It is very gratifying when after a thorough recruitment and selection process, a candidate accepts the job offer. However, the situation quickly turns dire when that candidate rejects the same offer signed a few days before the entry date. This nightmare happens and is a recurring theme in recent months.
Our scenario unfolds when a candidate receives a job offer and decides to accept it. However, another employer also makes you an offer and it turns out to be better than the first one. It may also happen that your current employer presents you with a counterproposal. So what does the candidate do? The candidate does what he thinks is in his best interest: he accepts the second offer and rejects the first. . . after initially accepting it.
Is it ethical? From the business perspective it is not. The experience of “filling” a vacancy is exhausting and disruptive for a company, additionally, the cost of losing a candidate means repeating a selection process that can last between two and three weeks. From the candidate’s perspective, I’d probably say it’s a “gray area.” If the candidate notifies the rejection of the signed offer in time, the employer still has the possibility of hiring the second or third finalist, but if he does it three days before the date of entry, the other candidates were probably also participating in other processes and they are already installed.
Advice for candidates:
- Be honest, from the beginning you can tell the recruiter/employer that you are participating in other processes.
- Try to avoid situations where you accept and then turn down a job. For example, for your next job offer, you can ask an employer for more time to decide. You can also work on your negotiation skills if you feel like you didn’t get the salary or benefits you wanted. Remember, you don’t have to say “yes” to every job that’s offered, and you don’t have to accept right away. It is perfectly acceptable to ask for time to think about it.
- When you accept a job offer, take into consideration that your signature and his word signify a commitment to the people involved and/or the company.
- Rejecting a job offer after having signed it can have repercussions on your reputation since it undermines your credibility as a professional and the labor market is small, business owners or managers talk about their bad experiences with other people of the same level and you itself would be closing its doors to future job opportunities.
