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Waiting time from verbal notice of being selected, to receiving an offer?

Tasia34·Oct 19, 2021

Posted in:Advice

Hello! I was recently given positive news that a hiring team wants to extend an offer to me. The HR recruiter told me the team needed a couple of days to put together the offer. It's now been a week and I've checked in once already, but they are still working on it and there's no timeline update.

In my career so far, I usually haven't waited more than 1-2 days, so this delay seems unusual to me.

Is this actually normal?

What could I do, or should I do, to ask them to clarify what I can expect? When would that be appropriate, if at all?

Iynna·Oct 19, 2021

Hm since they told you the good news verbally, I would assume good intention and don't think it is unusual. They are probably scrambling to meet other deadlines too (what type of company is it? ie. are we talking small team startup style?) I'd send another follow up in the next few days (like one week after the last email then sent you) to check in and politely ask for a timeline update for instance "Hello, I wanted to check in with you and see if there were any updates about the role. I am very excited about the good news and was wondering if you were able to circulate the offer and if not, if you had any idea on the timeline I should expect. Thanks so much!"

Tasia34·Oct 19, 2021

Hi Iynna! Thank you for sharing your thoughts about following up with them. It's a large, public tech company. I admit I'm trying very hard not to assume anything has gone awry! I was hopeful for a practical response like yours. Thank you again.

Iynna·Oct 19, 2021

Got you! I totally understand your concern and perhaps how anxiety inducing this can be, however let's not put bad juju in the universe haha! I am sure it is all okay! In your communication with them, continue to show your excitement about the role etc. :) Keep us/me posted :)

Tasia34·Oct 19, 2021

lol I don't want to put out bad juju! I will definitely keep letting them know about my excitement. I'll be glad to update you!!

Iynna·Oct 20, 2021

I'm excited for you! :)

maggiewolff·Oct 20, 2021

That doesn't sound normal to me, since as you said they are a large public tech company and I would assume this type of thing is routine for them. But, a couple of thoughts - maybe an important decision-maker is out of the office unexpectedly or maybe the hiring manager or someone is in a different country where these things are drawn out? Is this a new position? Maybe they need to check off some extra boxes because of that? Has the only news been that they want to make an offer? Have there been any salary negotiations?

Tasia34·Oct 21, 2021

Hi Maggie! I think you're probably right. It is a new position and yes, it was just the news they selected me for the position and will work on the offer. But I got word yesterday and have a call soon to hear the offer!

annamiller·Oct 20, 2021

I agree, this is not normal and also potentially a process gap for the company. Also, I agree that perhaps there is an internal issue at play - perhaps you can ask about that. ("If there are any internal delays to sending me the formal offer letter, please let me know.") I would also suggest that if no offer comes in after 2 weeks, restart the job search, even if it comes later it's not a good sign that you're waiting so long for an offer letter.Excited for you and good luck!

Tasia34·Oct 21, 2021

Hi Anna! Thank you for your suggestions. They're really helpful to think about clarifying expectations with them as we proceed.

Cassondra13·Oct 20, 2021

I'm really sorry you have to deal with this, I had this happen to me a few months ago and it was super stressful. If it's a large company, it's quite possible that there's a lot of red tape that they have to go through. There also could be someone who needs to sign that's holding it up. For my offer letter, it turned out that the Chief Talent Officer needed to sign the letter and was OOO when they made me a verbal offer. I would follow up and tell them that you're eager to get started and would like to finalize the offer ASAP.

Tasia34·Oct 21, 2021

Hi Cassondra! That sounds a lot like something that would happen at my current company except it would take a lot longer, oh dear! I'll keep mentioning how excited/eager I am. :) Did you end up accepting the offer?

Cassondra13·Oct 21, 2021

I did! I ended up getting the official offer letter ~1 week after I verbally accepted. Here is the email I sent, I got it the next day:I hope you’re having a good week so far! Just checking in to see if you have an update on the offer letter, I'm really excited about the role and eager to get started, so I’d love to get everything finalized before the weekend if possible.

Tasia34·Oct 21, 2021

Fantastic. :) That's a great message. I'll keep it in mind if I need to do any more follow-up!

Tasia34·Oct 21, 2021

Hi everyone! Thank you all for your replies. I now think that it’s very likely the wait has been due to delayed approvals or someone out sick/PTO. Luckily I heard back today and a meeting is scheduled for tomorrow. :)

Tasia34·Oct 22, 2021

Hi @iynna, @maggiewolff, @annamiller, @cassondra13: I got a wonderful offer today and am happy to say that I am accepting it. I expect the rest of the process to go really smoothly and quickly. Thank you all for your thoughts and encouragement.