How to Respond to Every Job Offer You Receive

No matter the industry you're in, no matter the firm you're going to work for, and no matter the job offer you receive, there are five standard parts (IMO at least) of what to say when you are offered a new job. They are:

• Express thanks
• Convey excitement
• Reinforce skills
• Delay answer
• Determine response timing

Here's how these would look in words:

"Thank you so much for the offer. I really appreciate your confidence in me. I'm excited about the opportunity and know I can bring the same level of success to this job that I did for ABC Corp. Of course, I'd like to discuss the offer with my wife. When do you need a final answer?"

The key in how you handle a job offer is to remember that you're STILL interviewing/negotiating at this point -- and the little things still matter (maybe now more than ever.) This is NOT the time to let your guard down. Keep marketing yourself all the way to the bitter end -- until you're in the job itself. You can then transition into "grow your career" mode once you're on the job.

That said, here is what each part of the response above does for you:

• Express thanks -- Shows common courtesy and that you're someone others would want to be around and work with.

• Convey excitement -- Remember, people like other people with positive attitudes. Expressing your excitement at a new job opportunity is your first step in showing others that you have a very positive attitude.

• Reinforce skills -- Remember, you're still selling yourself. They must have liked what you said at the interview and the experience you discussed, so work it into your response. This will reinforce to them that they've made a great choice.

• Delay answer -- You're probably excited at the prospect of a new job opportunity, especially if you really wanted this one, and you're likely not thinking straight. Now is not the time to commit your career to any one, specific path. If you do, you could agree to something you can't live with. So delay your answer so that you have some time to think the offer over rationally.

• Determine response timing -- Get a sense of when they need an answer. Almost any employer will give you at least 24 hours to think it over and most will give you a few days. After all, they most likely took several weeks to choose you for the job, aren't you entitled to a few days to choose them?

So, what do you do in the time you have before you need to respond? Ah, that's for another post. But the short version is you consider the pros and cons of the offer compare to other options and you think about your strategy in this negotiation (do you ask for more money, longer vacation, etc.?)

Comments

[John Z]

Sounds like good advice for responding to any type of an offer in a negotiation. I would hope my Realtor is responding in a similar way when one of her peers presents an offer to buy our house.

[Terry]

This reminds me, on Craigslist this morning I saw an ad which said "Candidate must have a positive attitude..."

Paraphrasing (and totally twisting his thought) Dave Ramsey, I'm POSITIVE I have an attitude,

[JC]

Great article. About jobs on craigslist: it's ridiculous how many spam I get every time I post there.

[K Waits]

So I need a wife to properly negotiate a job offer? Hmm. Sometimes single and gay people work too.

[FMF]

Waits --

You can simply replace that line with "Of course, I'd like to consider the offer for a bit" or something similar if you prefer.

[James Hagerston]

@ KWaits: you know, having a "2nd party" to run things by is actually a strong negotiating strategy. Not quite sure how you can handle it without a life partner, but I have used the "I'd love to take this offer, but could you sweeten it up a bit for my wife? She (a) was hoping for a higher salary (b) wont' stand for any cut in medical benfits (c) is used to 23 days vacation"

Anyway, using the "higher authority" gambit should not be denied to people who are not married.