The Importance of a Written Offer
The most basic reason is that you won’t know what you’re getting until you actually see the contract in writing. When HR calls, you’ll likely get a sense of what your base salary is, but little else. While the salary is obviously important, the other parts of a job offer (think health insurance, vacation days, maternity leave) add up, and you’ll want to know what is there—or isn’t there—before you say yes.
That said, you’ll also put yourself in a poor position to negotiate if you find out later that your job offer doesn’t include, say, basic short-term disability insurance. (In case you’re wondering, insurance is not generally something companies are willing to negotiate on, but if you’re not offered it, you can use it as a point to ask for a higher base salary.) Saying yes and then going back and pretending like you’re reconsidering unless they meet you in the middle is the equivalent of showing your hand in a poker game.
