Accepting a job offer feels like the finish line. It mostly is. But a small set of details that get glossed over in the excitement of saying yes can turn into 90 days of friction afterward — or worse, a rescinded offer because something in the background check wasn't anticipated.

This post is the seven-item checklist to run through before you sign. None of it requires hard negotiation. Most of it is just confirming in writing what's already understood verbally.

The pre-signature checklist

Seven items worth confirming explicitly:

1. Start date. The offer letter usually states a target date. The recruiter typically has 1-2 weeks of flexibility — useful if you need to give notice, finish a project, or take a buffer week before starting. Also confirm any constraints: mandatory training week, conference attendance, planned company off-site. These are things you'd rather know before signing than discover in week one.

2. Total comp components — every line in writing. Base salary, bonus target percentage, equity grant value and vesting schedule, signing bonus amount and clawback terms, relocation package if applicable. Every commitment in the offer needs to be in the offer letter or in an email amendment. If the recruiter promised "we'll do a $10K refresh at year 1" in a phone call but it isn't in writing, treat it as not committed. See total-compensation-base-bonus-equity.

3. Title and reporting line. Confirm the exact title that will appear in the company's system. Title-fixing after the offer is signed is harder than getting it right now. Also confirm who you report to by name — if the recruiter said "the VP of Engineering," get the actual name and verify against LinkedIn that the person is still at the company in that role.

4. Remote / in-office / hybrid policy. "Remote-friendly" means different things at different companies. Confirm the actual expected pattern — specific days per week in office, location flexibility (can you work from another state?), expected travel for offsites or client work. Get this in writing because it changes the most often as a company evolves.

5. PTO accrual and immediate availability. How does PTO accrue — front-loaded, pro-rated, accrual-per-paycheck? Can you take time off in the first 90 days, or is there an onboarding blackout? If you have a planned trip in the first three months, mention it now and confirm it's approved. Discovering the blackout policy after you've booked the flight is bad.

6. Background check, references, drug screen scope. Know what the company will check before you give notice at your current job. The single most painful failure mode in this whole process is giving notice, then having an offer rescinded a week later over an unexpected background-check issue — a credit pull you didn't expect, a previous-employer verification that revealed a date discrepancy, a drug-screen the candidate didn't realize was part of the process. Ask in advance.

7. Non-compete, non-solicit, IP assignment. These are the documents most candidates skim and later regret. Some non-competes are aggressive in scope (broad industry definitions, multi-year duration, multi-state coverage). Some IP assignment clauses cover everything you've ever written including personal projects. The window to negotiate these is now, before you sign — after you've started, you're committed. Read them carefully and ask for redlines if any term genuinely can't work for you.

Verbal vs. binding

A clean rule: if it isn't in the offer letter or an email confirmation, it isn't binding.

This isn't paranoia — it's basic process. Recruiters move companies. Hiring managers change teams. The person who told you the bonus "usually pays at 110%" may not be at the company in six months when the bonus is paid, and the new manager may have a different read of the policy.

Verbal commitments that consistently don't materialize without writing:

• "You'll definitely get the next promotion." (No one can promise this.)
• "Bonus is usually paid at 110%." (Maybe it was last year. Not a commitment.)
• "We can probably get you more equity at year 2." (Vague and forgettable.)
• "Our remote policy is flexible." (Until it isn't.)
• "You'll manage a team within 18 months." (Org changes happen.)

This doesn't mean recruiters are dishonest. It means verbal commitments are soft commitments by their nature. The fix is to ask: "Could you put that in the offer letter, or send me a quick email confirming?" Most recruiters will do this without resistance. The ones who won't are telling you something useful.

What getting it in writing actually changes

Roughly 1 in 4 new hires reports a meaningful gap between verbal commitments during the offer process and what was delivered. The gap isn't usually intentional — recruiters change, policies update, the hiring manager moves teams. But the candidate is the one who pays for the gap.

Getting commitments in writing changes three things:

1. You have something to point to. Six months in, when you're advocating for the role you were promised, you have an email to reference. Without it, you're arguing from memory against the new manager's memory.

2. You force clarity at signing time. Asking "can you put that in writing?" makes the recruiter actually think about whether the promise is real and approved. Sometimes the answer is "yes, I'll add it." Sometimes it's "I'd need to check with the team." That second answer is useful — it tells you the commitment was less firm than it sounded.

3. You filter for employers who operate cleanly. Companies that resist putting reasonable commitments in writing are signaling something about how they operate. Better to know that before you accept than after.

What to do with verbal information

Some things won't be in writing because they're not commitments — they're context. "The team's been doing well." "The CEO is great to work with." "The eng culture is strong." This is information, not commitment, and asking to "put it in writing" would be weird.

The right move with verbal context is to verify independently:

• Glassdoor reviews (with the usual selection-bias caveats).
• LinkedIn conversations with current and former employees.
• Public engineering blogs, talks, recent press.
• A 15-minute call with someone who works there if your network reaches.

For the post-offer evaluation more broadly, see multiple-offers-comparing-frameworks.

When the offer needs to change

You're at the offer stage; you noticed the equity grant is lower than you expected, or the title is one level below what you discussed. This is the easiest negotiation in the whole job-search process — the company has decided they want you and you have the most leverage you'll ever have with them.

A clean ask:

"Reviewing the offer letter, the equity grant is lower than what we discussed in the recruiter conversation last week — we'd talked about 2x what's in the letter. Could you check on that?"

Specific, not aggressive, references a prior conversation. Most amendments get made.

For the broader negotiation playbook, see negotiating-the-first-offer-script.

The countersign and the start

After you sign and the company countersigns, ask for a copy of the fully executed offer letter, the equity grant document, and any benefits plan summaries. Save them. You'll reference them in your first review cycle a year later and you don't want to be reconstructing from memory.

Also ask for an explicit confirmation of the start date, the first-day logistics (where to go, what to bring), and your manager's contact info. Some companies are great at this; some go silent for two weeks between signature and start. Knowing what to expect prevents the awkward "I haven't heard from anyone in 10 days" panic.

What this isn't

A few clarifications:

• It's not a license to renegotiate every detail. Pick the items that genuinely matter to you. Asking for written confirmation on 25 small things signals difficulty rather than diligence.
• It's not a substitute for trust. Most companies will deliver on most commitments. Writing things down is insurance, not paranoia.
• It's not the last word. Even with written commitments, things change. The point is to start the role with clear expectations, not to litigate every future change.

The short version: confirm seven items before you sign — start date, total comp, title and reporting, remote policy, PTO, background check scope, restrictive covenants. Get anything you care about in writing. The questions to ask now are easier than the conversations you'd have to have later if you don't.