A Job Offer Was Made, Not Accepted

One thing that people, myself included, often seem to lose sight of is the fact that just because a job offer is made it does not necessarily mean it is going to be accepted. Of course when the candidate has shown enthusiasm and excitement, those probabilities increase in your mind. The search is not over until the offer letter is signed (and even then,  at a previous employer, I’ve seen people back out before their start date!)

If you remember from my blog post last week, I presented two top quality candidates for a management role at one of our portfolio companies to complete the final short-list of three. The third candidate, whom I did not bring to the table, had a previous working relationship with the CEO. Obviously the CEO had first hand experience regarding this candidate’s ability and felt making that candidate an offer was the best move. 

As it turns out, despite being amped about the opportunity, this 1st choice candidate ended up turning down the offer as he felt he had some unfinished business to take care of at his current employer. The CEO respected this decision, especially since it demonstrated a sense of loyalty and responsibility. What happens now? I thought you’d never ask. Now my candidate, who I’m told was a “very close second choice”, has moved to the front of the line.

We’ll see how this all turns out, but the bittersweet recruiting journey continues since last week I was pretty sure this search was all but complete. Being the nice guy that I am, I let my team know that I’d have the capacity to recruit for more roles. I anticipate a very busy time coming up, but I really don’t mind too much, as this only means I have even more opportunities to find top talent.