Offer letter checklist: what to check before you sign
An offer letter is a contract. A plain checklist for freshers in India: the CTC breakdown, probation, notice period, bonds, joining date and what to ask before you accept.
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The first offer letter is exciting, and that is exactly when people stop reading. But it sets your pay, your obligations and the terms on which either side can leave, and some of it is hard to change once you have signed.
This is a checklist, not legal advice. If anything is unclear or unusual, ask the employer to explain it in writing, and ask someone you trust, or a lawyer, to read it with you before you accept.
What you should come away with
- CTC is not what reaches your bank account: ask for the full break-up
- Check fixed pay against variable pay, and when the variable is paid
- Read the probation, notice-period and bond clauses before the salary
- Ask what happens if the joining date moves or the offer changes
- Get answers to your questions in writing, not on a call
- Do not resign from a current job until you have the signed, final offer
Start with the pay structure, not the headline number. CTC, cost to company, is a figure the employer uses for its own accounting. Ask for the break-up into fixed pay, variable pay, bonuses, employer contributions such as provident fund, insurance and any allowances, and then work out the amount you can expect each month after tax and deductions. Two offers with the same CTC can differ a lot in what you actually receive.
Look hard at anything described as variable or performance-linked. Ask how it is calculated, whether it is guaranteed in the first year, and when it is paid. A joining bonus or relocation payment often has to be repaid if you leave early; check the period.
Next, the terms of staying and leaving. Find the probation period and what changes after it: confirmation, pay, leave and notice. Find the notice period during and after probation, and whether the employer can ask you to serve all of it or pay in lieu. Find any service bond or training agreement, where you agree to stay for a period or repay an amount. Courts have looked at such clauses case by case, so the wording and the amount matter; ask what the money is for and how it falls over time.
Check the practical conditions. What is the joining date, and what happens if it is delayed by the company? Is the offer conditional on a degree result, a background verification or a medical check? Background checks compare what you have written with what your colleges and previous employers say, so make sure your resume, your documents and your dates agree. What is the job location, and is relocation or a change of role possible?
Ask about the role itself. Is the job title and team named? Is the work described, or is it a general trainee pool that will be assigned later? If the role is not what was discussed in the interviews, ask for it to be corrected in the letter rather than relying on a promise.
Finally, look at the process. Offers should arrive in writing from the company's own email domain and should never ask you to pay anything to receive, hold or process the offer. If someone asks for a fee, treat it as a scam. Reply to confirm receipt, ask your questions in writing, give yourself a day to read it properly, and accept only when you are satisfied. Keep copies of everything.