How to Accept a Job Offer: Steps, Examples and Tips

Introduction to Accepting a Job Offer

All that searching through resume templates and pouring over resume examples has paid off, and now that you’ve received the job offer you worked so hard for, accepting it feels like it should be easy. However, it’s important to take a step back to ensure you approach this process professionally.

A well-formed job acceptance letter is essential to show you were the right choice and ensure you and your new employer are on the same page from the get-go.

The typical process involved in accepting an offer goes as follows:

• Evaluating the offer: Before saying yes, ensure the terms outlined are right for you. If they aren’t, you can still negotiate to find a middle ground that better aligns with your career goals and needs.
• Negotiating terms: When there are still terms to be worked out, you’ll want to precisely outline what you’re seeking and plan to communicate it clearly and professionally.
• Communicating your acceptance: Like drafting other professional correspondence, you’ll want to write a well-formatted job acceptance email or letter using industry best practices.

The rest of this article will walk you through these steps. We’ll detail how to handle negotiations, provide examples of job acceptance emails, and offer tips for the post-acceptance phase.

Accepting the Job Offer

Once you’ve reviewed the terms and ironed out the details, it’ll be time to accept the offer. Here are the steps you should take.

Communication and confirmation

Most companies will give you between a few days and one week to accept the role. It’ll be important to send a timely email expressing your intent to accept the offer within the timeline they expressed.

You should keep your email to accept a job offer brief to make it clear and avoid taking up too much of the hiring manager’s time. 100-200 words is a good range in most cases.

Start by showing your excitement for the role. A good way to do this would be saying something like, “I’m delighted to officially accept the office manager role at Smart Logistics.”

Also, make sure to confirm any important details about the offer, especially if you recently negotiated new terms. As long as you have terms laid out, it’ll be best to write this as a statement rather than a question.

For example, instead of asking, “when will my start date be?” you could say, “I am confirming my start date will be on Monday the 12th.”

Official acceptance

Once you’ve sent the email with intent to accept, most companies will send you a formal offer. This will be a professional document outlining all the legal terms and employment details you’re agreeing to.

Again, you’ll want to review this thoroughly before signing on the dotted line. Make sure anything you negotiated is clearly stated in the agreement and that all the other details make sense.

The company may give you guidelines on how to formally accept the offer. For example, they might need a professional written agreement, verbal confirmation, or a signature confirming you agree to the offer’s terms and conditions.

Once you’ve accepted the job offer, you’ll still need to do a couple of other things.

For one, you’ll probably need to give notice at your current job if you haven’t already. Make sure to do this professionally and leave on a high note, having put in your best work until the last day.

If you’ve received offers from other companies, it’s also best practice to let them know you’ve accepted another offer and are withdrawing yourself from consideration. That way, they can move forward with their hiring process.

Negotiation and finalization

After receiving and accepting a job offer, there still may be some details you need to take care of and consider.

One of those things could be your current employer sending you a counteroffer. When this happens, it’s usually a salary increase and could include additional benefits.

While you may feel torn, accepting counteroffers from a current employer is usually not recommended. After all, you probably decided to leave because of more than just your salary.

That said, you could use a counteroffer as leverage with your new employer if you’re still finalizing any negotiations with your salary or benefits. Be polite and professional when presenting this since you don’t want to ruffle any feathers before you start working for a new company.

Once any counteroffers are settled, all that’s left will be finalizing formal acceptance letters and documentation that the company needs before you start.

Tips after Accepting a Job Offer

Once you’ve accepted an offer, you’ll still want to take care of a few remaining things.

First, make sure you put in your two-week notice with your current job and notify any other employers you were in the hiring process with. Make sure to maintain professionalism throughout, just like you did during the hiring process as you landed your new job. You don’t want to burn any bridges that could present good opportunities later in your career.

Along with that, update your job search status on platforms like LinkedIn. That way, you don’t waste any company’s time or get annoyed by notifications with hiring teams contacting you.

Every new employer will have a lot of paperwork and legal obligations they need to handle before you get started. Make sure you watch for any calls or emails so you can respond quickly and take care of any necessary details before your start date. Being prompt and consistent immediately will get you off to a great start at your new job.

Remember to show gratitude throughout. Some initial tasks while onboarding can feel boring or like a hassle, but it’s the start of building new professional relationships. A positive attitude will take you a long way at your new workplace.