How Long Should You Give Candidates to Consider a Job Offer?
by Devan Perine
We get anxious when hiring a new employee – we want our candidate to start right away so we can move on to the next thing on our to-do list. But first we need the candidate to accept our offer of employment. So how long should we wait to get an answer back?
Well… it depends.
While a standard turn-around time to respond to a job offer is 3-5 days, the answer depends on a couple key questions we need to ask ourselves before we make an offer of employment:
1. How urgent is this hire? If the company needs to make an urgent hire, it’s acceptable to give the candidate a near term deadline for responding. For example, make the offer on a Monday or a Tuesday, and ask for a response by the end of the week. Alternatively, make the offer on Thursday or Friday, and give the candidate the weekend to think it over. Either way, set a firm appointment time for a follow up conversation.
2. Is the candidate considering other offers? The job market IS heating up in some fields, and top candidates are getting multiple job offers! If we suspect that the top pick is handling multiple offers, it’s important to act fast. Give the candidate a specific date to respond. If they are considering other offers, they’ll most likely ask for longer to consider the offer. If the candidate is worth the risk of waiting, respect their wishes for additional time.
3. Do you have a “hot standby”? If you have a strong viable number two candidate, you can put a bit more pressure on your top choice. In the meantime, keep a conversation going with the hot standby. If you don’t have a reasonable second option, continue your recruiting process and develop your pipeline. (Read more about “hot standbys” here.)
Asking for a response within 48 hours is not considered best practice. The candidate needs time to make arrangements and think the offer through. If the candidate makes a quick decision they come to regret, it might also hurt the employer & the business. Studies show that employees who are unhappy are not as productive at work, take more sick leave and happy employees tend to stay in their job twice as long.[1]
Every situation is different – but it’s important to think all of these factors through before making an offer of employment.
Tags: Recruiting Best Practices
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