‘Offer decline’, ‘no shows’, ‘run away’ are major challenges for any Organization today.



Such cases could be avoided by probing more into the interest of the resource who is proposing himself for a job opportunity. Today’s IT industry being so dynamic its highly challenging for any recruiter to get the right resource and in a pressure to deliver they do not probe much or I wud say right kind of validation is not being done, which is one of the reasons for such cases. As one of the members have listed most of the reasons and the rest being beyond our control, I would only recommend to do better on what ever is in our control.



While talking to a candidate look out for signals which you should be aware of. Candidates exhibit some signals which can give you indications of such cases.



1. While you ask for their joining period or expected CTC, candidates wud reply without a commitment saying “let me take the iinterview first and lets look into those things later” – drop these kind of candidates. If he / she is serious for a change, wud give u a sharp reply or ask for your recommendations.



2. Candidates skipping interview repeatedly – don’t pursue with them.



3. Candidates well settled in their native place – do not attempt to convince them to relocate them, most of them take a momentary decision and step back later.



4. Ask them to answer frankly “is there anything that wud stop u to decline the offer or step back in the last minute” . Post this Q boldly to them and observe their response, most of the candidates come out with fact here. Try it and u will know.



5. Ask them if they have applied / attended i/v elsewhere and awaiting result. If they have offers in hand, ask them how they weigh it against the offer which u r gona give them. If they say they weigh urs more, ask them y and c if the answer is logical.



U have more to probe like this. Finally, I wud reiterate, do not deliver a CV under pressure to deliver w/o probing in or validating completely. Always have a back up to offer the client as soon as u come to know about such cases. U shud be the one to come to know about such cases first rather than client calling u and telling the candidate didn’t turn up or he ran away.



How to avoid & reduce candidates backing out:



• If you and your candidates are in the same area it is always advisable to meet face-to-face.



• Be it on the phone or in person spent as much time as you can and dig for information – what motivates him to look for a change, professional and personal reasons, what are his expectations in terms of money and roles, etc.



• It is important to be in control when it comes to recruiter-candidate relationship. To achieve that it is important that you conduct a thorough pre-qualifying. Get all the low-down about his background and aspiration, et al.



• Always insist on obtaining either verbally and/or in writing his/her response and commitment to the job offer. You may do this with a direct approach or with great subtlety.



• Which approach you resort to will depend on each individual or their level of seniority – you need to make the right judgment.



• Constantly update him/her on the process and try keeping-in-touch on a frequent basis.



• Pay close attention while talking to him/her and listen for those tones and expressed/unexpressed concerns and look for those signs that might indicate his intentions.



• If any of his/her words, expressions, actions gives you a sense of doubt and concern, then drop him/her and move on. It is better to drop him/her now than later have a back out in your hand.



• Have a set of questionnaire that you can run through with him/her before proceeding to qualify him - questionnaire that will test his seriousness and sincerity to look for a change.



• Do not hesitate to ask them if they have discussed with his/her family members about this plan to look for a job change. Especially for those who are married, please confirm with them if they have consulted their other half.



• Try and get inside your candidate’s mind, understand his needs and his aspiration. Pro-actively try to cover all areas that you possibly think will be a likely point of concern (reason for a back out) for him at a later stage and addressed them immediately.



Need more views and suggestions to streamline the process.



Best wishes,



-Srinivas Hari