Whether you’re an employer or a job candidate, you can appreciate the importance of a job offer. From an employer’s perspective, the job offers you extend will influence your ability to attract and retain top talent. For prospective employees, a job offer will likely be the basis for determining whether you will accept a given position or continue your search for employment.
While job offers are important to fill positions at all levels of an organization, all of them are not created equally. For that reason, it’s essential to know what a good job offer should include.
What Are Two Important Factors in Choosing a Job?
There are typically two components to a job offer that can help you determine its quality: the compensation package and benefits schedule.
A compensation package will include details about how much a candidate will be paid and how often the individual will receive payment from a prospective employer. In addition to discussing a prospect’s proposed salary or wage, this package will present all the ways a person can earn additional money, such as a signing bonus or commissions. If an employer will cover a prospect’s relocation expenses and offer reimbursement for travel once the prospect is onboard, that should be mentioned as part of an individual’s compensation package.
A lucrative compensation package isn’t all that’s necessary to attract top talent in today’s competitive market, though. Many candidates will scrutinize a proposed schedule of benefits just as closely as their compensation package when considering a job offer. A benefits schedule should describe every benefit an employer will make available for a prospect and when the candidate will be eligible for each one.
Here are some of the things that might be included in a benefits schedule:
- Health insurance
- Disability insurance
- Life insurance
- Vacation time
- Retirement plans
- Dependent care
- Pet insurance
- Club memberships
- Stock options and/or profit sharing
- Dental and vision insurance
What Else Should a Good Job Offer Include?
Any attempt to answer, “What’s a good job offer?” isn’t complete with only a discussion of a compensation package and benefits schedule. A good offer will also include other crucial information that a candidate and prospective employer must both agree is acceptable.
For starters, a good job offer will include the title of the position being offered and identify the business unit the position is part of. The offer will also delineate the relevant chain of command and provide the name and contact information for the person the candidate will report to directly. An offer should mention the location a candidate will work and the geographic region the person will oversee, if applicable.
A job offer will probably include some at-will employment language, which is basically a disclosure that an employer has the right to terminate a working relationship at any time, for any reason, with or without notice. If a candidate has to go through pre-employment screening, such as a drug test or credit check, a job offer will discuss those requirements as well.
Contact Reaction Search International
Whether you’re trying to fill a critical position or you’re searching for a new job, we invite you to contact Reaction Search International. With decades of collective experience, we have the network and contacts to fill vacant positions and place candidates in sought-after jobs. Contact us to learn how we can help you today!
