In preparing your job candidate for an offer, you want to eliminate any surprises and bridge the gap between the candidate’s expectations and the offer they may receive from the employer.  Here are a few tips:

1.      Remind the candidate of all of the benefits (besides salary) they will receive from the job.  Those benefits can include, health insurance, time-off, educational opportunities, opportunities for advancement, bonuses etc.  Generally speaking, try to remind the candidate that the job offers an opportunity to grow their career.

2.     Find out if the candidate has any unanswered questions about the job and try to anticipate any objections the candidate may have to accepting the job offer outside of the salary amount. For example, the candidate may have questions about some responsibilities, opportunities or even the culture of the company.

3.     Regarding salary, ask the candidate what their target salary is and what salary amount they would be willing to accept, even it did not meet their target.  Ask direct questions such as “Will you accept an offer of $80,000 or above?” If the candidate says no, “I was hoping for more” you may want to ask “Does that mean you would reject an offer of $80,000?”  This line of questioning will give you an opportunity to minimize problems with the job offer by finding out how much a candidate is willing to accept. This amount should be lower than what you expect the employer will offer.

4.     Finally, ask the candidate what they will do when their current employer offers them more money or benefits once they hand in their resignation papers.  If a candidate is willing to stay with their current employer under the “right” circumstances, then that’s a possibility you need to know before the job offer is given.