The JobSync Blog
Understanding the Surprised Candidate Who’s Offered a Job
January 31, 2012
After months of job hunting, fruitless interviews, and multiple rejections, it’s easy to understand why candidates can become discouraged. What may not be so easy to fathom is the job candidate you offer a position to who is surprised but suddenly flat-footed. Is such a person genuinely caught off-guard and fearful of change, or are their other factors at play?
Recently, Forbes.com featured a blog for jobseekers on how to handle an unexpected job offer. While the piece is an informative primer for those individuals weighing an unexpected job offer, it is also worthwhile for hiring managers and recruiters to be aware of some of the considerations a candidate is thinking about when trying to comprehend their reluctance in accepting your job offer. Here are five reasons why a seemingly surprised candidate may want to turn down your position:
1. A desire to build up tenure. If the candidate has been previously jumping around in his career, he may feel it is prudent to stay at his current job and increase his experience in his current role.
2. A feeling of happiness and fit at their current job. At least compared to the lesser happiness and fit they anticipate they would experience in the job at your company.
3. A resistance to giving up perks. Sure, your company has summer hours, but is that really a good tradeoff compared to the ability to telecommute that the candidate would be giving up in coming over to your company?
4. A sense of better stability at their present company. Given the turbulent economy, a candidate may ultimately decide that he doesn’t want to give up his present position if he senses your company is not positioned to weather potential future downturns as well as his present employer.
5. It’s not the right time or place. A candidate may ultimately decide in his gut that this is not a good time to move nor that you are the right company to move to.
Should one or more of these reasons present themselves, are you prepared to provide compelling counter-reasons or concessions to convince a candidate otherwise? If a candidate is too good to pass up, you may find yourself doing things that surprise you, too.
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