The race for talent is on! It’s not an employer market anymore. Employers are now at the mercy of their employees – meaning, employees have a substantial role in the hiring/recruiting process, and they know it. The employer usually has to do more schmoozing to win over the candidate than vice versa.
Whether or not it was a competing offer that beat yours, there are a number of reasons why candidates decline job offers. Below are those that we see most often, and what you can do to get them to say yes!
1. Not happy with compensation and
benefits
Maybe it was a competing offer that beat you out of the gate, or
maybe it was that you wouldn’t move on your salary budget and the
candidate couldn’t move down to your offer. High-quality talent
costs money! Starting someone off at a low salary knowing you will
eventually increase it by $5k is like building a foundation on mud.
Make them an offer they can accept! Negotiations always bring in
weird tensions and damage the employer-employee relationship.
2. Culture not a good fit
When colleagues are conducting a job search or interviewing, I tell
them that the interview is just as much about you interviewing the
company and people as it is about them interviewing you. If you get
a feeling that this isn’t the right place or fit for you, trust
your gut.
Gen Ys are more concerned about company culture than other
generations. As the leader of the company, it’s your job to make
sure that you provide an environment and culture that people want
to work in. They’re working for YOU to help you build YOUR dreams.
So take the time to reflect on what kind of a place people want to
work in and then do what you can to make it so in your
business!
3. The job isn’t what they thought it was
Sometimes after learning more about the job, candidates realize
that maybe it’s not what they thought it was. It also could be that
they’re just not confident they can succeed at the position —
feeling it might be above their skills/expertise, or it’s a little
below what they’re capable of. Don’t take this too hard, they
actually did you a big favor by pulling out of the race before you
found out they were a bad hire!
4. The location stinks
The price of gas is soaring – and it seems like there is no end in
sight. For this reason commuting has become an even bigger factor
in a candidate’s decision-making. Talent tends to flock to the city
— if you’re located outside a city, it’s not as desirable and can
be less appealing to have to commute to the suburbs or move out
there for the job.
5. No work-life balance
This is an increasingly important factor in candidates determining
taking a job — especially for Gen Ys who really value work-life
balance. What perks do you offer to support a healthy work-life
balance? If the answer is “none”, think about offering things like
telecommuting or flexible work schedules for starters.
5. Negative online reviews
Before I buy most anything online, I look at the reviews.
Candidates now do that with jobs. There are actually a few sites
out there that let you review employers, just like you can check
out restaurants and services on Yelp. Glassdoor and Indeed have
employer reviews where current and past employees provide insider
information of what it’s like to work in your company. Scary,
right? Well it should’t be! (Unless you have something to
hide…)
6. You took too long
If you waited a long time to get in touch with candidates, or the
whole process spread way longer than it should have, it’s super
frustrating for them! It’s easy to contact them at your disposal
because they’re at your mercy for your job, right? Wrong! If you
take too long to hire ’em, they’ll lose momentum and interest in
your company. Or they’ll take a job elsewhere.
7. Your recruiting process sucks
To expand on #6: We know that hiring for small businesses is no
easy task. It’s a joint effort – often times you have to split up
the work among the team members who don’t have HR in their job
title. But keep in mind that candidates pay attention to your
hiring process. If it was an exhausting process, or they felt it
was unorganized or if candidates felt neglected until you wanted to
talk to them they won’t feel valued.
The recruiting/hiring process should get them PUMPED to want to
work for you! And besides, if the company does a bad job hiring,
what other things are they sucking at? That’s no good. Don’t
suck.
8. You
Let’s face it, everyone puts their best face on in the interview,
just like on a first date. I know several colleagues that literally
quit their jobs without anything lined up because their bosses were
thatintolerable. If they get a not-so-good vibe from you or other
people during the interview process, they’ll pick up on it. If they
have equal options to choose from-in terms of role and
compensation-and they had to wait a half an hour before you opened
the door to them, or if you appeared distracted or disinterested,
or if you were rude…you’ve just made their decision a lot
easier.
Am I missing any here? Why have candidates decline a job offer for
you before?
Source: enmast.com