Not many situations are more frustrating to an HR pro: You’ve just spent valuable time reading resumes and interviewing to pick out the best applicant for a job — only to have the candidate turn down the offer. Here’s some help.
For an increased acceptance rate, experts recommend simple tweaks to the way offers are presented. Here are some problems candidates see — and how you and your managers can fix them:
- They haven’t heard from their future boss. The logistics of extending job offers are normally handled by someone in HR. But if it seems like a candidate is on the fence, a call from the hiring manager — or even a top-level exec — could be enough to seal the deal.
- They haven’t heard from potential co-workers. Similar to the strategy above, having a candidate’s peer call and explain the benefits of your company could provide the final push needed to get someone on board.
- You called on the wrong day. Some experts say companies should always extend job offers early in the week — that’s when many people may be more willing to leave a current employer. And if they hear your offer on Friday, they may have too much time over the weekend to over-think the situation and decide changing jobs isn’t worth the risk.