This was the day you had been hoping for. After a 3 month search by a recruiter, vetting of a candidate that everybody unanimously felt was perfect for the role…you receive an acceptance to your job offer to someone we’ll call ‘Joe’. Your remote office in the Washington DC area will finally have its senior technical Mid-Atlantic sales leader. The candidate will begin work in 30 days, which is standard, and time to finish up unfinished business.

Everybody is giving high fives, and though the process was lengthy and the expense of executive time in interviewing, meetings on both coasts and the anxiety over Joe possibly accepting an offer from a competing suitor, today it seemed to be worth it all….except, the process really isn’t over, is it? Two weeks later, I get a call from my candidate telling me that he is reversing his decision to go to work with my client. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

Now a recruiter, and former executive in the information security space, I have experienced the challenges associated with finding and retaining first-rate qualified sales and technical professionals from both sides of the hiring process. But no experience is more frustrating than having a candidate move through the vetting process, accept the job and then back out days before starting. It happens too often. You try to figure out, what happened? I ask Joe f there anything I can do for him to stay on board. The answer is always ‘no’. The calls are usually late on Fridays, just before the start date. You email and try to contact your client by text and phone. That’s when the dust flies.

Recruiters usually hand off the process after the candidate accepts a job. You don’t want to be responsible for ‘meddling’ in the post-deal after the acceptance, except to say congrats. The two principal parties have come to an arrangement about titles, duties and start dates. Deal done. Except in many cases, it’s not. This period between acceptance and start is probably the most critical phase that is responsible for more back-outs than any other time. It is also the most painful, as it comes as a shock, embarrassment, and gets personal in some cases. The position remains unfilled, potential business is lost and a great candidate got away. The recruiter usually takes a verbal beating, and frequently loses a client. It’s a lose-lose proposition.

So, what should have been done? How could this have been prevented? Dealing with large clients through their HR recruiting portals makes any communication after acceptance virtually impossible. Small to medium sized companies where there is a healthy contact between recruiter and hiring manager makes the following steps possible:

Assign a ‘buddy’ to stay in contact with the candidate

When Joe goes back to his company with a resignation letter and giving two or four weeks’ notice, there is usually shock if Joe is a business producer. ‘What can we do to make it better, make it work out’? Counterproposals, guilt…’you know you were an integral part of our team. You’ve really let us down’. In the absence of a ‘buddy’, Joe’s company has up to four weeks to work on him.

Assign small projects to keep Joe thinking about the opportunity

Small projects that are designed to reinforce Joe’s inclusion in the company environment also contribute to mindshare. Make them paid projects if that is appropriate.

Have someone meet with the candidate as often as is feasible before the start

How vulnerable are you and your candidate? If someone is in the area, face time is reinforcing and builds relationships. It makes a candidate believe that he is already part of the team.

Keep the excitement and momentum going

When a candidate accepts an offer, it is usually a time of high emotions. They have decided to cut ties with their current employer for a better opportunity. It is a big deal and they are usually stoked, but there are also anxiety demons lurking in the darkness. In the absence of anyone maintaining contact, doubts can mount over the decision that has just been made. Positive reinforcement should be a must. and it can be provided in many forms. His future manager can call and talk shop or discuss similar interests. It doesn’t matter, so long as Joe doesn’t feel isolated, and wishes he had not made this his choice.

For a few weeks, these tactics can be useful when trying to occupy the mindshare of the candidate, but there is no foolproof way to prevent a rejection altogether. When considering the investment that the company has made in time and recruiting, there is a very strong financial benefit case that can be made.

© Stephen Irwin

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