What Is A Job Offer?

What is a job offer is a simple question which seems to conjure up various answers. Because my daughter has been enduring a series of standardized tests in recent months, I thought we would take a multiple choice test to come up with the best answer. Read all of the choices before making your selection! Each participant may choose just one response to the question which I will repeat to make sure all have read it.

What is a job offer?

a) A call from a company asking you to come in for an interview.
b) An inquiry from a staffing firm about your skill sets and employment status.
c) A verbal or written offer of employment containing salary, job title, and report date.
d) Email telling you that a company found your resume online and you need to press the apply button for immediate consideration.
e) All of the above.
f) None of the above.

Hopefully, you all selected (c) as nothing constitutes an offer of employment unless the start date, pay rate, and either a title or job description has been made to you either via a conversation or in writing. There is nothing wrong with getting contact online or by a phone call from a recruiting firm. Also, nothing is better than a formal interview invitation but none of these is a job offer!

Too many folks turn down chances to interview for a great job because they told the employer they already had a great offer. Until you actually receive a verifiable offer, do not turn down any interviews!