After the Hire, Keep the Candidate Warm
This story pertains to a personal friend who is not a digital marketer, but it applies to any hire.
A successful hire is a dance that does not end until months after the new employee is in the job. And certainly, a hire is not over when a candidate accepts an offer.
In the case of my friend, she is an engineer who has been living in NY, and working locally. She determined that she was ready to explore some new career opportunities, including ones that required relocation. Her job search was actually quite successful, resulting in several offers.
She received an offer from a multinational behemoth you would definitely recognize, without their ever flying her to St. Louis to meet them face to face!
Their corporate policy is such that there is to be no contact between the employee and the hiring manager (except for scheduled telephone interviews), and after accepting the offer she heard nothing further from her new boss.
My friend got cold feet. The prospect of uprooting her family and moving across the country began to feel less appealing. And she made the decision to reneg on her acceptance of the offer.
Could this situation have had a different outcome? In my opinion, absolutely.
The hiring process takes place in stages, and the stage after finalizing an accepted offer is “keeping the candidate warm”. Though you might argue that adult professionals should honor their decisions, I am here to tell you that second-guessing, and fear of the unknown, have a powerful pull on even the most rational folks.
How differently might things have played out if the hiring manager had been authorized to call his new hire to begin to develop a personal connection? If he had sent a small basket of St. Louis goodies? If he had even sent an email full of enthusiasm for all that he hoped they would accomplish together once she arrived?
Instead, anxiety and indecision won over, and my friend has decided to resume her job search, locally.
By the way, the concept of keeping candidates warm does not only apply to instances of relocation. It is important for every hire. In fact, I would say that it is important for every relationship. But you did not come to me for relationship advice.
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