Don’t get too shocked if you receive a job offer over the phone without any prior communication, With the prevalence of remote work, getting a job offer over the phone has become common these days. Generally, it’s common to get confused about how hiring recruiters are extracting your phone number, even when you haven’t applied for any jobs.
Gone are the days when an employer used to hire a new employee with some common connections. Nowadays, the hiring process has become a crucial part of the industry. The competition is increasing, and every company wants the best employee.
Getting a call from hiring recruiters for a job has become common. Most hiring recruiters go through several resumes and shortlist the ones from different job boards like Naukri.com and LinkedIn, where you might have uploaded your resume or education and employment history.
So, take a deep breath, and greet them politely, professionally, and with respect when you get a call from a hiring recruiter at an unexpected time. Don’t forget that your positive impact will help you in the future, whether you accept or reject this offer. This article will discuss more about how you should talk to the recruiter. We will also guide you on how to accept or reject the offer politely.
What Important Things Should You Ask Over The Phone Conversation?
Whenever you get a call from the hiring recruiter, your first step should be to greet them politely instead of just hanging up the phone. After this, the hiring recruiter will introduce themselves and tell you about the company’s aim and vision and the job positions they offer.
It will be entirely your choice if you want to accept the job offer or you want to decline the job offer. But before coming to this, you should always thank the recruiter for considering your profile.
After that, you can initiate your conversation by asking a few questions (if you have any). For example, the questions can be related to the job location, working days, company culture, job description, etc. You can openly ask them every question that strikes your mind.
Now it can be challenging for a few people to give their final decision to the hiring recruiters instantly. So, in such conditions, you can request that they give you some time to finalize your thoughts. Don’t worry; the hiring recruiter completely understands the situation because they face it regularly and expect the candidate to make up their mind first and make their final decision.
So be frank and put your questions to the recruiter. Make sure you always create a positive impact and don’t use harsh tones, even if you don’t want any work from them.
What To Say If You Want To Accept The Job Offer?
After listening to their job description and every other detail about the company, if you like the job, then you should accept the job offer. But before coming to a conclusion and instantly saying yes to the job offer, you should always ask a few questions of the recruiter.
Thank Your Recruiter
Whether it is the employer calling you directly, or someone from HR, express your gratitude for being offered the position. Be warm in your response and show some excitement at the same time. After all, they have chosen you over other candidates and trusted your abilities.
Ask Questions
Feel free to ask any clarifying questions over the phone, unless it’s a matter requiring in-person discussion. This could include queries about work hours, shifts, or necessary documents for your joining day.
If you have inquiries about your salary or pay package, consider requesting an in-office meeting for that conversation; this is usually agreed upon by employers.
When communicating with your recruiter, inquire about the start date, working hours and days, flexibility, dress code, and additional perks. Also, inquire about your manager, work strategy, and workload.
In most cases, the recruiter will ask about your expected salary. Provide a range, such as 60,000–70,000, rather than a specific figure like 60,000.
Let the recruiter initiate the salary discussion. If it’s not brought up, you can resort to the second point.
Express Positivity
While being overly excited about the offer is not a great idea, do not play it too cool. Say you are excited about the offer and look forward to starting work soon. However, you need a few clarifications before accepting the offer.
It will give the impression that you are interested in the job but are also exercising discretion. It would show that you are not impulsive and do not get carried away too easily. It will work in your favor in the long run.
Request a Written Offer
Although your recruiter may have offered the job over the phone, asking for the offer in writing is still a good idea. Your recruiter may say that the offer letter will come once you agree verbally.
However, you are completely within your right to say that you would like to review the offer letter before confirming your joining but say it politely. It’s a good idea to see what the offer letter contains in written format before you agree to the terms and conditions of the company.
If you confirm your joining before, there will be very little you can do to change the terms in the offer letter. In that case, you might have to consider quitting the job you just landed
The Written Job Offer
Accepting a job offer over the phone has become very common nowadays, but you cannot consider this an “official offer.” So whenever you want to accept the offer, request that the recruiter send a valid email and a contract to make it official.
This offer or contract will have all the details and answers to your questions. You can also get other information like the notice period, salary breakdown, etc.
Example: This sounds perfectly fine to me. Before accepting the offer, please send me a written offer or the contract paper so I can analyze all the details.
Note
Don’t worry, all the companies communicate with their employees through the mail. Both parties always need to sign the contract papers before they hire an employee or before you go for any employment in association with the company.
They will be happy to assist you throughout the process and mention all the details in the mail while also attaching the contract paper. Always ensure you read all the information in the contract paper line by line before signing it.
Clear Your Doubts
Most companies don’t generally hire new employees just in the recruiting round. So before ending the call, ask the recruiter about the next step or what you can expect in a few days. There are several screening procedures, the first of which is the HR round.
Therefore, don’t be too excited or set your hopes too high! Before hanging up the phone, ask them for their mail ID (as you requested for a written job offer or details). Never forget to thank the recruiter at the end of the call.
Ask About the Deadline
It would be best if you asked the recruiter about the deadline by which you have to confirm whether you will join the company or not. Some recruiters might give you a few days, while others may ask you to decide the same evening!
However, it is always advisable to seek some time because you may always come up with some common questions or points regarding your employment after the phone conversation. The deadline will allow you to think about whether everything is to your liking and then give your consent.
Why Should You Not Immediately Accept The Job Offer Over The Phone?
It would help if you refrained from accepting the position when offered immediately over the phone. Unless, of course, it is your dream position and everything is to your liking. Even then, it’s better to take some time before saying yes, even if you take a few hours or a day before confirming.
The reason is that no matter how good everything sounds, it is still possible to overlook some critical points in the excitement of being offered a job. And even if everything is correct, you will still have time to double-check before confirming your position.
It’s because, once you say yes, you automatically agree with the organization’s rules and regulations and any other terms and conditions. And then you may not be able to change a lot later. So take some time before you accept and confirm your membership.
Points to Remember if You Are Offered a Job Over The Phone
Watch your tone. Since the person at the other end cannot see your facial expressions but only hears you, you need to modulate your voice to express professionalism and excitement.
- Refrain from trying too hard to negotiate over the phone. If you are excited about the job overall, but there are one or two things you are not okay with, ask your employer if you can meet in person before confirming. Your recruiter will not be able to notice your passion over the phone, and negotiations are best done in person.
- While it is important not to sound too desperate and overly excited about the job offer, do not sound like it means nothing to you. Do not sound like it is not a big deal. It takes minutes for a recruiter to change their mind. If they sense you are disinterested or being too complacent, they might come up with an excuse and withdraw the offer. Since, until this point, everything is verbal; there is very little you can do.
- Refrain from bombarding the recruiter with questions all at once. While you may have doubts to clear, ask one question at a time, wait for the answer, and then proceed to the next question. The trajectory of the conversation may change with their responses, so you need to be slow and mindful at this point.
What to Do if You Don’t Receive an Email in 2 Business Days?
As mentioned earlier, you should always ask for HR’s email ID so that you can initiate the conversation in the future. If you asked for the mail ID, simply send a follow-up email. An example of a letter is given below.
Dear Mr.Josh
I am writing this follow-up mail to request you regarding a written contract paper or job offer. We had a conversation last Thursday, and it’s been more than two days since I’ve heard from you. Please update me regarding the request so I can understand the job offer well.
Thank you for considering my profile for this job role. I hope you will send the contract paper soon.
I’m looking forward to working with you.
Thanks and regards
XYZ
If you don’t have a mail ID, you can simply call the same number and remind the recruiter about the information you asked for.
What To Say If You Want To Decline The Job Offer?
The recruiter can call anyone and give the job offer to whomever they consider is most suitable for the job in their company. Most often, these recruiters don’t know that the candidate is already working for a company and is not looking for a job change.
In such a situation, you will simply decline the job offer in the call. But there is a specific way to do so. You should always follow the below-listed points to leave a positive and professional impression on the recruiter’s mind:
- Greet them properly and thank them for considering you for the job position.
- You can give them a simple and correct reason to decline the job offer.
Example: I’m very thankful for the job opportunity, but I’m not considering or looking for a job change right now. I’m sorry!
- Whenever you decline a job offer, give a genuine reason. And if you are not interested in the particular job, you can tell them that you were expecting a better job offer from the company; if not today, then maybe in the future.
- End the call by saying thank you.
What To Say If You Need Time To Think About It?
A few of the candidates are already working in a job position, and they need time to think about whether they should consider this job position or not. In such a situation, you can always ask the employer to give you some time; believe me; they will wait for you.
The hiring recruiters generally understand that your decision is critical to your life and career. So, they always want you to make your final decision instead of going in a rush. But you should keep a few things in mind before requesting the recruiter. These points are listed below:
- Thank the recruiter for considering your profile.
- Request some time from a recruiter to consider the offer, and ask them to email the details. You can ask them about their expectations of receiving a clear-cut decision from you. (Don’t worry, they always want better employees in their company so that they will respect your request.)
- If they don’t give any deadline, then you can give them a proper date or day on which you can get back to them. Ask them if this is acceptable or not.
- Cut the call short by saying thank you at the end.
In the meantime, you can simply go through the contract or the job offer; you can also research the company, which will help you make your final decision.
Note
If you want to decline the offer, you can simply call them or quickly reply to them in the same email thread. But we will always recommend contacting them via phone because you will receive the job offer through the call. It will look much more natural, respectful, and professional.
How To End The Call?
Whether you consider the job offer or not, always end the call by saying “thank you” to the caller. This is not only ethically good but also professional. It creates a very positive impact on the recruiter’s mind.
There is a high possibility that these recruiters will save your resume in their database. They will possibly come back to you again in the future for any open job position in their company. This also helps in creating a network to create better opportunities in the future.
Conclusion
Getting a job opportunity through the mail, the phone, or any other means is always exciting. But sometimes, the recruiters put you in situations where you cannot make your decision quickly. For example, directly calling you and accepting a clear-cut decision at the right moment.
If you don’t have a job, it would be easy to accept the job opportunity. But a person who is expecting a better job opportunity or is currently working for another company always needs time to think about making a final decision. In such a situation, it always becomes hard for them to provide a direct answer.
In this article, we clarify all the questions regarding such situations and what to say to the recruiters so that they understand you very well.
Furthermore, asking the recruiter for some time to make a decision is always the best way to research the companies and their cultures. It is a great way to analyze if the job role is a fit for you or not. We hope you will consider these points in an on-call job offer. All the best!
