How to get a job offer in writing?

Question

I applied with a company and received a phone call saying they want to hire me. I accepted and received a confirmation email for the first day of training. Though some information is spread out over several emails, I would like a clear job offer detailing my hours and wage. How should I request this? My contact seems to prefer speaking by phone, and I'm afraid if I request this by email he will just call me up. I don't want to give the impression I don't trust them, but something this important I'd like to have in clear writing.

Though they confirmed just today, they want me to start Monday. It's important I need to know the hours and days of all the training so I can clear my schedule. I have other interviews coming up but won't cancel them until I get this confirmation.

Answer 1

Ideally, you wouldn't have let it get to this point.

In future, you never say "yes" until they give you a proper contract to review and sign.

Since you've already agreed verbally, the simplest course of action is something like this in an email:

"Looking forward to start on Monday, before I do, could you please send me a copy of my contract. Could you please also send me a timetable for my training so that I can clear my diary".

Will hopefully work.

Answer 2

It's unlikely that you'll get a contract at such short notice. Writing a contract takes time, and the person hiring you has already indicated a preference for avoiding paperwork. But remember too that they want to hire you for a reason. Having made the decision, they won't want to lose you. So you need to be assertive but make things easy for them too.

I'm not sure where you're based, but here in the UK it's perfectly normal to get an employment contract a little while after you've actually started (especially if the job is with a small company, with a small or non-existent HR department). But it's also standard practice to be given an offer letter before you start.

Clearly, you need something in writing. But it also sounds like you've got written evidence of salary and hours, even if it's spread over several emails. So I'd gently but firmly ask for an offer letter, and also ask what the normal timescale is for getting a contract.

That's not unreasonable – it's professional. I agree with @Kaz's wording, echoing your (quite genuine) reason for needing one in the first place. You need to clear your schedule. Anyone should understand that. One way to make sure it doesn't drift is to ask in an email if you can pick it up some time on your first day.