Why is your ideal candidate not accepting your offer?

The recruitment process can be a rewarding experience when you hire the right candidates for your vacancies, but at the end of a process, it can be incredibly frustrating if your first choice candidate decides not to accept your offer. 

There are two key reasons that candidates turn down an offer. The first is that their existing employer has bought them back, this can be through a pay rise but it might also be that they have been given the opportunity to get involved with project work or develop their skills further. The second is that they have been offered a role with another company. In some cases, there isn’t much that can be done about these, but there are steps that can be taken to strengthen your position when making an offer. 

Showcase a compelling opportunity

One of the simplest ways to improve your position during the recruitment process is to keep candidates engaged and gain their buy-in early on in the process. Understanding their motivators and why they are leaving their current employer is a great way to start. It is important to really explore their responses to these questions and delve deeper into what drives them, don’t just take the first answer at face value. 

Using the insight you gain from their responses, sell the benefits of the role and the opportunities that are available which best align with the candidate’s key motivators. Many employers assume that a career move is always about the salary being offered when it isn’t. Professionals choose to change jobs for many reasons. Increased flexibility, career progression, training opportunities, to broaden market experience, and even access to transport. 

Don’t fall into the trap of underselling or failing to highlight the best benefits of your opportunity. Just like a candidate should create a bespoke CV to apply for a role which will highlight their key skills and most relevant experience, tailor the recruitment experience and the way you sell the business to each candidate you meet. 

Identifying when a candidate might not accept an offer

As mentioned above, it is often unexpected when a candidate chooses not to accept your offer, but it might be simpler than you think to identify someone that is likely to drop out at the final stage. 

The first sign that a previously interested candidate might turn down an offer is a shift in the way they engage with the business. If you notice a change in the time it takes to respond to email correspondence or a longer than usual time to return a call it might be a sign that they have lost interest or are questioning whether the opportunity is right for them.

It is also likely that an individual who is no longer interested in accepting an offer is also likely to be fairly non-committal. This can be at any stage of the process, whether it is arranging interview times or that they are slow in coming back with interview feedback. If there is no sense of eagerness or it seems to be very difficult to pin them down to discuss the role throughout the process, it might be because they aren’t particularly bought into the opportunity.

During the interview stage, if they aren’t asking many questions about the role, if they show little signs of or no intrigue about the company and the opportunity, then it could be an indication that they aren’t really looking to join your company.  

Securing top talent 

In the finance sector, the single most valuable piece of advice we can offer is to act quickly and ensure that there are no delays in the recruitment process. This isn’t any different to the advice we offer in other sectors, but it is especially crucial in a market that is seeing such a high number of offers turned down and is experiencing a shortage of talent.

In addition to this, top talent appreciates being given clear and honest insight into the opportunity and the expected length of the process. Be transparent about what should be expected, what’s involved, how the role is likely to evolve, and don’t change the job spec. Ensure that the candidate is feeling equally as enthusiastic about the prospect as you are about potentially hiring them before moving them forward in a process.

The final piece of advice for employers looking to hire, in any sector across any business function, is to ensure you are recruiting with diversity and inclusivity in mind. Be flexible with your requirements when it comes to the skills and experience you list in the job description to ensure that you are accessing the largest pool of diverse talent available. 

If you would like to discuss how we can help support your hiring processes and source talent professionals for your team, get in touch with your local Michael Page office today or submit a job spec here. Alternatively, create a MyPage account to make the most of our Job Match tool to explore the opportunities best suited to your skill set.