How to Accept or Decline a Job Offer: Email Templates

Ask for the written offer before you give a final yes, as Dartmouth's career design center advises. Tufts Career Center says to get negotiated terms in writing before you accept.

Check the written offer against what you agreed on the phone. Sprintlaw, a legal content publisher, lists the items an offer letter should cover, including exempt or non-exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the acceptance deadline. Dartmouth says to check that every agreed item appears in the written offer.

Read any noncompete before you accept. The FTC moved to dismiss its appeals and accede to the vacatur of its Non-Compete Clause Rule in September 2025, so no federal ban applies. Whether your noncompete can be enforced is now a state law question.

Send this email before you give a final answer. It asks for the written offer and names the terms you need to see.

Hi [Recruiter name],

Thank you for the offer for the [Role] role. Before I give a final answer, could you send the written offer, including the base pay, the bonus target, the start date, and the budget and tool access we discussed?

I want to confirm that the written terms match what we talked about for [marketing scope, such as paid social and lifecycle email].

Best,
[Your name]

Ask for time on the call where the offer arrives, and name a reply date. Dartmouth's career design center advises taking at least a couple of days to think about the offer and to develop questions.

Ask for the latest reasonable date by which the employer wants your reply. Tufts Career Center says it is appropriate to ask for more time when you are not ready to accept. An iHire career advisor says not to ask for more than a few days to think things over.

Plan the timeline before you ask. Dartmouth says its recruiting program runs one to two week timelines, that outside employers are not bound by them, and that exploding offers come with 24 to 48 hours.

Use the extra days to test the plan, not to shop the offer. Map your first 90 days, list the budget you would inherit, and write two questions about the reporting line and how the team measures paid and organic results.

If you are waiting on a preferred employer, tell that employer you already hold an offer with a competitor. UW Career Center advises this, and says employers are sometimes open to an extension.

Hi [Recruiter name],

Thank you for the offer for the [Role] role. I am excited about the work on [marketing priority, such as the lifecycle program and the paid search rebuild].

I would like [number] business days to review the terms and prepare a few questions. Could I reply by [date]? If that date does not work, please tell me the latest date that suits the team.

Best,
[Your name]

Accept by phone, then confirm in writing. Dartmouth's career design center advises calling the employer to accept, followed by a confirmation by email or letter. CU Boulder Career Services adds that you should accept promptly and use the format the recruiter uses.

Put the position title, start date and salary in the confirmation, plus every negotiated item. Dartmouth's career design center and Tufts Career Center both name these items.

Negotiate before you accept, and keep the tone calm. An iHire career advisor says you can technically lose an offer by negotiating, but that it is highly unlikely if you do it right. The risks are a demanding tone, unrealistic asks and several counteroffers.

Anchor your counter to scope you can defend, such as the paid media budget you would manage or the revenue target you would own. In Pew Research Center's April 2023 survey of employed US adults, 28% of those who asked for more pay got what they asked for, and 38% got more than the first offer but less than they asked for.

Set your counter before the call with the salary expectations page, which covers how to answer a pay question before you have a number.

Once you accept, withdraw from other processes. Tufts Career Center says to withdraw your candidacy from all other employers as soon as you officially accept. UCLA Career Center advises a polite letter that declines the other offers you received.

If another process is still open, send that decline after you accept, as UCLA advises.

Hi [Recruiter name],

Thank you for the call today. I am pleased to accept the [Role] role at [Company] on the terms we discussed.

To confirm, the terms are: title [Role], start date [date], base salary [amount], and [bonus or commission target and the metric it uses]. I also have the budget and tool access we discussed for [marketing scope, such as paid social and lifecycle email].

Please send the signed offer letter and the onboarding steps. I look forward to starting on [date].

Best,
[Your name]

Hi [Recruiter name],

Thank you for working with me on the offer. I accept the [Role] role at [Company] with the updated terms from our conversation on [date].

Please confirm these items in the revised offer letter: title, start date, base salary, [negotiated item, such as the paid media budget or the conference budget], and the [bonus or commission term].

I can return the signed letter by [date].

Best,
[Your name]

Reply within a few days, even if you are still deciding. University of Cincinnati advises this even when you feel conflicted about the decision. Once you decide, reply within 24 to 48 hours. Kickresume, a resume-builder blog, gives that window.

Email works for most declines. University of Cincinnati says email is acceptable for most situations. For a close relationship or a process with many rounds, it suggests a brief phone call followed by a confirmation email. Tufts Career Center says to decline verbally, and then send a thank-you letter.

Keep the reason short, and leave a door open. University of Cincinnati says you do not need to explain your decision in detail. It also advises saying you would like to stay in touch, and avoiding negative language or anything that could harm your reputation.

When pay is the problem, Kickresume advises a generic reason in place of the number, such as job fit or career goals.

Use one template for each reason you decline. Replace each blank with a detail from your interview, so the note reads as yours.

Hi [Recruiter name],

Thank you for the offer for the [Role] role, and for your time through the process. I have accepted another position that fits my plans for [marketing goal, such as building a partner channel from the start].

I appreciated meeting the [team name] team, and I would like to stay in touch. Please keep me in mind for future roles in [marketing area, such as growth marketing].

Best,
[Your name]

Hi [Recruiter name],

Thank you for the offer for the [Role] role. After careful consideration, I have decided not to accept it at this time. I appreciate the time your team spent with me on [interview topic, such as the attribution model review].

I would like to remain in contact about future openings in [marketing area, such as performance marketing].

Best,
[Your name]

Hi [Recruiter name],

Thank you for the offer for the [Role] role. After weighing the work against my career goals, I have decided not to accept. I enjoyed learning about [team priority the interviewer named, such as the subscription retention program].

If the scope changes, or a role focused on [marketing focus, such as lifecycle email and CRM] opens, I would welcome a conversation.

Best,
[Your name]

Hi [Recruiter name],

Thank you for offering me the [Role] role, and for the time your team gave me. I have decided not to accept at this time.

I would like to stay in touch with [Company]. Please consider me for future openings in [marketing area, such as brand and creative strategy]. I would welcome a call if the team has a role that matches my work in [your channel or specialty].

Best,
[Your name]

If you already accepted, the decline becomes a reneging problem. Dartmouth's career design center warns that reneging can cost you career center access. UCLA Career Center calls backing out after an accepted offer unacceptable. These are campus recruiting rules, not law.

If you must back out, tell the employer as early as possible, as CU Boulder Career Services advises. Cornell's higher education HR office advises apologizing by phone, not by email or text. University of Washington career advisors say reneging can cost you future opportunities with that employer.

Treat a conditional offer as not final until every condition clears. A California state sample letter says a contingent offer becomes a bona fide job offer only after the listed requirements are met. This is one public employer's template, not a universal rule.

Ask for the full list of conditions in writing. The same sample lists credential verification, a background check and a pre-employment drug screen as typical conditions.

Do not resign until the offer is final. The same sample advises candidates not to resign or make significant changes to their employment status before the requirements are met. Stark & Stark, a New Jersey law firm, says a conditional offer should be clearly conveyed as conditional.

Before the offer, a covered employer cannot ask about disabilities or run medical exams. The EEOC says the Americans with Disabilities Act bars all disability-related inquiries and medical exams before a job offer, even job-related ones.

After a conditional offer, an employer may ask disability-related questions and run exams if it does so for all entering employees in the same job category. The offer must be real, which means the employer has evaluated all relevant non-medical information.

If an employer withdraws an offer based on medical information, it must show the reason was job-related and consistent with business necessity.

A background check needs your written permission first. The FTC says an employer must give a written, stand-alone disclosure and get your written permission before it gets the report. The next section explains the notices that follow an adverse decision.

Identity documents follow their own process. USCIS says employees may complete Section 1 of Form I-9 before the first day of work, but cannot complete it before they accept an offer. Ask why the employer wants identity documents before you accept, and what they are for.

Hi [Recruiter name],

Thank you for the conditional offer for the [Role] role. Before I give notice to my current employer, could you confirm in writing which conditions apply, and the date each one must clear?

I am currently running [marketing responsibility, such as the paid social budget], and I want a clean handover. Please also send the final offer letter with the start date.

Best,
[Your name]

Ask for the reason in writing, and keep a record of every message. Michigan State University Career Network advises politely asking for a detailed explanation. It also advises consulting an employment attorney to decide whether legal recourse is appropriate.

Ask whether an alternative exists before you accept the withdrawal. NACE, an association of employers and career services staff, lists changed responsibilities, reduced pay or hours, a new location, a delayed start and remote work as options to consider.

NACE says employers should rescind only in rare instances with no realistic alternatives, and should tell the candidate as soon as possible.

If a background check caused the withdrawal, the FTC says the employer must send a pre-adverse action notice first. That notice includes a copy of the report and a summary of your rights. After the decision, the employer must send an adverse action notice that names the reporting company, and you may dispute the report.

Promissory estoppel is the doctrine a candidate who gave up a job because of a firm offer would raise. Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute says a promisee can recover damages when it reasonably and detrimentally relied on a promise the promisor could foresee would be relied on. Whether that claim works depends on your state, so do not assume it applies where you live.

Employment is presumed at-will, so an employer is generally free to rescind an offer for any reason or none. Stark & Stark, a New Jersey law firm, makes this point, and adds that New Jersey recognizes promissory estoppel for rescinded offers when the candidate relied on the offer, such as by leaving another job.

This section is general information, not legal advice. Ask an employment lawyer in your state about a specific case.

ZipRecruiter, a job board, reported in its 2026 Q2 New Hires Survey that 16% of recently hired workers had an offer pulled before they could start, after a peak of 26% in Q2 2025. The survey covers more than 1,500 employed US adults who started a job in the past six months, so it counts people who started, not every offer.

Keep the offer letter, your resignation letter, the date you gave notice, and any other offers you declined. If you left an agency or an in-house role for this offer, also keep your handover plan for each client or campaign.

Hi [Recruiter name],

I was surprised to learn that the offer for the [Role] role has been withdrawn. Could you give me a detailed explanation of the decision, in writing if possible?

I left [what you gave up, such as my role running the paid social budget] based on this offer. I would like to know whether the team has alternatives, such as a delayed start or a narrower [marketing scope, such as paid media ownership].

Thank you for your time,
[Your name]

Compare the full package, not only base pay. Bureau of Labor Statistics data for June 2026 shows that wages and salaries made up 70.0% of private industry employer compensation cost, and benefits made up 30.0%.

Benefits break into parts. The same BLS table lists insurance at 7.9%, paid leave at 7.5%, legally required benefits at 7.2%, supplemental pay at 4.0%, and retirement and savings at 3.3%, each as a percent of total compensation for private industry. These are averages across all workers, so value each item in your own offer.

Vesting means ownership, so ask how long you must stay before the employer money is yours. The IRS says your own deferrals are always 100% vested. Employer contributions follow the schedule in the plan document, for example 100% vesting after 3 years of service, or a graded schedule that runs up to six years.

Health coverage can start after your hire date. The Department of Labor says group health plans may not apply a waiting period that exceeds 90 days, so ask for the coverage start date in writing.

Ask HR how a bonus or commission is withheld. The IRS withholding rate on supplemental wages remains 22%, and 37% applies to supplemental wages over $1 million in a calendar year. Withholding is not your final tax.

If your bonus depends on pipeline or return on ad spend, ask how the team credits revenue to each channel. A target is only as clear as the attribution model behind it, so get that model in writing.

For equity, ask for the grant size, the vesting schedule, and how long you have to exercise options after you leave. Ask for the plan document, not only a summary.

Sign-on bonuses and relocation pay can come with a repayment clause. Read that clause before you accept, and find out what share you would repay if you leave early.

For posted pay ranges and salary history rules, read the negotiation tactics page before the offer call.

Next step: read the how to ask for a raise page to plan your pay conversation after your first review.