Vol. 1
PC PLACEMENTS
WHITE
PAPER
Why Didn’t They Accept My Job Offer?
T: 415.615.0688
E: [email protected]
M: 605 Market St. Suite 1250, San Francisco, CA, 94105
WHY DIDN’T THEY ACCEPT
MY JOB OFFER?
As seen in issue #25 of WIB’s HR & Training Digest
BY CINDY FASSLER,
Vice President &
Chief Talent Officer
O
ne of the most common complaints I have been hearing lately happens when a company makes an
offer to their first choice candidate and the candidate no longer is interested in the position. The
company thought they did everything right. They met the pay requirements, negotiated full benefits and
paid vacation, and even said they could leave every Friday by 1:00 pm. So why did the candidate say no?
As a recruiter, I work in depth with companies on searching for the perfect candidate. One Bay Area
company I recently worked with was looking for a new business development officer and wanted to get the
ball rolling. The first question I always ask is, “What is your interviewing process?”
Their process seemed standard starting with wanting to review resumes, phone interviews for the top few
candidates, meet in person with the top two contenders and offer the position to the best match.
After sending seven resumes, the company chose three people to interview over the phone. This process
took less than two days. Once the interviews were completed, they moved forward with two candidates
and scheduled in-person interviews. This is where the process started going off track. Between all of the
communications back and forth, it took a week and a half to get the interviews scheduled. The interviews
were finally set up for the following week with the hiring manager and both went fantastically. One
candidate was clearly the superstar and totally hit it off with the hiring manager.
After hearing this great news, the candidate and I were ready to move forward with the negotiation. Little
did I know that the company left out a crucial step in there interviewing process. For this position, the CEO
wanted to interview the candidate before an offer could be extended. Another two weeks passed before
the CEO was available. During that two-week gap, I touched base with the candidate only to find out that
she had spent the last two days interviewing with a different company and had just received a job offer.
Hearing this, I immediately reached out to my client hoping to get the final interview pushed up to a sooner
date or to see if the interview could be waived since the hiring manager loved her so much. My client
would not budge and the candidate accepted the other job.
Although the initial job was the candidate’s first choice, she decided to go with the current job offer because
“a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” I later asked the candidate what could have been done
differently to change her mind. She responded, “If your client wanted me to work for them, they
should have moved forward in a timelier manner!”
This happens far too often, especially in banking and finance industries. In between each step of the
interview process is a certain amount of lag time that over the course of a few interviews can equate to
weeks being wasted. Good candidates are always in high demand and if one of your rivals has a better and
faster interview process, which could mean always missing out on the top candidates and potentially top
revenue makers.
TIPS TO ENSURE NEVER
MISSING OUT ON A TOP
CANDIDATE
1.Streamline your interviewing process. Narrow it
down to a maximum of two weeks.
2.If the candidate is one of your top choices, let
it be known.
3.Panel interviews are great, but can be a long
and tiring process. To help keep the movement,
have the interviews back-to-back ensuring a
quick and easy interview process for both the
candidates and the company.
4.If the majority of the people in the interview
process are happy with the candidate, try a
Skype or phone interview with the last few
people to speed up the process.
5.If using a recruiter, keep a clear and ongoing
communication so they can help move the
process along and get you your
dream candidate.
T: 415.615.0688
E: [email protected]
M: 605 Market St. Suite 1250, San Francisco, CA, 94105