Offer Rejection: It's not you, it's me...

I was reading a recent post by Kris over at The HR Capitalist titled, When Your Job Offer Process Takes On a "Stalker" Quality.... In the article Kris gives us some great factors (and links to some of his previous posts) that will impact whether or not a candidate decides to accept your opportunity and come work for you and your company.

Here are a couple of points I took away from his posts:

1. You move so fast that you turn into a "Stalker". One of the main reasons you do this is because you can't seem to control your excitement about the candidate that you have convinced to come interview at your company. By the time the interview is over the candidate can already tell how desperate you are for them to fill the position - because you just must have their skills and abilities present at your company. By the time they have left the interview there is no doubt in their mind that you will offer them the position. Then, you don't let them down by making them a verbal/written offer that same day! Same day offer = never a good idea.

2. You're hiring managers are "LAME". Yes, you heard me right...LAME! You know I'm right and we've all had them at companies where we've worked and had to support. As an HR Pro you've been able to sell yourself, your company, and this opportunity. But, the next big step is to bring the candidate in for a face to face interview with the hiring manager. You almost wish you didn't have to go through this step but it's inevitable and must be done. Because, after all, you can do all the selling that's humanly possible but if the manager drops the ball then the deal is off.

As HR Pro's we have all experienced at least one of the scenario's above and you'll typically see these two the most when you have found the perfect candidate that is truly an exact match for the job and opportunity you've been charged with filling. Plus, the more marketable a candidate is the more these two points will come out.

Now what? What do you think is going to be the response from the candidate that has had to endure these two scenarios described above?

Nine times out of ten you're going to get a declined offer - you aren't really shocked are you?

The candidate (or victim) will typically be professional and courteous and thank you for the offer but say that they have decided to pursue another opportunity - one more in line with their current and future career goals and expectations.

Basically they will say, it's not you...it's me.

In this spirit and theme of rejections enjoy this clip from Seinfeld of George Constanza!