Cementing the Job Offer

The contents of a job offer are not set in stone.  Some are very basic, with very little detail, while others include several clauses and sub-clauses that require close scrutiny.  Basically, a job offer typically starts out by indicating your name and the name of the company and the fact that the document represents a formal employment agreement between you and the employer. It should clearly set out the job description, in other words, what is expected of you, the employee.  It then does the same in terms of laying out what is expected of the employer. This means that your entire employment structure should be detailed here.  It should clearly state your working hours, whom you report to, as well as the method for submitting work or trading information.  It should include things like when and how often you will be subjected to performance reviews and when and how often you will be eligible for a salary increase. This agreement should also detail the equipment that will be supplied to you for doing the job, i.e. a portable computer, or a cellular phone It should then break down in detail all of the elements of the compensation package.  This means that in addition to stating your base salary, your vacation time, benefits, pension and any other negotiated details must be noted and recognized in print.  Some job offers will include additional information such as corporate policies and codes of conduct, etc.  There may also be a confidentiality clause which you will need to adhere to depending on the nature of the work and organization. There could be several other industry specific paragraphs pertaining to unions and trade associations.

If you feel that an offer is missing a specific detail, you can and should ask that it be added.  If you are unsure about the wording or something you have read, don’t sign off until you get clarification. You may want to have an unbiased legal representative look over the offer and clarify certain points of concern.

Never sign a job offer until you are one hundred percent comfortable with its content.