You are looking to hire a new employee. You have advertised the job, reviewed resumes and conducted interviews. You finally have chosen the top candidate, but then you get a surprise. The person turns down your offer. It can be a real blow – a lot of time and effort that did not yield the result you wanted.
But all is not lost. As a company recruiter, there may still be an opportunity to hire the person at some point in the future. If you take the right steps, you may be able to entice the person back. Here are some things to do.
1. Try to find out why he or she turned you down
You can approach the candidate and inquire why they decided to go with another company. Let the person know that you are following up because you want to improve the hiring process at your company and make your business as attractive as possible to potential employees. Express your gratitude to the person for his or her interest in your company.
Some things you might want to ask the person include – what would have made our offer more agreeable, more to the person’s liking, where is the person going and what kind of offer did he or she receive?
If the person is agreeable to talking with you, ask him if you can keep in touch and what the best way would be to do that. Let them know how much you value their expertise and wish them well in their new position.
2. Stay in touch
One good way to keep in touch is through LinkedIn. Follow up with the person in about six months with a phone call to see how things are going. From time to time, give them updates as to what is going on at your company.
Again, all of this is based on their willingness and degree of comfort in talking with you. If they are at all uncomfortable maintaining the relationship, naturally you should avoid the follow up.
3. Perseverance
After about 18 months, invite them out to lunch to catch up. Try to entice them again into coming to work for you. How can you sweeten the offer? Do a comparison between your company and the one chosen by the person to see how you measure up, and tell the person how you can improve on the previous offer.
If your company is looking for reliable, qualified workers, there is no better place to go than Opti Staffing. We thoroughly evaluate all of our applicants to provide your company with employees who can get the job done. Contact Opti today