How are job offers made at your company? Let us in behind the scenes.

To help you get a sneak peek into how job offers are made, we asked CEOs and hiring managers this question for their best insights. From making job announcements fun to identifying desired skillsets and possible red flags via resume screening, there are several real-life examples of how these business leaders offer job positions within their organizations.

Here is a behind-the-scenes look at how job offers are made at these eight companies:

      • I Make Job Offers Announcements Fun
      • Prioritize Alignment to Values, Checks and Balances and Speed
      • Job Offers Are Based on Potential and Fit
      • We’ve Got a 2-step Process: Meet & Greet and Skills Assessment
      • We Check For Technical Ability and Behavioral Fit
      • We Use An High Touch Approach and Position-Specific Compensation Research
      • Search Committees Recommend 3-5 Applicants and we Take it From There
      • We Review Resumes to Identify Desired Skillsets and Monitor Red Flags 

I Make Job Offers Announcements Fun

As a former recruiter, I love being the bearer of good news so I like to make good news fun. Whether it is for a new hire or a new vendor relationship, I enjoy making the candidate/vendor feel special and wanted.

When a candidate hears from the hiring manager it is already a tense call with mostly doubtful thoughts running through their minds. Which is the perfect opportunity of letting them know our team, company, or CEO thought you were “heads above the rest”. I love politely asking “Will you be our Director of Marketing?”

For a vendor, our team requested one last meeting to ask their team questions and as things began to look serious I walked in with bottles of champagne letting them know they won our business.

LT Ladino, CEO & Founder, vCandidates.com

Prioritize Alignment to Values, Checks and Balances and Speed

At nth venture, we start with testing every candidate’s alignment to our purpose: setting talented people free through the value of ownership, and the comp model we have built around that. We also have a question bank aligned to our professional values: Integrity, Discipline and Acumen.

Individuals generally start with the hiring manager or in a screening interview, and then move to a panel interview and finally an interview with our CEO – but it can vary a bit depending on the role.

One important tenet of our process is the concept of “two keys” – no one person can make a hiring decision, they must have the approval of a peer outside their reporting structure (and generally, the whole team participating should be aligned).

Finally, we move fast – we typically go from posting to offer within 3-4 weeks – every req is “top of mind” in part because we run so lean.

Nathan Deily, Chief People Officer, nth Venture

Job Offers Are Based on Potential and Fit

At our company, we make job offers based on the potential and fit of the candidate. We do not have a formulaic way of making offers, but we take into account the candidate’s prior experience, achievements and unique skill set. We also look at the team’s current needs and growth trajectory.

When we make an offer to someone, we do so with the understanding that they will make a significant impact on the company’s growth strategy. This is one of the most important decisions we make, so we take great care in understanding if this will be a good match for both parties.

Admir Salcinovic, Co-Founder, Pricelisto

We’ve Got a 2-Step Process: Meet and Greet, Skills Assessment

Job offers at my marketing job at CyberPilot are offered based on the experience of the two interviews that you have beforehand.

The first interview is a friendly meet and greet! You talk a bit about yourself, ask about the job, your skills, and to see if you fit in with the company in general. If the first interview goes well you get invited to the second interview!

The second interview is where you get to test your skills in the form of a specific case you have to work on. In my case, I had to work on a blog post about a very technical subject and turn it into something that everyone could understand. Luckily it went well. I got a phone call a few days later, where I got offered the job.

Søren Jensen, Junior Digital Marketer, CyberPilot

We Check For Technical Ability and Behavioral Fit

At Disrupter School, we base our job offers based on technical ability and behavioral fit. As great as a good background is, ensuring the candidate can do the job at a high level is essential for us as a small business.

Being a good behavioral fit is our other key requirement. Knowing how a potential candidate will fit within the company culture coupled with their ability makes the decision much easier when we make our offers.

Charles Tichenor IV, Founder, Disrupter School

We Use An High Touch Approach and Position-Specific Compensation Research

We use a combination of a standard offering, position-specific compensation research and a personal call to present the offer.

A standard offer letter is a formal, written offer from an employer to an applicant. It outlines the basic terms and conditions of employment, including salary, benefits and any other relevant information. It is usually sent by mail or email.

A position-specific compensation research is usually completed by our compensation department. It is a detailed analysis of the market data and offers of our competitors in the same role. It is used to inform us of the correct compensation package we should offer the candidate.

A personal call is usually made by our hiring manager or recruiter to personally present the offer. It is used to ensure that the candidate understands the offer and can ask any questions they may have.

Luciano Colos, Founder & CEO, PitchGrade

Search Committees Recommend 3-5 Applicants and We Take it From There

At my company, we have a search committee that reviews resumes and does the initial interview. The search committee will then recommend their top 3-5 applicants and have another interview with the applicant and include the hiring manager. The hiring manager will then decide which applicant they feel is best suited for the position and offer them the position based on a successful background check. HR will conduct the background check and, if it comes back clear, the hiring manager will contact the applicant to set up their first day, etc. HR will take it from there and begin the new employe onboarding process.

Lindsey Hight, HR Professional, Sporting Smiles

We Review Resumes to Identify Desired Skillsets and Monitor Red Flags 

The job offer process at my company typically starts when we begin reviewing applications and resumes. This involves filtering through all of the applicants to find the most promising candidates based on their qualifications, experience and skillsets. We also look for any red flags or warning signs that might indicate someone is not the right fit for the job.

Once we have a list of potential candidates, we usually start with phone interviews to get an initial sense of their qualifications and experience. This helps us narrow down our list even further so that only the most promising candidates are invited to come in-person for an interview.

Once we have interviewed all of the candidates that meet our initial criteria, we then make a decision about who to extend an offer to. This is usually based on their interview performance and overall fit with our company culture.

Martin Seeley, CEO, Mattress Next Day


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