How to Accept a Job Offer in 2024 [Free Email Template]

How to Accept a Job Offer - 2 Simple Steps

The first thing to know is that there are two important steps to accepting a job offer, namely:

• Evaluating the job offer
• Sending a job offer acceptance letter or email

Below, we will cover each step in detail, starting with: 

#1. Evaluate the Job Offer 

A job offer might seem very lucrative at a glance, but that doesn’t mean you should just accept it without a second glance.

One thing to consider is whether the official offer aligns with your expectations. Are the benefits, training hours, or salary discussed during the job interview the same as what you’re being offered now? 

For example, you might have discussed the option to work from home during the interview but now the job offer states that you have to be physically present at the office three days a week. 

If you don’t review the job offer in detail, you might miss it—although it’s definitely something you’d want to bring up with the hiring manager (especially if you’re set on working from home).

Here are some important steps that will help you properly evaluate a job offer: 

1. Get the job offer in writing. If the employer makes the official offer through a phone call, you should ask them to also send it in written form. This way, you can review all the terms and conditions carefully and negotiate any terms expressed in the offer more effectively.
2. Ask for time to think the offer through. Instead of making a rushed decision just so that you don’t lose your spot at the company, ask for some time to think the offer through. Most employers will grant you 1 or 2 days to decide, so if you let them know you’re still interested but need some time to think about the terms, they probably won’t mind.
3. Be ready to negotiate. There is nothing wrong with negotiating some of the terms of your employment. Just keep your negotiation points realistic - chances are, the company isn’t willing to pay you twice more than what they initially offered (but 10-20% more might be OK).

#2. Write a Job Offer Acceptance Letter or Email

Once you’ve evaluated and decided to accept the job offer, it’s time to make matters official. 

While you may be tempted to just give a call to the recruiter and let them know you’re interested, it’s actually much better to accept the job offer in writing.

For starters, it is only polite to accept a job offer in written form - especially since you’ll be asking the same from your employer for receiving the offer. Additionally, as we already mentioned, it’s always vital to formalize all verbal agreements in writing to avoid any future misunderstandings.  

You can compile your job offer acceptance either as a letter or as an email. Below, you can see exactly how to accept a job offer by letter and by email: 

Job Offer Acceptance Letter

It goes without saying that your acceptance letter should be well-structured, error-free, and formal. Also, it’s better to type it out to make sure it’s easily readable. 

You can use an acceptance letter if the employer also sent you the job offer via letter as opposed to an email, or if the company is in a more traditional and less tech-savvy industry.

Here are all the steps to writing a great job offer acceptance letter: 

1. Thank the employer. Start off the acceptance letter by thanking the employer for the offer. The best way to do it is by mentioning the position and the company’s name (e.g. “Thank you for formally offering me the [job title] position at [company X]”).     
2. Accept the job offer. Afterward, you can accept the job offer officially and, optionally, mention you’re looking forward to getting started (e.g. “I am delighted to officially accept your job offer and become part of the team”). 
3. Clarify any remaining points in the offer. If you’ve already received all the details about the agreed salary, benefits, and such in written form, you can use the space to officially agree with the terms. If you first received an offer and then negotiated some of the terms via, say, phone, you can use the acceptance letter to document them in writing (e.g. “As we agreed, my starting salary is [$X] with [benefits] as part of the offer”).  
4. State your starting date. To avoid any misunderstandings, re-confirm your starting date in the acceptance letter (e.g. “I am confirming my start date will be on May 20”). Keep in mind that if you’re changing jobs and are required to serve out a notice period, it’s better to inform your future employer in advance, instead of mentioning it in the letter. 
5. Conclude on a positive note. For example, “I am looking forward to starting my new role.” 

Job Offer Acceptance Email

Just like an acceptance letter, your job offer acceptance email should be well-structured and error-free. So, don’t forget to proofread your acceptance email before hitting send! 

If you’ve communicated with the employer via their official email address, you can safely use an email to formally accept the job offer. 

Here are all the steps you need to follow to write a job offer acceptance email: 

1. Write a concise subject line. Your email’s subject line has to be professional and let the employer know exactly what the email is about (e.g. “Job offer acceptance email - John Doe”). 
2. Express gratitude. Start the email by thanking the employer for trusting you with the opportunity (e.g. “Thank you for trusting me with the [job title] position in [company X]”). 
3. Accept the job offer. For example: “I am delighted to officially accept the position of Head of Content at Bookster and be part of your team.”
4. State and agree to the employment terms. If you’ve already read and agreed to the employment terms as they were presented by the employer, you can simply state that in your email (e.g. “Let me take this opportunity to formally agree with all the employment terms stated in the official job offer”). If, however, you’ve negotiated something else and you don’t have that down in writing, now’s the time to officialize it (e.g. “As discussed, my starting salary is [$X], with [benefits] being part of the offer”).    
5. Confirm the starting date. Then, confirm your starting date to avoid any possible misunderstandings. For example, “I confirm my starting date is next Monday, April 4th.”  
6. Conclude positively. For example, “Looking forward to working alongside you!”

Job Offer Acceptance Letter Example 

All there’s left to write a great job offer acceptance letter is to follow all the steps outlined above and you’re good to go! 

Need some inspiration on what a good job offer acceptance letter looks like? Check out the example below:

Key Takeaways 

And that’s a wrap on how to accept job offers! 

Here are the main points to take away from this article: 

• Before you accept a job offer, make sure you carefully evaluate its terms and conditions.
• The best ways to evaluate a job offer are asking for some time to think it through, getting the job offer in written form, and preparing to negotiate with the employer.
• You should always officially accept a job offer via a letter or email. That’s because documenting verbal agreements in written form avoids any future misunderstandings.
• Write a job offer acceptance letter if that’s how you’ve communicated with your future employer so far or if the company is in a less tech-savvy industry.
• Make sure you write a clear and concise subject line for your acceptance email so that the employer knows what it concerns without having to open it.
• Whether you write an acceptance letter or email, it has to be error-free, so make sure you proofread it before sending it to your future employer.

Related:

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• How to Decline a Job Offer in 2024 [3 Free Email Templates]
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