What to Expect in a Job Offer

The Offer Letter

Many people are surprised that offers of employment are generally concise documents, usually no more than a single page. The overwhelming majority of offer letters are fairly basic and contain these 5 elements:

1. Your job title.
2. Your compensation and how it is paid. Most companies pay either bi-weekly (26 payments/year) or semi-monthly (24 payments/year).
3. Job Location.
4. Start date (the day which your employment begins). Sometimes the date may be indicated as a range. In other words, it may specify a “no earlier than” and a “no later than” date.
5. Suspense date for you to sign and return the offer. This may be just?a few days (3 or less) or a couple of weeks. Short suspenses of less than a week are not unusual.?If this is the case, it’s not necessarily that the company is rushing you to make a decision. The fact is they may have already verbally extended the offer well before putting it in writing. So the written offer simply memorializes what you already knew.

The Rest

There is a chance that the offer letter contains other very important information. These items may be included in the actual offer letter itself or as separate attachments. The following is a fairly comprehensive list of what is possible:

1. Description of bonus potential, whether signing bonus, performance-based, or discretionary.
2. Special allowances such as relocation, company vehicle, laptop, cell phone, etc.
3. Enumeration of the company’s observed holidays and description of their vacation benefits (2 weeks is fairly typical)?and/or paid time off (PTO) allowance.
4. General descriptions of other benefits such as medical, 401(k), etc.?Do not expect a detailed description; normally it is just a statement that you are entitled to these benefits as spelled out in their benefit guide (which may be included in a separate attachment).
5. Special instructions. While these instructions can vary, it is perfectly normal that the offer is contingent upon such things as passing a drug test, a background check (criminal and/or financial), or the signing of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or non-compete agreement.

In many cases, the offer?of employment will specify that you are an “at-will” employee. Simply put: an “at-will” employee can be terminated with or without cause at the discretion of the employer. Although this may seem harsh, it is also very normal. Welcome to corporate America! Keep in mind that this also means that you have the right to terminate your own employment at any time.

Special Agreements

A few words about the agreements you may be asked to sign.?These are items that are sometimes enclosed along with the employment offer.

A?non-disclosure agreement?(NDA) is the corporate world’s version of?operational security?(OPSEC) protocols. Generally, employees have to agree not to disclose proprietary information (aka trade secrets) to any person or party external to the company. These agreements may also specify parameters related to the proper protection of electronic media, removal of documents from the workplace, etc. An NDA might also specify that you are relinquishing your rights to any patents, copyrights, or other intellectual property that you create or contribute to in the conduct of your job functions within the company.

As far as a?non-compete agreement, there is no real military equivalent. In its most basic form, a non-compete specifies that if you leave the company for any reason, you agree to not accept employment from a competing firm. It will also likely prohibit the future solicitation of any of your employer’s customers.?A non-compete may include additional clauses prohibiting you from luring any current employees away from the company or disparaging the company in any way. In a nutshell, it is a document that protects a company from many of the harmful things an employee can do upon the termination of employment.?

Non-competes can vary tremendously because they are governed at the state, not the federal level. Naturally, some states are less restrictive than others. For example, in California non-compete agreements are not enforceable. But regardless of the state, for a non-compete to hold up in court it must have reasonable terms as far as the:

• Duration of the exclusionary period: typically from 1 to 3 years
• The geographic area it covers: it would be unreasonable for a company that only does business on the east coast to prohibit your employment with a competitor operating solely on the west coast.
• Scope: a manufacturer cannot prevent you from working for?all other?manufacturers. The document should define or describe what the company means by a competitor.?That definition cannot be too broad or it will be indefensible in court.

In almost all cases, the refusal to sign such an agreement (if required) nullifies the offer of employment.??

In sum, there may be more to an offer than meets the eye. At Alliance, we help our candidates understand their offers and assist them in the finer parts of negotiating those offers.

Are you an officer in the military looking to transition out of the military? Are you looking for career opportunities in Corporate America? Get registered with us here at alliance at alliance-careers.com/contact.