How to accept a job offer: advice and email template

You’ve been working hard applying for jobs but maybe you haven’t even thought about how you’d accept an offer.

Now that you’ve been offered a job, congratulations! Your next step is learning how to accept it.

Here are our top tips for accepting a job offer, including an email template. We’ll cover:

• Conditional or unconditional job offer?
• Verbal or written acceptance?
• Accepting a job offer step by step
• The structure of a job acceptance email
• Job offer acceptance email template
• Summary

Before you celebrate, remember that job offers are either conditional or unconditional – like university offers.

A conditional offer means you’ll only get the job if you meet a condition like a certain grade in your course, passing a background check, or doing well on an internal exam. With conditional offers, you’ll still need to accept the job but nothing’s guaranteed until you meet the extra requirements.

With an unconditional offer, there are no requirements like these. So, once you say yes, you’re good to go! In this guide, we’ll focus on everything you need to know about accepting an unconditional job offer. But a lot of the advice is still useful for unconditional offers too.

It's not uncommon for you to get a job offer over the phone after an interview, or sometimes at the end of an interview. Maybe you accepted the job offer straight away, but you’ll still usually get a formal job offer by email. It's always advisable to reply to a formal job offer in writing, even if you’ve already verbally accepted it.

Accepting a job offer in writing is your formal acceptance. It’s professional to respond in writing, and it also means that you don't have to trust one person to remember that you’ve already accepted. You’ll find our template for a job offer acceptance email further down in this article.

You’ve done the hard bit by getting a job. Now, you just need to say yes.

Here’s how to politely accept a job offer:

The first thing to do is acknowledge the offer. Even if you’re not ready to accept it straight away, reply promptly to thank the employer and let them know when to expect your decision.

Don’t ask the employer to wait too long, but it's fine to say you need a few days to decide. Asking for too long risks them moving on to another candidate, so only ask for as long as you need.

Go over all the details, including the job title, salary, benefits and duties. Don’t assume everything is the same as the job advert. Sometimes things will have changed since the initial application process, so check that everything is what you expected.

Before you accept, you need to be sure. So, responding to their offer email is a good opportunity to ask any final questions. Think about any specifics of the job role that are still unclear or anything that came up in an interview that you want to clarify. It’s better to find out now than after you’ve accepted (or started).

As well as the job role, you need to understand the benefits before you accept. Your offer email will have a salary, but do you know the business’s holiday policy?

Some things to ask at this stage include:

• What’s the annual leave policy (ie. how many days and is there an option to carry it over in future years)?
• Is the salary negotiable?
• Is there room for the salary to increase over the first few years of the job?
• What benefits are there?
• What options are there for further training and development?
• What will I need for my first day or week?

If you’re happy with everything, that’s great. If you’re not, it doesn’t have to be a flat-out no.

If you’re not happy with the offer, try negotiating for a better deal. Our guide on how to negotiate will help here. Negotiating makes sure that you get a salary and job that you’re happy with – or at least that you and the company are willing to compromise on. It won’t always be possible to get your ideal employment offer, especially if you’re fresh out of uni, but you still need to feel rewarded.

If the employer changes the terms of the offer, get it in writing. Having a paperwork trail and proof of the offer is important in case there’s any miscommunication down the line.

Unable to negotiate a crucial element? We’ve put together a guide on how to politely decline a job offer.

If you’re happy with everything and know what you’re agreeing to, it’s time to write your job acceptance email. If possible, ask somebody to proofread it before you press send.

Use our acceptance email template below to help you.

While there isn't a strict requirement for how you lay out your acceptance email, this general structure will help you write it.

Begin by thanking the employer for the offer. Mention the position and company as listed in the formal offer so that they know what you’re referring to.

The next step is to accept the offer. Be upbeat so that the employer knows that you’re keen.

Next, state all the important details, such as the salary, benefits, start date and your notice period (if you’ve got one). Again, writing everything down makes sure that everyone knows what to expect and reduces the risk of misunderstandings.

End by restating your enthusiasm to work for the company. Try to mention some specifics about what you’re looking forward to but stick to things that you know for certain. Don't list something that’s not in your duties.

Still unsure how to accept a job offer via email? Use this template to help you frame your acceptance letter. Be sure to make all the details work with the role you’ve been offered. Try to add your personality, as that’s part of the reason why the employer wants to hire you. Remember, even if you’ve already accepted the job over the phone, send a formal letter of acceptance.

Dear [name],

Thank you for extending the offer of [job title] at [company name]. I’m writing to formally accept this offer. I’m excited to start working with [company or team] in this role, and I look forward to seeing how I will help the department.

As discussed in our previous communications, this role comes with a starting salary of [amount] and [number] days of annual leave. On top of this, we discussed [benefits] and the fact that this role comes with a [length of time] probationary period.

My notice period is [length of time], meaning that I’ll be able to start any time from [date]. Please let me know when you’d like me to start, as well as anything that I need to know about the first day.

Again, thank you for offering me this opportunity. I’m looking forward to joining the team and working with everyone.

Kind regards,

Accepting a job offer is the last step of the job hunt and hopefully one of the least stressful parts, but it's still important to know how to do it right. You should be in regular contact with the person offering you a job, and while it’s fine to want a couple of days to consider the offer, respond to the email quickly to tell them when to expect your response. After this, check over the job offer and negotiate on any points that aren't what you hoped for. Finally, write your acceptance email and formally accept their offer.

Accepted a job offer? Check out our tips on your first day at work and advice on how to plan your work day to make sure that the start of your new job goes smoothly.