Happy Monday Mentionings!

In a recent post by Todd Vician at Recruiting Blogs, he describes how candidates who back out of accepted job offers affect business relationships beyond that of candidate and recruiter.

On the inside, a side that candidates don’t usually experience, recruiters interact with their clients on the candidate’s behalf. These client relationships have been built and nurtured overtime.

As you may have learned, interviewing is a long and involved process. Relationships are formed, networking is done, and maintaining a good reputation should be top priority.  It’s hard to continue working with a candidate who has lied, let you down, or backed out of an opportunity that they already accepted.

Like Vician explains to his candidate who went MIA after accepting a job offer with one of his clients:

“I gently reminded him of all the concerns he had expressed about his current company, the opportunity for a fresh start, how our role was more aligned to his stated future goals…etc.  But, he was unswayed and he reneged his acceptance with us.  So, I wished him well but also candidly shared with him that I didn’t expect we could ever come to terms again given that we now had to try to backfill the role we had sold him into with our client and might lose the work and client as a result.  I impressed upon him that it wasn’t a personal issue but that his decision resulted in a very negative experience on our business and in our client relationship.  I also commented that if he had any cold feet, he should have notified us sooner as a courtesy.”

When working with a multitude of parties in your job search be sure to always follow up and keep your recruiter updated. Even if you’ve received a counter offer and dread the inevitable awkward conversation – it’s better to let your recruiter know what is going on so they can follow up on their end with the client.

Think about:

  • The other professionals involved in the process
  • How quickly you are responding to questions, offers, etc. Take time to think long and hard about your decisions before acting irrationally or rashly
  • Ask questions and follow up

If you find yourself in a bind regarding a job search, counter offer, or interview conundrum – please feel free to email sbellow(at)pyramidcg(dot)com with any questions.