Who wants to go through the trouble of courting great candidates just to have them turn down the offer? Here are some ways to avoid that.
Odds are you’re trying to hire someone who already has a job. For most people, the decision to leave an employer is tough, even if your company’s offered an attractive deal, both monetarily and non-monetarily. What can you do to get more candidates to make a decision in your favor? Get them to make it quickly.
Keep in mind that you don’t want to force a decision. For example, a strict “Accept this offer within 24 hours or it’s off the table” is likely to turn people off (or get them to accept only to change their minds before the start date). But you can say something along the lines of, “We’d like a decision tomorrow.”
Some other ways to get quicker responses and more acceptances:
- Make the offer quickly. If you can make your decision within a day of the last time you speak to the candidate (if you have to, set up a final phone interview to get any looming concerns answered), it’ll be easier to ask the candidate to meet the same time frame.
- Make it early in the week. Never make an offer on Friday. If you do, the candidate will have at least the weekend to think it over and a chance to get bad advice from ad hoc “career advisers” (i.e., friends, family, etc.).
- Consider an “exploding bonus.” If the company’s positive that it wants to hire someone, set up one final interview and make an offer while the candidate is still in the building. Some companies do that and offer a small bonus if the job is accepted immediately.
