Tesar-Reynes

Last week’s Inc. Magazine included a great article entitled, “How to Write an Offer Letter,” detailing the keys to any good formal job offer letter. I thought this would be perfect for some of the hiring managers and recruiters who read our blog. (Thanks, as always, for your readership.)

If you’re asking yourself how important the offer letter is in the hiring courtship, the short answer is extremely important. Perhaps an analogy would do. Offer letters are like the wedding vows you take with a new employee you’re entering a working relationship with. It represents the terms of your new “marriage” and the expectations that both employee and employer are expected to hold to.

According to the article, in addition to clearly communicating a formal offer to a potential employee, the offer letter, if approved by legal counsel, covers the employer should the working relationship fail and the former employee decides on taking legal action.

From the perspective of a (former) job searcher, as I recall offer letters I’ve received in my career, I can share with you that I felt an immense sense of accomplishment and pride when reading a formal offer letter. The job search process is a time-intensive, emotionally draining process. Any job hunter puts in countless hours of Web surfing for available positions, cover letters and resume’ writing, and sometimes even cold calling. If one is lucky enough to land a job interview, proper research must be done on the interviewing firm, and often more than one interview is required.

After all this work, if one is fortunate enough to receive an offer, the formal offer letter is the icing on the cake. Really, it’s the sense of security that an official offer has been extended. All the recipient need do is sign and date, and they can prepare for their new assignment with the whole-hearted assurance their new employer will welcome them with open arms come their official start date.

One point of etiquette the article addresses: do you make a verbal agreement first and then send the offer letter? Inc. Magazine says yes. In all instances a job offer should be expressed verbally first, and then extended formally though an offer letter.

I’m wondering, besides the formal offer letter, does anyone take additional steps to acclimate new employees to the office? The article mentions smaller firms can sometimes go the extra mile, as opposed to the larger companies who usually have a HR and recruiting staff to manage new employee orientation. Smaller firms I’ve worked with in my career usually do lunch or have a mentoring program setup. Does anyone add a personal touch along with the formal offer letter?