When to give candidates a deadline to accept an offer

When you’re hiring in an early stage startup, you’re looking to fill strategic roles. You’re not looking to build out a marketing team; you’re trying to hire the one marketing super star, who can take on the responsibility one of the founders has been handling until that point. You’re not looking to build out an engineering org; you’re looking for the one senior data engineer who can take the needed data work from amateur to pro level. Even when hiring for junior roles, it’s one or two at a time.

While extremely limited on open headcount, you’re still trying to go through as many candidates as possible because hiring for the roles is crucial to the success of the business. You may find yourself in a position where a successful wave of recruiting simultaneously lands a number of great candidates, at different stages of their interview process. One may be in final rounds with a number of companies, the second has more on-sites over the next couple of weeks, and the third just started looking.

The first to come in does great and you’re ready to give her an offer. You’ve been interviewing for the role for a couple of months and this is the best candidate you’ve seen. You don’t know if others will match this caliber and want to make sure the offer is accepted. You present the offer, everything goes well and the candidate asks for time to think about it. You’re a startup, you’re flexible, you tell her to take her time. She’s in final stages and promises to get you a response by end of the week.

In three days, a second candidate does great on the phone screen and has a fantastic on-site a week later. Some pros and cons over the first candidate, but overall, a solid alternative. The candidate has other on-sites yet to come, so you don’t feel the pressure. You follow up with an email, conveying how impressed everyone is and how great the on-site went, while asking for a few days to get back with next steps. You’re trying to buy time for the first candidate to respond.

The end of the week rolls around. You haven’t heard from the first candidate. You reach out, she responds with excitement, asking for a few more days to make the decision. You’re keeping the second candidate on hold, hoping you can have the needed information to extend an offer or decline.

As luck would have it, a third candidate, who had rescheduled the initial call a few times, does well on the phone screen and, to make sure you speak with all great candidates, is invited on-site. This is starting to get interesting. Three potential candidates. You’ve got the upper hand in these negotiations. Let’s start to put pressure on the first candidate — flexibility has outlived its welcome. You email the first candidate, now two weeks after the initial offer presentation, giving her two days to make a final decision. You schedule a call with the second candidate three days in the future. Even if you have to turn him down, you’ll give great feedback and convey how good they were — you’re doing great!

Two days goes by, you hop on the phone with the first candidate. She tells you how great everything was, how tough the decision is, and how she’s going to accept an offer with a company she found closer aligned with her passion. That’s okay. No problem. Now you can focus on the other two candidates. Next day, you’re on the call with the second candidate. You tell him the great news! In response, he tells you that he’s accepted an offer from a different company a couple of days ago, as he was waiting too long to hear back. He wanted to hop on the phone, to directly convey how good the interview experience was and how he enjoyed the process. Well… that’s not what you had in mind, but fine — last but not least, here we go.

The third candidate interviews just as well. You’re ready to give an offer, but you’re not going to make the same mistake again. You’re not getting strung along nor loosing a potential fourth candidate. You present your offer, give a reasonable one week deadline, and feel like you’ve really grown from the experience. A week later, the candidate accepts your offer and is starting in three weeks. #Winner.

Two weeks later the same candidate emails you, thanks you for the great experience and informs you that he has decided to go a different direction with his career, and thus will be joining a different company.

You’ve got none in the hand. You’ve got none in the bush. You’re just confused on what went wrong and how three great candidates slipped through your fingers. You’re tough and will keep pounding the pavement … but with what takeaway?

To sum up what happened:

• Candidate #1 was late in her process and was holding off on accepting your offer because she was already waiting for offers from other companies. She eventually got the details and decided one of the other offers / roles was better.
• Candidate #2 was mid-process, and had some time to spare. You took too long, even with the available buffer. He accepted another offer due to low confidence that an offer was ever going to come from you.
• Candidate #3 was earlier in the process, and your offer was the first. Because of your deadline, he accepted before hearing back from other companies. In the next couple of weeks a better offer came along, and he changed his mind, with little remorse, since you forced his hand in the first place.

The timing with the first two candidates can be better mitigated, yet still not fully in your control. The third candidate scenario is a direct reaction to an offer deadline. More commonly, the candidate will turn down the time-pressured offer.

What could have been done differently? Here’s an alternative approach to the same timeline:

Candidate #1 is presented with an offer

After restating the uniqueness of the opportunity and summarizing the details, ask the candidate to provide expected timing for getting a response. If the timing is too far out (more than two weeks), work toward getting an earlier commitment. Regardless, be sincere and transparent: explain that you are interviewing other candidates for the role; underscore that the candidate is your top choice, yet you can not hold the position for her indefinitely. Schedule a follow up phone call during this conversation. The follow-up should be at the midway point between now and the date of expected response. As a reason for the check-in call, explain that it is to answer any potential questions that may come up.

Candidate #2 does well on the phone screen

It’s been half a week since candidate #1 received offer details. It’s another half a week until your check-in call with her. You schedule the on-site with candidate #2 a week into the future, knowing that by then you will have additional data points about the first and be a few days from her self-set response date.

Check-in call with candidate #1

It’s half a week after the successful screen with candidate #2. You’re trying to figure out what’s going through the first candidate’s mind. You ask if she has any questions. There may not be any questions of substance. You ask if she understands the offer details, discuss any bonus or equity details, work from home policy, etc. Then dive into practical questions:

• Does the candidate have concerns about the location?
• Is the family excited about the opportunity?
• Based on the reasons they are looking, does the opportunity match her goals?
• How many companies are in the running and what the pros / cons are?

Read the answers directly and between the lines. Pay attention to tone, pauses, and hesitations. Don’t press if the candidate doesn’t feel comfortable answering.

Candidate #2 comes in for the on-site

The second candidate comes in and does a great job. You’ve spoken with candidate #1 half a week ago and have a good understanding of where she is in her process: final stretch, but deeply analyzing her options. In another half a week you will have an answer. You can reasonably ask candidate #2 to give you 3–4 days to get back to him. You ask one of the interviewers from the on-site to send a follow-up email in two days, with a brief note about how much that interviewer enjoyed the conversation the two had. This creates a check-in point and keeps the candidate engaged.

Candidate #3 does well on phone screen

It’s the day after candidate #2 was on-site. You schedule candidate #3 for an on-site a week into the future. You have a call in two days with candidate #1 to get a final response. Then you will either stop the process with candidate #2 and #3 or make an offer to candidate #2. The timing works well, with another 1-week check-in call and 2-week response call.

Response call with candidate #1

The candidate asks for more time. You reiterate everyone’s excitement about her joining the team. You then summarize the fact that she had two weeks already, you agreed on a timeline, and as you mentioned there are other candidates you are holding off on. You ask again if there are any questions and what is causing the hesitation. This is where the candidate will most likely bring up wanting to have all her options in front of them to make a decision, while not having yet had heard back from some of the other companies. You convey that you completely understand, yet you cannot hold the position for more than another 24 hours and ask the candidate to email you the decision by same time tomorrow. The email option is good because the candidate will not be sleeping much that night. If she decides then, it’s an opportunity to email you any time, unlike a scheduled call.

Candidate #1 declines the offer

It’s almost end of the next day. You keep staring at your inbox. Finally, an email from candidate #1 pops up. It’s a no go. You ask for feedback about your interview process: what went well, what could have been done differently, and overall aim to understand the deciding factor.

Candidate #2 is presented with an offer

It’s been four days since candidate #2 was at the on-site. It’s been two days since one of your team members checked in with him. He’s excited and engaged. You send an email, conveying you have great news and ask for the next available time for a quick call. The candidate is free that evening. You go through the same playbook: offer details, agree on response timeline, schedule a mid-way check-in call.

Candidate #3 comes in for the on-site

It’s been half a week since candidate #2 received his offer details. Half a week until the check-in call. The on-site with candidate #3 goes well. You follow the same playbook: 3–4 day buffer, with a post-2-day interviewer check-in.

Check-in call with candidate #2

Same playbook: what new questions does the candidate have? Looks like you’re toward the top of the list. He’s since had more on-sites and is leaning toward accepting your offer. The candidate negotiates the offer details. You convey that you can definitely have that conversation, but if you were able to get him the numbers he wants, is he ready to accept the offer? The candidate confirms. You schedule a follow up call toward the end of the next day.

You may have already had a budget to play with or needed to get approval, either way, the ask is reasonable and you’re able to meet the request. You get on the call with the candidate and share the good news. He’s in! The candidate verbally accepts the offer and you agree on a start date. You send a formal offer letter, which the candidate signs by the next day.

Declining candidate #3

It’s been five days since the third candidate was on-site. Three days since an interviewer has check-in with him. Not ideal. You send an email, explaining that while the candidate did well on the interview, a candidate who was earlier in the process has accepted an offer and the role is now filled. You offer to get on a call, if the candidate is interested in receiving feedback. You put in great effort into getting useful and constructive feedback to a candidate, who’s already doing well. Most companies don’t give feedback and most of those that do, give fluffy responses about alignment / fit, which a candidate can’t use to improve. This is a great opportunity to stand out. The world is a small place. You’ll probably be hiring again at some point and this will make you stand out among all the competition.

Takeaways

Don’t pressure, but control the timeline.

• get the candidate to propose the response timeline
• set a mid-point check-in
• hold the candidate accountable for getting a response within agreed upon timeline

Create a sense of care and empathy.

• understand and address the decision points for the candidate
• touch on tangible topics impacting the decision (family opinion, location, offer details)

Every candidate deserves an awesome experience.

• keep in touch at well paced intervals
• be transparent with the candidate
• provide feedback