HRRecruitingAlert.com » job offers

3 reasons candidates turn down job offers

Sam Narisi — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:00:03 +0000

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.

1 reason a candidate might not accept your offer

Sam Narisi — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:00:17 +0000

There are several reasons candidates turn down job offers. Here’s one that’s becoming more common:

Long commutes.

Employees were asked if they’d turn down a job because the new commute would be significantly longer in a recent poll by Management Recruiters International.

The result: 75% said yes.

Give them incentives

Long drives are becoming more of a factor to candidates, as commutes become more costly and the housing slump makes relocating increasingly difficult.

What’s the solution? During interviews and when you make offers, emphasize any benefits you offer to help workers deal with fuel costs — for example, telecommuting options, public transit discounts, flex-time, etc.

Courts: Watch the order of your post-offer process

Sam Narisi — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:05:22 +0000

The Americans with Disabilities Act lets companies give post-offer medical tests to new hires, as long as it’s the last step of the hiring process. And according to the courts, that means the very last step.

In one case, an airline offered jobs to a group of applicants, contingent on successful completion of a background check and medical exam.

The exam revealed a few of them weren’t eligible for hire, and their offers were taken back.

The problem: The medical testing was done before the background check. The applicants sued, claiming the company violated the ADA by not saving the exam for last.

The court agreed, ruling the law requires medical tests to be the “only remaining contingency” in the hiring process.

According the EEOC, employers must obtain and analyze “all relevant non-medical information” before conducting any medical investigations, unless they can prove it was impossible to get all the non-medical info.

Cite: Leonel v. American Airlines, Inc.