If you’re a hiring manager, HR personnel, or any team member that interacts with new hires, there’s a big chance you’ll be writing an appointment letter soon if you haven’t already. After a series of interviews, an appointment letter is the first message a new hire gets from your company, confirming their hire.
In this article, we’re going to discuss what an appointment letter is, how to write one, and provide samples to assist you in writing your appointment letters.
What is a Job Appointment Letter?
A job appointment letter is a letter that formally confirms the employment of a new hire. After a successful interview and all negotiations are completed, a job offer letter officially states that the employee got the position.
Before appointment letters are sent, an offer must first be made, and all negotiations with the employee must be concluded; this means salary negotiations, benefits, etc.
A job appointment letter doesn’t have to contain everything about your company. Other documents necessary for onboarding should be sent after the hire has signed the appointment letter.
How to Write an Appointment Letter for Employment
When writing appointment letters, the most important aspects of the letter are:
- Job Title and Description
- Start Date
- Working Hours
- Salary and Benefits
- Necessary Actions and Deadlines
In this section of this article, we’ll list out the step-by-step process needed to write appointment letters.
1. Use Your Company’s Letterhead
This goes without saying, but an appointment letter is a professional and formal document, and to make sure this formality is maintained, it needs to be on your company’s letterhead. If your company doesn’t have a letterhead, then the letter should contain a formal heading.
This heading should house your company’s name, contact information, address, and logo. Including all of this information in your appointment letter makes it easier for the new hire to reach out to you if they have any questions or inquiries.
2. Greet the Recipient
Your letter should start with a formal greeting of you acknowledging the hire. A simple “Dear (Name of hire),” or “Hello, (Name of hire)” works perfectly. After greeting the recipient, thank them for taking the time to interview for the role.
3. Formally Offer the Position
You may have already sent a job offer letter to the employee offering them the position, but it is extremely important that you formally offer the hire the role. This is crucial because while the other documents previously sent may have offered them the position, the hire becomes an official member of the company when they sign the letter. Upon signing the letter, a file is created for the employee, and the appointment letter is the first thing that goes in.
Make sure the official job title is stated clearly in the appointment letter. Also, extend your excitement and enthusiasm toward working with the employee. This helps the hire feel welcome and ultimately makes the onboarding process easier.
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4. Describe the Hire’s Duties
In this section of the letter, the employee’s duties should be listed in bullet or number points. This helps the employee ease into their role and brings them up to speed on their primary tasks.
If you’re the hiring manager and are unsure what the hire’s primary responsibilities include, then you should reach out to their manager and whoever they’ll be reporting to and find out the hire’s responsibilities from them.
5. State the Start Date
This may have been discussed during the interview or job offer stage, but it’s important to be reiterated in this letter section. In most cases, a hire’s official start date is usually on the first day of the month unless there’s a need for the hire to begin work immediately.
If the hire begins in the middle of the month, it’s important that they know how this affects when they receive their remuneration. If this hasn’t been discussed in previous interviews, it is important that a meeting is held with the hire to discuss this.
6. State the Work Hours and Days
If this is an on-site position, it is important that the specific work hours are stated in this letter. Is the employee expected to be in the office from 8 AM-5 PM? This should be stated in the Letter.
With the advent of remote work, employees now work hybrid or fully remotely. For hybrid positions, you should also state the days the employee is expected to come into the office.
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7. Include a Salary Breakdown
While this information may have been discussed and agreed upon, it should also be stated in this letter. If there are benefits attached to the base salary, a proper structure breakdown should be included in the letter, this includes but isn’t limited to stock options, pension packages, and insurance. All of these should be broken down and spelled out in the letter.
If the employee is to be paid weekly, or monthly, a set date on when salaries are paid out should also be included in the letter.
8. Additional Information
While it’s not advised, you can include the company’s terms and conditions in this section of the letter. This section of the letter includes anything the employee is to submit to the company or to expect from the company. If the employee is expected to submit documents, this should be stated in the letter.
Also, if the employee should expect anything from the company, such as gadgets and other onboarding materials, all of these should be stated in the letter.
9. Close the Letter
When closing the letter, include any action the employee is expected to take. Are they expected to sign the document within the next couple of days? Are they expected to submit some official documents? This should be included in the letter.
Before signing the letter, relay your enthusiasm for working with the employee.
When closing the letter, include “Kind Regards” or “Sincerely,” and sign your name.
Job Appointment Letter Samples and Templates
Here are some templates and samples to serve as guides to help you write your appointment letters.
Job Appointment Letter Template One
[Hire's name] [Hire's address] [Hire's phone number] [Date] [Your name] [Your Company's address] [Your phone number] Dear [Hire's last name], Thank you for taking the time to interview our team. After much consideration, we’re beyond excited to formally offer you the [Official job title] position. As [State job title], your responsibilities include [give a full breakdown of their responsibilities]. Your official start date is [State official start date and time]. Your starting salary for this position is [Include salary and other benefits]. Please review and sign the contract if you accept the terms. If any part’s unclear, please do not hesitate to contact us. Regards, [Your name] [Job title]
Job Appointment Letter Sample One
John Doe 123 Share Avenue, Wisconsin +000 000 0000 00 17 December 2023 Jeremiah Jacobs 456 Record Street, Wisconsin +000 000 0000 00 Dear John, Thank you for taking the time to interview for this position. After much consideration, we’re beyond excited to formally offer you the position of Head of Design. As Head of Design, your responsibilities include overseeing all design objectives, creating design direction both in-house and for clients, overseeing the design team, handle all design-facing tasks. Your official start date is 10 January 2024. Your starting salary for this position is $60,000 per annum. You have 28 paid time off in a year after 6 months of employment, health insurance, gadget allowance of $2000 paid after 8 months. Please review and sign the contract if you accept the terms. If any part’s unclear, please do not hesitate to contact us. Regards, Jeremiah Jacobs Hiring Manager
Job Appointment Letter Sample Two
Bruno Encanto 123 Walt Avenue, Las Vegas +000 000 0000 00 17 December 2023 Isabella Jacobs 456 Alberta, Las Vegas +000 000 0000 00 Dear Bruno, Thank you for taking the time to meet with our CEO and Head of Marketing. After careful consideration, we’d like to offer you the position of Senior Media Buyer. As a senior Media Buyer, your responsibility includes overseeing all advertisement campaigns, building and executing campaign objectives, running search and display ads, installation of pixels. Your salary for this position is $200,000 per annum. You will receive health insurance, a gadget allowance of $4,000 after working for 8 months, and 30 days paid time off after 2 months of employment. Please sign this letter and send us a copy. If you’d like to discuss any part of this letter, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, Isabella Jacobs Head, Human Resources
Conclusion
When sending a job appointment letter, it is important to ensure that you’re not you’ve finalized every negotiation with the hire. If you’re yet to have a verbal agreement, you should send a job offer letter and not an appointment letter.
We’ve included some samples and templates to help you write the best job appointment letters.
Check out more Job Appointment Letters Templates and Samples