Mark as sent does not send anything. An offer in AB Talent is your record of what was proposed and what the candidate answered. The message itself goes out separately, and accepting only puts someone on the roster when an HR admin records it.
From draft to answer
An offer can also be Withdrawn at any point before the candidate answers. Accepted, Declined and Withdrawn are final: an offer in one of those states cannot be moved again. The candidate also stops being active, so their row on the role no longer has the Interviews button that opens this page.
| Status | Button that gets it there | What it records |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Draft an offer, then Save draft | The job title, dates and, if you may set it, the compensation. |
| Approved | Approve | Who approved it. Their name stays on the offer as “Approved by”. |
| Sent | Mark as sent | That the offer has gone to the candidate. Only an approved offer can get here. |
| Accepted | They accepted | The answer. The application is marked as hired, and the roster step below runs. |
| Declined | They declined | The answer. The application is marked as withdrawn. |
| Withdrawn | Withdraw | That you took the offer back. The application is marked as withdrawn. |
Who can work on an offer
Working on an offer means drafting it, approving it and recording the answer. It depends on your Access:
| Access | Offers |
|---|---|
| HR admin, Recruiter | On every role. |
| Hiring manager | On the roles they are hiring for. |
| Interviewer | None. The Offer section is not shown to them. |
Whoever works the role can also approve, including the person who drafted the offer. A second approver is not required, and the name on the offer shows who signed it off.
Draft an offer
- Open the candidate. Roles → open the role → Interviews on the candidate’s row.
- Start the draft. In the Offer section, choose Draft an offer.
- Fill in the terms. Job title as offered starts with the role’s title. Set Proposed start date and Respond by.
- Add the compensation, if you may. Amount, Currency, Per and Also included only appear for someone with May see compensation.
- Save it. Choose Save draft.
Respond by is a note for your team. Nothing happens automatically on that date.
Approve, send and record the answer
- Approve it. Choose Approve, fill in Why?, and confirm.
- Tell the candidate. Under Messages, choose Write to candidate, pick Offer in Start from, finish the message and press Send.
- Mark it sent. Choose Mark as sent and fill in Why?.
- Record the answer. Choose They accepted or They declined, and fill in Why?.
Every move asks for a reason, and without one you see “A reason is required.” When an offer is accepted, declined or withdrawn, the reason is saved as a decision on the candidate’s application. It is written for your hiring team and is never sent to the candidate.
Compensation is granted per person
Seeing pay comes from one setting, May see compensation, and no Access includes it. An HR admin does not have it until an HR admin gives it to them, and that includes giving it to yourself.
- Without it, the amount, the currency and Also included are removed from what you see, and the offer says: “The compensation on this offer is not shown to you. Seeing pay is granted per person, not by role.”
- You can still work the offer. You can approve it, mark it sent and record the answer without ever seeing the figures.
- To give it, an HR admin opens the person on People, chooses Change access, turns on May see compensation, and chooses Save access.
What accepting does
Recording the answer and adding somebody to the roster are two different permissions. The answer is always recorded. The employee record is only created when the person pressing They accepted is an HR admin. Which of these you see depends on that:
| Situation | What the page says | What to do next |
|---|---|---|
| An HR admin recorded it, and the person is new | “Accepted, and they are on the roster. Onboarding can start from their record.” | Open their record on People and start onboarding. See Joining and leaving. |
| Anyone else recorded it | “Accepted. Adding them to the roster needs an HR admin — ask one to add them from the People tab.” | Ask an HR admin. They add the person with New person on People. |
| An HR admin recorded it, and that email is already on the roster | “Accepted. They were already on the roster, so nothing new was created.” | Nothing. Their existing history stays in one record. |
A new record takes the candidate’s name and email, the job title as offered, the role’s department and employment type, and the proposed start date. Nothing else from the offer goes across, and onboarding does not start by itself.
The offer records the agreement, and your message tells the candidate. Do both, and the record and what they were told will match.