Extending an Offer - Human Resources - Carnegie Mellon University

Extending an Offer

Determining Compensation

You should make your salary offer in accordance with the candidate's qualifications and experience. In addition, the salary should be competitive with the job market in which you are competing, and in accordance with the Job Classification and Pay Scales structure in place at the university. See also the Wage Determination Packet [.doc] when hiring foreign nationals with H1B visas.

Remember that our benefits package is a significant form of compensation. Share the Benefits Overview with top candidates when discussing compensation.

Informing the Candidates

After you have selected the right candidate for the position and have determined the appropriate compensation level, you must send out an offer letter to the successful candidate. Your offer letter should include the specific position, the agreed upon salary and start date, the person's benefits eligibility, and other forms and information they must know to begin employment.

Human Resources is currently in the process of developing new offer letter templates. In the interim, please use the following offer letter templates:

You should also send out regret letters [.pdf] to other applicants who were interviewed that inform them that the position has been filled.

Informing Human Resources

Once you have officially hired an employee, you should inform your Human Resources Manager about your decision. You will also need to process the new appointment in the Human Resources Employee Module.

Helpful Links

How to Specify Compensation Amounts in Offers

Offer letters include the anticipated pay rate. The rate of pay should be provided depending upon the terms you set and the pay frequency for the prospective hire.

  • Exempt employees on the monthly payroll should generally list a monthly salary, determined by dividing the annual salary by 12 (for fiscal year appointments) or 9 (for academic year appointments).
  • Non-exempt staff paid on the biweekly payroll should have their hourly rate of pay listed. For NE staff working 37.5 hour/week, take the annual pay amount and divide by 1950 (37.5 x 52) for the hourly rate.