How to Write a Job Acceptance Letter

You have completed the job interview process and successfully received a job offer. Congratulations! While this is fantastic news, you may be wondering how to accept the job, or how to write a formal acceptance letter. In any scenario, it is essential to accept a job officially with a letter so that your new employer can document your acceptance.

A job acceptance letter is a chance to show your professionalism, reiterate your terms of employment, and raise any points necessary to negotiation. In this article, we will go through the steps to write a job acceptance letter, including examples you can use and adapt to make your own. 

What is a job acceptance letter?

A job acceptance letter formally accepts a job offer in writing, allowing you and your future employer to document the acceptance process. By writing a job acceptance letter, you agree to any detailed terms and conditions as part of the job offer, so it is important to include anything you wish to negotiate or do not accept.

In the internet age, your job acceptance letter might be an email. It is advisable to send your job acceptance letter in the same form as your employer's job offer letter. If this was sent as a formal letter, you should respond that way. If this was sent as an email, you could reply that way. However, you must still use formal formatting.

Is it mandatory to write a job acceptance letter?

Writing a job acceptance letter isn't mandatory, but it is a good idea. It shows your professionalism and allows you to put your acceptance into writing, in case you ever need to reference back to it. Additionally, there must usually be a written record to start the hiring process.

Steps for writing a job acceptance letter

Before you start writing your job acceptance letter, consider these important factors. First, review the terms of the offer you received and be certain you want to accept the offer. Have you interviewed for other jobs you are waiting to hear from? Are you happy with the terms of employment offered? 

It is a good idea to have a conversation with your future employer to make sure things like start dates, salary, and responsibilities are clear before negotiation and acceptance takes place.

Once this is sorted out, you are ready to begin your job acceptance letter. 

Address and date the letter

If you are writing a letter, it should be formal and official, so you must include your address and the date. Align your address and the date at the top left corner of the page. If you are writing an email, you don’t need to do this, but it is a good idea to include your contact details for reference, even if you add these at the end. You will need to have a subject line if you email your letter. Keep this simple, such as “Job Acceptance Letter."

Use a named recipient if you can

Address the letter to a named person rather than using a general term such as “hiring manager.” You should know who to address it to based on who offered you the job. If you received a job offer letter, use that to determine the correct contact or address it to your new manager. Writing “To whom it may concern,” is acceptable if you struggle to find a name. 

Express thanks

Start your letter by expressing your gratitude for being selected for the role. Thank the company for taking the time to interview, and let them know how grateful you are for the opportunity to work for them. You can convey your excitement here. Doing this can show that you are courteous, professional, and motivated. Include the official title of the role and the name of the company you will be working for when expressing your thanks.

Reiterate the role

Use this opportunity to reiterate the role, salary, benefits, hours, and anything else you think is essntial to document and highlight. As you are effectively accepting the terms of the job as outlined in the job offer letter, you must make sure everything is correct, including anything you have discussed and negotiated that may be different from the job offer letter.

Accept the offer

End with a statement indicating that you accept the job offer. This is a good time to include your start date and a line about how you are looking forward to starting your new role.

Sign the letter

If you send a written letter, always add a signature with your name typed at the close. If your letter is being sent via email, this is not necessary.

Proofread

A job acceptance letter is an official, professional document. So, you must proofread it to ensure everything is correct. You want to give the best impression you can. 

Example of a job acceptance letter

Below is an example of a job acceptance letter. For email letters, follow this template but remove the address and signature. Make sure you include a subject, such as "Job Acceptance Letter." It is a good idea to include your contact details, most commonly as a signature line, at the bottom of the email. 

[Your name]

[Your address]

[Your telephone number]

[Recipient's name]

[Recipient's title]

[Company address]

[Date]

Dear [Name],

Following our recent discussions, and in light of the job offer letter I received on [date], I am writing to gratefully accept your offer of employment and associated terms for the role of [position name] at [company name]. 

As per your offer letter, I am looking forward to starting with you on [date], at the [location], 35 hours a week, at a salary of [salary].

I look forward to the work we will do together.

Yours sincerely,

[name]

Negotiating a job offer

You have several options if you have received a job offer letter but still need to negotiate terms. Firstly, you can do this over the phone or by email and reiterate any agreed changes in your job acceptance letter. Alternatively, you can use your job acceptance letter to negotiate the terms. 

If you choose the latter, you must clarify that you accept the job, but only if the employer changes certain terms. You can then address these in the letter, but the rest of the letter will follow the guidance mentioned above.

Next steps

Are you looking to step up to a new position? On Coursera, you might get interview-ready with courses like Successful Interviewing from the University of Maryland or Interviewing, Negotiating a Job Offer, and Career Planning from the University of California, Irvine. You might also consider Professional Development: Improve Yourself, Always from Macquarie University, to boost your confidence and impress recruiters with your resume.