Day 14: Write an Offer Letter
The Concept
The offer letter is the first piece of formal employer communication a new hire receives. It arrives at a moment when the candidate has just made — or is about to make — a significant life decision: accepting a new job, often handing in notice somewhere they have worked for years, and committing to a relationship with an organisation they know primarily from an interview process. The tone and quality of that document shapes how they feel about the decision they have just made.
Most offer letters are not designed with that moment in mind. They are functional documents — accurate, legally sound, and about as warm as a utility bill. The salary is there. The start date is there. The probation period is there. The list of conditions is there, rendered in language that sounds like it was drafted to create distance rather than welcome someone in. Candidates sign them because they want the job, not because the letter made them feel good about joining.
What Must Be in an Offer Letter
There is a set of information that every offer letter needs to contain, regardless of tone or format. Employment type, start date, job title, salary, working hours, location, notice period, probation terms, and any conditions the offer is subject to are all structural requirements. Benefits should be summarised, with a reference to the full contract or employee handbook for detail. Right-to-work conditions need to be clearly stated so the candidate understands that the offer is conditional until those checks are complete.
The legal minimum in most jurisdictions also requires that a written statement of employment particulars is provided on or before the first day — in the UK, this is a Day One right. The offer letter is not typically the same document as the contract or written statement, but it should be consistent with them. Any term in the offer letter that conflicts with the eventual contract creates confusion and, potentially, legal exposure.
What Makes an Offer Letter Feel Human
The content requirements of an offer letter are not the problem. The problem is the register — the formal, impersonal, passive-voice default that makes even factually complete offer letters feel cold. "We are pleased to confirm the following terms of employment" is technically correct and emotionally inert. "We were genuinely impressed by you throughout this process, and we are delighted to offer you the role of Senior Marketing Manager" communicates the same beginning of the same letter while actually saying something about how the organisation feels about this person joining it.
The structure matters too. Leading with the welcome and the role — before diving into probation periods and notice clauses — reflects the order of priority that the moment actually calls for. The candidate already knows there will be administrative terms. They do not need those terms to be the first thing they read. Putting the welcome first and the legal scaffolding in the middle means the emotional tone is set before the practical details, and the closing can return to warmth rather than ending on "this offer is conditional upon satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks."
What Requires Legal Sign-Off Before Sending
Offer letters are not low-stakes documents. Terms stated in an offer letter may be enforceable even if they differ from what is subsequently put in the employment contract — particularly where the candidate has made a decision in reliance on those terms. Errors in salary, notice period, start date, or employment type create both legal and reputational risk. Any non-standard term — a non-compete clause, an unusual bonus structure, a clawback provision — needs to have been reviewed by an employment lawyer before it appears in an offer letter.
The AI draft is a strong structural and tonal starting point. It is not a substitute for HR review to ensure the terms are accurate, or for legal review where the role, the terms, or the candidate's circumstances involve anything non-standard. The draft also needs to be aligned to the contract template that will follow — because any inconsistency between the two will need to be explained, and that explanation will happen at the worst possible moment: after the candidate has already accepted the offer.
Prompt of the day
Copy this into your AI tool and replace any bracketed placeholders.
Prompt
You are an HR professional with expertise in employee experience and employment documentation. I need to draft a professional offer letter for a new hire that covers all necessary terms clearly and warmly, without being legalistic or intimidating. Here is the information for this offer: - Candidate's full name: [CANDIDATE NAME] - Job title: [e.g. Senior Marketing Manager] - Department and reporting line: [e.g. Marketing, reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer] - Employment type: [e.g. permanent, full-time / fixed-term 12 months / part-time 3 days per week] - Start date: [e.g. Monday 2 June 2025] - Location or working arrangement: [e.g. hybrid — minimum two days per week in our London office] - Base salary: [e.g. £65,000 per annum, paid monthly] - Bonus or commission structure (if applicable): [e.g. eligible for an annual performance bonus of up to 15% of base salary, discretionary] - Benefits to include: [e.g. 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays, private medical insurance, 5% employer pension contribution, annual learning budget of £1,000] - Probation period: [e.g. six months] - Notice period during and after probation: [e.g. one week during probation, three months after] - Any conditions this offer is subject to: [e.g. satisfactory references and right-to-work verification] - Company name and signatory: [COMPANY NAME, SIGNATORY NAME AND TITLE] Please draft an offer letter that: 1. Opens warmly — this is the first formal communication from the employer and should feel like a welcome, not a legal notice 2. Sets out all the terms listed above clearly and in plain English 3. Uses a logical structure: welcome and role, employment terms, compensation and benefits, practical next steps 4. Explains what conditions the offer is subject to and what the candidate needs to do next, and by when 5. Closes with a genuine expression of enthusiasm about the candidate joining At the end of the draft, flag any clauses that should be reviewed by an employment lawyer or aligned to the specific employment contract before the letter is sent.
Your 15-minute task
Use a real offer you are working on or have recently sent. Fill in the fields with actual values — including the benefits, the conditions, and the start date. Run the prompt and then compare the draft to the offer letter template you normally use. Look specifically at the opening and closing paragraphs: does the AI version feel warmer and more human? If so, that is a signal that your current template may be underselling the candidate experience at a critical moment. Review the flagged items before sending anything.
Expected win
A complete offer letter draft in plain, professional English that is ready to review, covering all key employment terms in a logical structure, opening and closing with warmth, and clearly explaining next steps — with a flagged list of items to check before the letter goes out.
Power user tip
After the offer letter is drafted, follow up with: 'Write a short candidate experience note — a brief, informal message I can send alongside or just before the formal offer letter that acknowledges how far the candidate has come in the process, expresses genuine excitement about them joining, and sets a warm, human tone before they read the formal document. Keep it to three or four sentences, conversational in register, and signed off personally by the hiring manager rather than HR.' The offer letter is the formal record. The personal note is what the candidate will remember and share with their family when they say yes.