over the phone, detailing the job, compensation package, and benefits.

At that point, the candidate has an opportunity to ask questions and is encouraged to think it over. Behind the scenes, HR composes a legal offer letter that outlines the terms verbally communicated to the candidate as well as any other contractual conditions.

Oftentimes HR reuses an offer letter template and populates the following pieces of information:

• Title
• Duties
• Salary (with variable or bonus structure)
• Equity
• Conditions of employment
• Guidelines for resignation and termination
• Schedule
• Benefits
• Time off

But many companies overlook the fact that receiving an offer letter can be overwhelming. There’s a lot of information to process all at once, and the letters themselves don’t give candidates much insight into how the hiring team came to their final equity and compensation decision.

For a better candidate experience, consider using a platform to walk candidates through their offers term-by-term. IceHrm Offers product clearly communicates the total value of the offer, from salary to bonuses, to equity, to benefits. On top of that, Assemble allows you to add custom branding, adding an extra layer of polish to your offers.

Besides Illustrative Offers, you might consider sending accompanying information to help candidates better understand certain components of their offer. For example, suppose your company is a startup or a public company that offers an ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan) plan. In that case, you may want to provide documentation on how employees should think about exercising their options or selling vested RSUs.

How to Extend a Job Offer in 11 Steps

Extending a job offer can be nerve-wracking, especially if it’s your first time doing it. So we’ve compiled a list of eleven steps to make thoughtful, well-rounded offers that candidates will have a hard time turning down.

1. Say the words, “We’d like to extend you an offer.”

Make it crystal clear that you are extending an offer. You may have already hinted this was coming in your pre-closing call, but ensure they know that this is the real deal. Getting them confused can stall your closing process at best and convince them to accept an offer elsewhere at worst.

2. Reiterate why you chose the candidate over others

Candidates want to know why you’re picking them, so give specific feedback about what made them stand out.

‍Describe how they would fit into the role and your culture. Share what stood out to you about the candidate when you talked to them. Remember, a little flattery can go a long way.

3. Set the job offer call agenda

Let the candidate know the call agenda to reaffirm that the candidate has reached the verbal offer stage and prepare the candidate to jot down notes or questions. Doing this also makes it feel more official and organized.

4. Sell your company and the offer

Go back to your notes from the interview process. What did the candidate say about why they are leaving their current company? What are they looking to gain at yours? Hit on those points as you describe the potential you see in them and connect their goals to the best parts of working at your company. Prove to them that you listened during the interview and can explain the immediate impact they would have on your organization.

5. Send a written offer

At this point, you’re done with your preamble and can get into the specifics. Review the salary, bonus structure, equity, and benefits at a high level. Explain that the candidate will be receiving a written offer containing all of these details and that a tool like IceHrm will walk them through the offer in a step-by-step format.

This walk-through will keep the candidate engaged with your team and ensure they are adequately prepared to make an informed decision.

After you’ve explained this, take a pause for questions. Keep in mind that the level of candidate can impact how much time you should leave and what kinds of questions you’ll get. New grads will have different questions than execs and will care about different things.

If the recruiter is doing the talking, it’s a good idea to have the hiring manager somewhat on standby. That way, recruiters can punt any questions they don’t know how to answer to the hiring manager who can provide an answer quickly. As you can with the candidate, identify areas of concern so you can try to circumvent them.

6. Set a job offer deadline and send the physical offer letter

Job offer deadlines vary from company to company and can be as long as two weeks or as short as one day. An exploding offer can bubble up unwanted questions and a longer deadline increases the possibility of a candidate receiving other offers or counteroffers.

‍Creating at least a little sense of urgency can speed up the process, giving you more time to prepare onboarding materials or move on to the next candidate if the offer is turned down. Pick a timeline that feels manageable to your company but gives the candidate some time to think the offer over and discuss it with their family.

Once you’ve let them know what the deadline is, start filling in your standard offer letter template and send it via your eSignature platform when it’s ready.

7. Gather a candidate’s references and prepare for their background check

Some companies do reference checks before extending the final offer, and some don’t. If your organization conducts reference calls ahead of delivering the final offer, make that a clear component of your interview process.

But if you’re collecting references after the offer, now is the time to tell the candidate so they can reach out to folks who can vouch for them and you can begin scheduling calls. You’ll also want to let the candidate know that you’ll be doing a background check and give them light instructions on who they should expect an email from, how to fill out any forms, etc. This is one of your last chances to double-check that you’ve chosen the right person and surface any last-minute red flags.

8. Be ready to address a counteroffer

Unfortunately, an offer letter is not a legally binding document, which means candidates may receive an appealing counter from their employer. Waiting several days to sign the offer letter might be a sign the candidate is stalling. If you sniff out that they may have received a counteroffer, ask to speak with the candidate. Have the hiring manager remind the candidate why they wanted to leave and what opportunities await them at your company.

9. Stay in touch with the candidate before they onboard

Another tactic to avoid candidates accepting counteroffers is to keep in close touch. Inviting candidates to lunch during their two-week period of quitting can make them feel like they’re already part of the team. Check in to see how their transition has been and if there is any way you can be helpful. And every time you talk to the candidate, mention how thrilled you are that they are joining your team.

10. Follow up with the candidate

Continue following up with the candidate until they sign your offer. Verify that they have all the necessary paperwork to complete, answer questions, and remind them of the deadline.

11. Generate even more excitement around their acceptance with swag!

The candidate accepted, and now the fun begins.
Consider sending candidates a swag box, treat them to a happy hour or zoom dinner with their new team, and posting about the new hire on LinkedIn or other company social media. Whatever you choose to do, make your new hire feel special.

Building a Thoughtful Compensation Package

A well-constructed, thoughtful offer makes candidates feel desired, level sets their expectations, and gets everyone excited about adding outstanding newcomers to the team. But even if you complete all your pre-work and follow these eleven steps, you won’t get anywhere without a competitive, equitable compensation package. And that’s where IceHrm comes into play.

IceHrm enables you to make fair and equitable compensation decisions that are competitive with the market, consistent with your policies and beliefs, and easy to explain. The best part is that IceHrm allows you to continuously build, customize, and update your compensation practice as you expand your team and interview more and more candidates. Learn more about how IceHrm can streamline your offer process.