Offer acceptance and decline letters
Accept or decline a job offer gracefully, with the key terms restated so the record is unambiguous. Copy or download the letter in seconds.
Subject: Offer acceptance, [Role title] Dear [Recruiter or manager name], I am pleased to formally accept the offer for the [Role title] position at [Company]. As agreed, my start date will be [Start date]. I am genuinely looking forward to joining the team and getting to work. Could you let me know what to expect for my first day: where to be, when to arrive, and anything I should complete or sign in advance? Sincerely, [Your name]
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All toolsResponding to a job offer, in writing
A verbal yes is a conversation; a written acceptance is a record. Whether you are accepting or declining, the letter exists to make the outcome and the terms unambiguous, and to leave the relationship intact.
Accept in writing, even after a verbal yes
The written acceptance is where you restate the role, the start date, and the agreed salary. If anything was misheard or misremembered on either side, this is the moment it surfaces, before you have resigned from anything.
Restate the key terms
Name the title, the start date, and the base salary as you understand them. This is not distrust, it is hygiene: offers pass through recruiters, hiring managers, and HR systems, and a one-line restatement catches transcription errors while they are still cheap to fix.
Declining without burning the bridge
Thank them for the offer and the time, decline clearly, give at most one neutral clause of reason, and leave the door open. Recruiters change companies and hiring managers remember graceful declines. The candidate pool is smaller than it looks.
Reasons: brief and neutral
You owe courtesy, not a report. "I have accepted another offer" or "it is not the right fit right now" is complete. A detailed critique of the role, the team, or the offer helps no one and can only age badly.
A decline is not a negotiation
If you want a better offer, negotiate before you answer, openly. Sending a decline and hoping they come back with more money reads exactly like what it is, and when it works it starts the job on a sour note. A decline should be final.
Backing out after accepting
Legally, in most US at-will employment, you can withdraw an acceptance. Reputationally it is expensive: the company has closed the search and told other candidates no. Decide fully before you sign, not after.
Offer letters, the honest answers
Yes. The written acceptance restates the role, start date, and salary, which makes the terms unambiguous and surfaces any mismatch before you resign from your current job. A short email is enough; what matters is that the key terms appear in it.
Legally, in most US at-will employment, yes: an accepted offer is usually not a binding employment contract. Reputationally it is costly. The company has ended its search and declined other candidates, and recruiters remember. If you are weighing other options, say so and ask for time before accepting, not after.
Respond promptly, thank them genuinely for the offer and the time invested, decline in one clear sentence, offer at most one neutral reason, and say you would be glad to stay in touch. That is the whole formula. Speed and clarity are the courtesy; length is not.
Briefly and neutrally, if at all. "I accepted another offer" or "the compensation did not work for my situation" is honest and sufficient. You owe courtesy, not a report: a detailed critique of the team or the process cannot help you and will be remembered longer than you would like.
No. Negotiate before you answer, openly and specifically, while the offer is live. A decline sent as leverage either gets called (and you have lost the offer) or works (and you start the job having bluffed your employer). Treat a decline as final and it will be read as professional.
No. The letter is built entirely in your browser as you type. Nothing you enter on this page is sent to a server or stored anywhere.