6 best practices for accepting (or declining) a job offer

If you’ve just received a job offer, congratulations are in order—but you’ll also have to make a potentially tough decision soon. Here’s everything you need to know to handle the moment with cool, calm and collected professionalism.

Accepting or declining a job offer is a delicate matter, one that must be met with measured doses of enthusiasm, politeness and professionalism. Yes or no, your answer needs to contain certain key pieces of information. To help you out, here are six simple best practices when preparing to accept or decline a job offer.

1. Know your worth

Knowing what your experience, education and skills are worth on the market today is crucial, especially if you’re deciding between competing job offers—or if salary is a make-or-break issue for you. Not sure what you can reasonably ask for? No problem. There are a number of free online salary calculators to help you figure it out.

Your best bet is probably to settle on a salary range that you think is acceptable before entering into a negotiation. You might assert, for instance, that you’re willing to negotiate anywhere between $50,000 and $60,000 in base salary. You’ll thank yourself later, because that range gives you some leverage to negotiate if the company comes back with a number lower than the mean.

2. Walk through both scenarios

Think through what trade-offs you’re willing to make. Frankly, there are a lot of decisions to consider here, for example:

• Would you be willing to forgo certain benefits?
• What about less paid vacation time in return for a higher salary?
• If stock options on the table (typically only the case with startups), what’s the right balance between the potential payoff over the long run and your near-term take-home pay?
• If commission or performance-based bonuses are part of the equation (often the case with sales roles), how much do they factor into your overall compensation—and can you tolerate taking on that level of risk?

Now’s the time to think through these and other possible trade-offs.

Try to arrive at a sense of the conditions that must be met—in terms of salary, benefits, paid time off, remote work options and all the rest—in order for the job to be the right fit for you. Put these down in writing, then use them as the basis for your decision to accept or reject a job offer.

3. Be strategically appreciative

Getting notified that a new job offer is pending—whether that happens by phone, letter or email—is cause for celebration, of course, but you should also exercise a bit of careful restraint. While you want to express your enthusiasm, you don’t want to imply that you’ll accept the offer sight unseen.

Why? For one, you might want to review the terms of the offer in writing before you fully commit. It’s a simple best practice, one which might be useful if you’ve got competing offers and want to make exact comparisons—or if you just need a little time to think.

4. Write a letter of acceptance

If you’ve decided to take the job, follow up with an acceptance letter that reiterates the negotiated terms of employment. It might go something like this:

Thank you for offering me the position of ____. I’m delighted to accept your offer. As discussed, my start date will be ____ and my starting annual salary $ ____, with ____ days of paid leave. Again, thank you so much for the opportunity. I can’t wait to start working with you and the rest of the team!

5. Or write a rejection letter

Whether you’ve decided to stay in your current job or accept a different opportunity, the company deserves a prompt, honest answer. A good job offer rejection letter expresses gratitude for the opportunity and is specific about why the offer is being declined. That way, you’ll ensure you don’t burn any bridges. You can begin with:

Thank you very much for the offer of ____ at ____. It was a pleasure to meet with you and I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to consider my candidacy.

The next part is where it gets somewhat tricky. Was the salary not high enough? Did the realities of the role in some way not align with your expectations? Whatever the case may be, you should be sure to communicate it. For example:

• After much thought, I’ve decided to take a position at a company that will give me more opportunities to grow my skills.
• This position seems like a great opportunity, but I’ve decided now is not the right time to leave my current workplace.
• I’ve been offered a higher salary at another company, and so it is with regret that I decline your offer.

Of course, a determined employer might return with a counteroffer. Be prepared for that outcome, too.

Finally, you never know when you and your interviewers might connect again professionally in the future, so you should end your rejection letter on an optimistic tone. For example:

It truly was a pleasure getting to know you. I hope we meet again.

6. Sign on the dotted line

No job offer is complete without a written acceptance, whether that means a counter-signed offer letter, employment agreement or some other form of signed contract of employment. However, never feel pressured to sign your contract in front of your manager or the HR team. Instead, ask if you can bring the contract home for review. This will give you the chance to go through it with a fine-toothed comb.

If you have any questions or objections, itemize them in a follow-up email—and make sure you have the answers you need before you sign the contract.