Insights into the forces shaping our industry.

   The importance of a strong, timely offer:

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “time kills all deals”, and it’s certainly true in recruiting. If your company takes days (or even weeks) to make an offer to a candidate, you’re sending a potential employee the wrong message; reflecting poorly on your company, before they even start.

Candidates may interpret the delay as:

●You aren’t that interested in them, and they’ll move on to the next company.

●Your decision-making process is slow, which may lead them to question how decisions are made after they are hired.

●You have no urgency, therefore, how relevant is this position to the company?

When you present an offer, make sure it’s one that will be accepted. When working with a recruiter, you will know the candidate’s salary expectations ahead of time. If you can’t make an offer to a candidate in their target range, don’t interview the candidate.

There are consequences to making an offer that won’t be accepted:

First, it wastes your and the candidate’s time – between phone interviews, in person interviews, reference checking, etc. Second, you have to factor in the time and revenue loss of the position not being filled; in many cases, the search has to start all over again, after you’ve gotten to the point of making a candidate an offer. Third, it can spark a bad reputation in the market place. We are in a small industry, where the degree of separation is only 2 or 3 rather than the typical 6 degrees of separation and people talk.

You want to start a relationship off on the right foot:

If you like the candidate, then make them a strong offer, within 1 – 3 days of their final interview. Work with your recruiter to discuss the offer ahead of time and to understand if it makes sense to move forward.