5 Questions You Need to Ask Before Accepting a Job Offer

You nailed the interview and got a job offer, but do you really know enough about the job to know if you actually want it? Don’t accept a job you don’t want! Be sure to ask these 5 questions before accepting a job offer…

5 Questions You Need to Ask Before Accepting a Job Offer

1. When / how do I reply to the job offer?

Before you can accept (or decline) the job offer, you should know how much time you have. Generally speaking, I’d expect you would have two days. You should be suspicious about anyone who makes you accept on the spot. While most job offers I have extended tend to be accepted immediately, that should not be your potential new employer’s expectation; they should give you time to reflect and discuss with any relevant family (i.e., spouse).

Besides knowing when you need to accept the offer, you should also ask how to do that. Do you call and give a verbal acceptance in a phone call? Would they want it in email? Do you reach out to HR or the hiring manager? You don’t want to miss their deadline by not following their process!

2. What happens next?

In some companies, your acceptance of a job offer kicks off a lot of subsequent activities, such as reference checking, background checks, etc. Often times, these activities (while critical) aren’t started until you’ve accepted the terms of the job offer.

It’s important to know whether you will have these additional steps so you know that you can’t go and resign your current job immediately! I’ve had background checks go on for weeks, so imagine the pickle you would be in if you resigned before going through those steps!

3. Can I speak to a peer?

During the hiring process, you received a lot of information about how the company invests in its staff and the potential career paths you could have. Now, you need to validate that by talking to one (or more) future peers. You can ask for people to reach out to, and schedule 15-minute discussions.

You should ask them about:

career progression
development opportunities
experience with the manager (if you’ll have the same manager)
how many hours a week do you work?
what they like about their job and what they’d like to change
what they wish they had known before they started

4. What is negotiable?

If there is any part of the offer you aren’t happy with, you should ask about whether those aspects are negotiable. Or, if something isn’t stated in the offer that is important to you, consider asking it to be noted in the offer.

Things to consider are:

salary
benefits
title
working hours
flexible working arrangement
anything you need to negotiate: working hours, salary benefits

5. Can I speak to my future manager?

Usually, the person interviewing you would be your future manager. So, you have probably already asked a lot of questions. However, there are some questions you may not want to ask until you’ve gotten the job. They may be slightly uncomfortable and, therefore, you probably should wait until after you know they want to hire you.

Things you may want to ask include:

why did the previous employee leave?
how would you be assessed? what things do you look for in high performers?
what’s your management style?
anything you’re not clear on as it relates to the scope and accountability of the role