Do you struggle to find awesome candidates for important positions, only to have them turn down the job when offered? What’s going on?

A recent study from Top Echelon identified the top three reasons candidates turn down job offers—today, though, we’ll focus on the third reason: timing in recruitment. According to the study, 22 percent of job candidates turned down a job offer because the company took too long to make the offer.

Scheduling six or more individual interviews with a candidate may be fine if they all happen on the same day or at least in the same week. Hey, hiring the perfect candidate is important, and those interviews make all the difference! But when the interviews are spread apart four to eight weeks, then we have a problem. Because when you drag out the hiring process, three unfortunate things happen: you leave a bad first impression, your best candidates accept other offers, and you waste time and money. At NewConfig, we will help you fill each role with ease and confidence, so you can speed up your timing in recruitment.

You only get one chance to make a first impression, and if that “first impression” takes months, you may have blown it. When your timing in recruitment is way too drawn out, candidates start to think they’re not your first choice, that there’s something wrong with them, or that you’re not a well-organized company. Do you really want to start a relationship with your future employee like that? Of course, you don’t!

With any candidate you hire, you want to make sure they have an excellent first impression to start out your long and happy business relationship. At NewConfig, we only match you with candidates who know what they are doing, so you know you can focus on making a great (and punctual) impression on each one of them.

Let’s revisit the stat I mentioned earlier. The top three reasons that candidates turn down job offers are (1) the salary being too low (28.8 percent), (2) other, better offers (23.0 percent), and (3) the company taking too long to make an offer (22.4 percent). Candidates don’t stop the job search if you’re taking too long; they need to support themselves and their families!

Now, you can’t do too much about a higher salary or a better offer if you’re already offering the best you can. But the good news about your timing in recruitment is that you’re in complete control. Sure, coordinating your hiring committee may be tricky, but because the moving pieces are internal, you’re able to make sure the timing is just right to snag the best candidates before they accept other offers.

Do yourself a favor: limit the time frame and/or the number of interviews you schedule if you want to make a hire and not waste your time and money.

In the US, the average length of the hiring process is about 24 days. This will vary with locations and positions, but we’ve found that if it takes much longer than this, you’ll lose your best candidates.

Now let’s talk about the money you lose. Let’s say the vacant position you’re trying to fill has a salary of $75K. Employees bring in an average of double their salary in revenue with about 220 working days in a given year. So that vacant position could be bringing in $150,000 annually, which breaks down to $681.82 per workday. As your timing in recruitment gets more and more drawn out, that potential revenue racks up a pretty devastating deficit.

In business, specialization is the key to success, and that includes specialization in your hiring process. NewConfig can help you perfect your timing in recruitment so you give a great first impression, snag the best candidates before they accept other offers, and use your time and money in the most efficient way possible. Stop hesitating and start hiring today!

Let a professional talk to you today about speeding up your recruiting. Call NewConfig today!