It’s Not a Done Deal Until the FIRST DAY!!

Posted on December 01, 2021

Like many other recruiters, I have learned the hard way that even when a candidate accepts a job offer—and a great one at that—it’s not a done deal!  Don’t count that candidate as an employee until they walk through your door on their start date.

There are many reasons why a candidate could choose not to show up on their first day with a great company like yours; here, I will focus on the one we, as recruiters, see fairly often…..the dreaded counter offer.

A candidate’s current employer often makes a counteroffer in response to their resignation.  An employer will throw more money, promises of growth, or a culture change, at their employee in hopes of them staying. Sometimes, this is to protect a valued employee, and sometimes, it comes down to their ability to replace the employee.  We have even seen this as just a bandaid, a way for the employer to mitigate the issues of replacing a valuable employee until they can do so on their terms.

Candidates consider leaving their current positions for various reasons; lack of good management, cultural flaws, financial reasons, and unkept promises are just some that we deal with daily.  Either way, the marketplace is challenging right now, and it is an epic tug of war between candidates and our clients who want to hire outstanding employees.  Because of this, as recruiters, we are often in the middle, trying to ensure the best outcome for all parties. Exceptional recruiters, such as ourselves, are going after the passive candidates, who are relatively happy and doing a great job.  It’s our job to find these candidates and explain why companies like yours are parallel to none when it comes to employee satisfaction.  We expect that employers will most likely fight to keep these passive candidates on board and will do so by making that counter as mentioned above offer. Here are some tips to ensure your candidate gets from offer to bonafide employee.

• Give a deadline to candidates for offer acceptance
• This will relieve the “will they/won’t they” anxiety hiring companies often face following a job offer
• Keep the candidate up to date on the progress of the hiring process
• Keep in contact with your new hire during their notice
• Quickly check-in once or twice a week to let them know you are looking forward to working with them
• This is something we do as recruiters, but it means more to the candidate when it comes from the hiring company
• Be transparent about the hiring process; how long it will take, what assessments need to be taken, what paperwork needs to be filled out, what does the training schedule look like?
• Trust in us, your dedicated team of recruiters to:
• Inform and assist you with offer negotiations
• Assist the candidate with a letter of resignation, and inform you of said resignation
• Remind the candidate why they were open to a role with your company in the first place and why your company is an excellent place for their career advancement

In summary, be sure that you, as a hiring manager, are aware of all the moving parts in the stages between job offer to job start.  If you want that “rock star” candidate that we presented you who will add value to your organization, communicate often, be transparent, and remember that SnapDragon Associates is here to help!