Ask a Manager

I lead a team and just sent an email to a candidate making a job offer. After I sent the email (my typical practice), I was curious, and I googled “email job offers,” which led me to articles declaring the practice a bad idea and recommending phone calls instead. I was wondering if you agree. To me, these days, non-pre-arranged phone calls seem rarer and rarer. I can’t remember the last time I called someone in a professional context without setting up a time to talk first. And emailing someone to set up a call to make an offer- well, that just seems like torture to make someone wait to hear what you have to say.

What do you think of a personal email from the hiring manager, expressing excitement and laying out the basic terms (salary, reporting structure) and offering to chat by phone to follow up if the candidate has questions or wants to talk more?

I answer this question — and three others — over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here.

Other questions I’m answering there today include:

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  1. UKgreen * June 8, 2022 at 12:33 pm I would (personally) not like an email ‘asking if I had 15 minutes to chat’ – even if good news is implied that’s a pretty anxiety-inducing thing to endure. Just tell me already in the email, and then give me the opportunity to call and discuss later. (Having the offer by email also means I have the offer in writing.)
  1. Eldritch Office Worker * June 8, 2022 at 12:34 pm Alison is pretty clear you should still follow up with the offer in writing
  1. PurplePartridge * June 8, 2022 at 12:57 pm I think this is the best solution. When I was interviewing for my current role, the recruiter emailed me on a Friday to ask if I was free for a Zoom call with him and the hiring manager on Monday, with no hints as to the content of the call. It turned out to be an offer, but I was anxious all weekend it was going to be a face-to-face rejection.
  1. Elenna * June 8, 2022 at 1:15 pm Agreed – I also got my current job offer via an email only saying “we’d like to talk at such-and-such a time” and I definitely spent the time between email and call worrying about “this is *probably* an offer… but what if??” I suspect part of it, in my case, was that we hadn’t discussed salary, vacation, etc yet, so they couldn’t give me an actual offer until that was finalized. But I would have preferred for the email to say “we’re interested in giving you an offer, let’s set up a call to discuss salary and benefits”.
  1. Elizabeth West * June 8, 2022 at 5:54 pm Yeah, this is ideal. I do NOT want to put on pants and makeup for a 2-minute Zoom if you’re rejecting me.
  1. TrainerGirl * June 8, 2022 at 11:15 pm I had one of those about a month ago. Really…I had to fix my face and sit there trying to make small talk with a recruiter who “thought I would appreciate hearing the rejection face to face”. Really. That said, when I got the job offer for my new position, I got an email asking for a quick chat, with no hint of whether it would be an offer or a rejection. After the rejection video call, I was very anxious, but the recruiter did lead off with them wanting to make me an offer as soon as we started talking, which I appreciated.
  1. LTR FTW * June 8, 2022 at 12:45 pm I absolutely insist on it, and I tell the hiring manager that explicitly — “This is great, I’m so excited. Can you please send over the official job description, the full compensation offer, and the proposed start date ASAP? Once I have that in hand, I’ll review it in detail and give you my response ASAP. Thank you so much!” I also love getting the email, because then I can do the *negotiating* via email, which is much easier for me. “Thanks for this offer! I was hoping it would come in closer to $X, do you have any wiggle room on your end?” — I’ve done this on my last five jobs and it’s always resulted in a better offer. I think it’s because it gives the hiring manager time to respond deliberately instead of in the moment.
  1. Anon For This One * June 9, 2022 at 1:46 pm That’s how my org did it- I got the phone call saying they wanted to hire/promote me, I called them back to confirm, and then they sent the email with the formal reply. The hiring manager was really sweet and remembered me from my hiring on, so it was much more informal and fun. I think she could hear me bouncing with glee on the other end of the call!
  1. ceiswyn * June 9, 2022 at 3:18 am Interestingly, the desire for low latency is why I’d want an email. So that it’s there for me to see immediately I get a moment, as opposed to phoning me when I may not be and to pick up, then not being available when I phone back, etc etc. I see when emails come in pretty much immediately unless I’m actually driving. Text works too, of course.
  1. Richard Hershberger * June 8, 2022 at 12:58 pm #2 I find her self-aggrandizing office-wide announcement tedious, even apart from any favoritism. If you are getting married or having a kid, these rate an office-wide announcement, for those who choose to share this information. Buying someone lunch? Not even in the same galaxy.
  1. Jean * June 8, 2022 at 1:24 pm Right?? Lady, absolutely no one else cares that you’re buying lunch for someone because they did you a favor. If were her manager I’d be politely but firmly asking her to put a lid on any such announcements in the future, and to keep her thanks between herself and the person she’s thanking. Sheesh.
  1. anonymous73 * June 8, 2022 at 1:50 pm Whether you accept a job offer verbally or after seeing the offer in writing is irrelevant. A phone call should be the first step. And even if you accept a job offer verbally, then change your mind after seeing it in writing, you have every right to rescind the acceptance after – they can’t force you to take the job based on a verbal agreement.
  1. River Otter * June 8, 2022 at 2:08 pm Yes, A phone call should be the first step. No, do not expect people to accept the offer while you are on the phone with them. Send them the offer in writing with all the details so they can take a little time to compare that offer to what they’re currently getting, possibly talk it over with a spouse, and think it over before accepting it.
    It is true that a verbal acceptance is not legally binding or anything like that, but it does create a certain expectation that they are excepting the job that they were offered and put the candidate in a weaker position to come back later and either turn it down or try to negotiate.
  1. anonymous73 * June 8, 2022 at 1:51 pm Either way is fine. My point was that a phone call needs to come first.