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frameworks / kit-offer-letter-and-closing-script / 06-consultant-methodology.md
Source: frameworks/kit-offer-letter-and-closing-script/06-consultant-methodology.md

Consultant Methodology — Offer Letter and Closing Script Extraction

Where This Fits in the Engagement

The offer stage is the final active phase of the recruiting process. By the time you're here, the role has been defined, candidates have been sourced, screened, interviewed, and evaluated, and the decision makers have selected a candidate. Now the practitioner needs to convert that selection into a hire — and close out every other candidate with professionalism.

The extraction captures how the practitioner handles this stage — not how offer letters work in theory, but how this practitioner makes the call, manages the negotiation, coordinates with the client's HR team, and closes the loop with remaining candidates.

Before the Interview

Know What You're Building

Review the engagement context. Know:

Confirm Logistics

Who needs to be in the room:

The extraction typically takes 30-45 minutes. The offer stage is less complex structurally than the scorecard or candidate experience journey, but the negotiation methodology and release protocol require careful capture.

Interview Structure

Part 1: The Verbal Offer (10-15 minutes)

Who makes the call: "When it's time to make the offer — who calls the candidate? You, the client, or together?"

Listen for the practitioner's positioning. Some practitioners always make the call themselves. Some recommend the hiring authority make it for senior roles. Some do a joint call. Capture the methodology and the rationale.

What the call covers: "Walk me through the verbal offer call. What do you say? How do you present the terms?"

Listen for: how they open (warmth vs. formality), how they present compensation (direct number vs. range), what personalization they include, how they handle the candidate's reaction.

Handling immediate questions: "When the candidate asks questions on the call — about benefits, about start date flexibility, about the team — how do you handle that?"

When negotiation starts on the call: "Sometimes candidates negotiate immediately. How do you handle that? Do you respond on the spot or take it offline?"

Part 2: The Written Offer (5-10 minutes)

Process: "After the verbal offer, how does the written offer get produced? Do you draft it, does the client's HR draft it, or is it collaborative?"

Timeline: "How quickly does the written offer go out after the verbal call?"

Review: "Does the client's HR or legal team review the letter before it goes to the candidate?"

Contingencies: "What contingencies are typically in the offer — background check, references, drug screen? Who determines those?"

Part 3: Negotiation (10-15 minutes)

This is the highest-value part of the extraction. The practitioner's negotiation methodology is their differentiator.

Philosophy: "How do you think about negotiation? What's your approach?"

Listen for how they position themselves — on behalf of the client vs. neutral broker vs. candidate advocate. This is where the practitioner's methodology distinction matters most.

Authority: "When you're in a negotiation conversation, what can you agree to without going back to the client? Where's the line?"

Escalation: "When a candidate asks for something outside your authority — how do you handle that conversation? What do you say to the candidate? How quickly do you get back to them?"

Common asks: "Beyond salary, what do candidates typically negotiate? Signing bonus? Start date? Remote work? Title?"

Compensation floor: "If a candidate was previously underpaid — making well below the range — do you offer at the bottom of the range or at their prior salary level?"

This question reveals whether the practitioner enforces a compensation floor. The methodology standard is clear: the offer is based on the role's market value, not the candidate's prior salary. Capture how the practitioner handles this.

Failed negotiations: "Has a negotiation ever broken down? What happened? What would you do differently?"

Part 4: Release Communications (5-10 minutes)

Method by stage: "When a candidate is not selected — how do you tell them? Does the method change depending on how far they got in the process?"

Walk through each stage: pre-screen, post-screen, post-interview, post-team-interview, post-finals. For each:

Finalist release specifically: "For someone who made it to finals — who went through presentations, met the board, invested serious time — how do you handle that call?"

This is the practitioner's character moment. Listen for how they balance honesty with empathy, how much feedback they offer, and how they preserve the relationship.

Close-out: "Once the role is filled, what happens to everyone else still in the process?"

Silver medalists: "When you have a great candidate who just wasn't the pick — do you do anything to maintain that relationship?"

Part 5: Post-Acceptance (5 minutes)

Warm period: "Between acceptance and start date — what happens? Who stays in touch with the new hire? How often?"

Counter-offer risk: "Has a candidate ever accepted your offer and then gotten a counter-offer from their current employer? How did you handle it?"

Handoff: "At what point does the practitioner's involvement end and the client's HR/onboarding take over? Is there a formal handoff?"

Part 6: Client Coordination (5 minutes)

Internal summary: "After the offer is accepted and the search closes — what do you report back to the client? Is there a formal close-out document?"

Retro: "Do you do a retrospective on the search? Who's involved? What do you cover?"

Burn-down / budget: "How do you report on the financial side of the engagement?"

What Must Be Confirmed Before Closing the Interview

Signals That the Extraction Is Incomplete

"We just send the offer letter." → Ask: "Before the letter — is there a phone call? Who makes it? What do they say?"

Negotiation authority vague. → Ask: "If the candidate asks for $5K more right now on the phone — can you say yes, or do you need to call the client?"

No release protocol for finalists. → Ask: "Your finalist who presented twice and met the whole board — if they don't get the role, what do they hear? How? When? From whom?"

No post-acceptance plan. → Ask: "Between acceptance and start date — what if their current employer counter-offers? Who's maintaining the relationship?"

Close-out vague. → Ask: "The three candidates still in the process when the role fills — what specifically do they hear? When?"

After the Interview

Within 24 Hours

Write up extraction notes:

Advisor Review

The advisor reviews and:

Build starts after the advisor confirms the gap report is resolved.

Connection to the Engagement

The offer extraction reveals the practitioner's relationship with money and negotiation — how comfortable they are naming numbers, whether they advocate for fair compensation or default to the client's lowest acceptable number, whether they see negotiation as adversarial or collaborative.

These signals matter for the engagement. A practitioner who under-negotiates may also under-price their own services. A practitioner who avoids the offer call may be avoiding difficult conversations in other parts of their practice. The offer stage is a window into how the practitioner handles high-stakes moments — take notes on what you observe.