5 job offer letter templates written by an HR expert + expert advice
A job offer letter is a way to get your relationship with your new team member started on the right foot.
It takes time - lots of time - to find the right person to do the job you need. Only 2% of job candidates who apply for a job are selected for an interview. Others will receive a job rejection email. Of those who get the offer, it takes 3 weeks on average for the official job offer letter to be made.
That’s a lot of time bandying about when you could be onboarding the new employee and getting them up to speed. Here is where having a job offer template that works can come in very handy.
What is a job offer?
A job offer is what you send a candidate after they've successfully interviewed at your company.
The job offer can first be an oral agreement. Let's say the hiring team has picked the candidate they want for, it's better to call them straight away before drawing the document they will sign to confirm. That way you avoid them getting snatched by another competitor.
Once that's done and they've accepted the job offer, it's great to have the HR team on hand to send the job offer letter straight away.
To do this, you can choose to use the tools included in Charlie Recruit – this will allow you to automate most of your hiring process, including sending job offer letters so you hire top talent.
Why do you need a job offer letter?
Similar to an employment contract, sending a job offer letter to a candidate is a great way to signal an agreement between two parties.
Although job offer letters don't actually have any legal binding, it reiterates the terms of the job ad to the candidate and makes sure they are happy to accept the job.
Once the job offer letter is sent, it gives you a small window for you to prepare the contract, and it makes you look super professional in front of the candidate.
7 key components of a job offer letter
Here are the key components a job offer letter should include:
- Job title and description
- Start date and employment duration
- Salary and compensation details
- Benefits and perks
- Working hours and locations
- Conditions of employment
- Expiration date
We've gone into a bit more details below:
1. Job Title and Description
Start with the official job title and a brief description of the role (in line with the job description you put online), to ensure clarity about what position is being offered and what the candidate can expect.
2. Start Date and Employment Duration
Include the proposed start date for the candidate’s first day, and the duration of employment where it applies (e.g. for part-time and contract positions).
3. Salary and Compensation Details
Spell out the salary details including bonuses and incentives, and the payment schedule (monthly, bi-weekly, etc.) This is often a point of contention in job offer letters, and removing ambiguity here would help get things started on the right foot.
4. Benefits and Perks
Outline what benefits are included in the compensation package, like pension contributions, holiday pay, and any unique perks like flexible work policy.
5. Working Hours and Location
Clarify the core work hours, if any, as well as the physical location to report to. If flexible working or remote work arrangements are options, be sure to mention that as well.
6. Conditions of employment
Do you require any references? Or a background check? Do you need the candidate to sign a confidentiality agreement? This is the place to tell them.
7. Expiration Date
Tell the candidate when to respond to the offer letter with their decision.
Having a well-written job offer letter communicates the details of the position to the candidate, but it also sets a foundation for professional and transparent communication between you and your new team member.
Best practices when writing a job offer letter
The job offer letter you send the job candidate is the very beginning of your working relationship - and the way you word it can go a long way towards setting them up for their early success.
There are some best practices for writing a job offer letter which I suggest you follow:
- Use a Positive, Welcoming Tone: Make a good first impression and make the candidate feel welcomed. It’ll help them feel valued and be excited about the opportunity to work for you.
- Be Clear and Concise: Avoid any ambiguous language and speak in direct terms. Be straightforward and to the point.
- Personalise the Letter: Even if you use a template, customise it to be specific to the candidate and use their name and the role they interviewed for (you should do the same when you send an interview invite email). That shows your genuine interest in them and that you respect them as an individual.
- Encourage Questions: Invite curiosity and give the candidate the chance to ask about any specific details of the offer. Provide the contact details of any specific person in your organisation they can come to for questions.
If you don't have the time to do this by yourself and don't have an HR person, you can also use a tool such as Charlie Recruit – write job offer letters using AI and store your templates straight into the app.
5 job offer letter templates
Job offer letter templates make the onboarding process fast, easy, and simple. It gives you a standardised way to onboard your new employees that makes sure the working relationship goes off to a smooth start.
I’ll show you a job offer letter template example you can use. Feel free to copy and customise it to fit the role and your company culture, or download one below.
1 – Standard Job Offer Letter Template
Hello [name],
Following on from our call, we’re writing to formally invite you to join us as a member of xxx, as a [role].
As we’ve discussed, if you accept, your start date with us would be [date].
It’s been a pleasure getting to know you throughout the interview process. We’re very excited to have you join us and help us deliver an excellent service to our customers. We’ve all loved getting to know you so far, and we’re excited to have you join the team.
As a company, we will face many exciting challenges over the coming months and years.
Adjustments & accommodations
Please let me know if you have any adjustments or accommodations that you’d need support with so we can make sure we’re setting you up for success :)
Compensation Package
Salary: you’ll be joining us on a base of £[x] per annum.
Pension: xxx
Holiday: All our team enjoy 25 days of holiday, plus public holidays.
Other benefits: xx
Probation
xxx from your start date will mark the end of your probation period. We see this time as an opportunity to focus on getting to know our processes and culture, and to mark the early days of your time here.
What you should do now
Please take the time to consider our offer and respond in writing within 5 working days to confirm if you’ll be joining us. If you have any questions about it, you can ask me directly.
Best wishes,
[Your name]
P.S. Our culture runs on feedback, so we’d love to know your thoughts on our hiring process…
2 – Remote job offer letter template
Dear [name],
As we discussed on our Zoom call, I'm happy to let you know we're offering you the role of [name of position].
We're super pleased to welcome you on the team, and as we mentioned, this role will be 100% remote which means we won't require you to be in the office.
We've listed below what the job offer includes:
- [Salary]
- Remote environment
- [Benefits and compensation]
- [Holiday allowance]
Following this, and as we discussed, you'll start working for the business on [date] and will be going through a probation that will last for [duration]. If you're successful, you'll be hired full time at the company.
We'll of course remind you of this when you start. Please do send us back a response within 48 hours.
Looking forward to hearing back and congratulations,
Best wishes,
[Your name]
3 – Temporary contract job offer letter template
Hello [name],
Congratulations, we've decided to hire you for the duration of [duration] for the role of [role].
We were super impressed with your portfolio and it was really swift for us to make a decision. As we mentioned, this temporary contract is from [dates] to [reason for temporary contract].
We'll get in touch with you about the expectations we have for this role and how to get you up to speed as quickly as possible.
Below, we've included the details for this temporary contract:
- [Daily rates or salary]
- [Working days and hours per week]
- [Remote or in person]
- [Benefits]
Please let us know if you're happy to accept this offer within the next two days. We'll follow up with a contract for you to sign. Congratulations again!
Best wishes,
[Your name]
4 – Part-time job offer letter template
Hello [name],
Just a follow up email following the call we had earlier. Congratulations! You've landed the role of [role].
As we previously mentioned, this offer is a part-time role where you will be required to work from [days worked] for a number of [hours].
The part-time role means your holidays will also be pro-rated depending on the amount of days you work, which means you'll get an allowance of [days of allowance].
Your salary will also reflect the part time aspect and has been pro rated to [salary].
I hope this makes sense, and please do confirm if you're happy to accept the job offer so we can draw your employment contract.
Have a lovely rest of your day.
Best wishes,
[Your name]
5 – Promotion job offer letter template
Hello [name],
I hope this finds you well. This letter is to confirm your promotion within the business as discussed during our last meeting.
Congratulations on landing your new role and on getting this promotion.
Following this, we'd like to confirm a few points regarding your new role as [name]:
- [Start date]
- [Salary]
- [Benefits and compensation]
- [Holiday allowance]
- [Working hours and location]
If you could reply as soon as possible so we can draw your amendment to the employment contract.
Best wishes,
[Your name]
