Business Ethics
One of the career coaches that the article quoted suggested that the candidates tell the recruiters and the hiring managers that they are meeting with other companies and looking at several job opportunities. That is the honest and forthright approach with which I wholeheartedly agree.
The writer then talked about a specific candidate who was interviewing for a couple of jobs. He had gotten a job offer from a company about whom he had definite concerns. On the horizon for him was the start of the interview process with another company. Although he had severe doubts about this first company, he verbally accepted the offer - I believe it's the "bird in the hand" thing and continued to interview with the second company. He told the company who had made him the offer, that he couldn't fill out the paperwork immediately, and then continued the interview process with the new company, trying to get them to speed up the process. And they did and within 2 weeks he had an offer and backed out of the first company's offer.
What bothers me the most and what I feel is unethical, is that he deliberately did not tell the first company who made him the offer the truth. My advice to him would have been to let the company know that you are very interested, that you appreciate the offer, but you have a couple of other interview commitments that you want to follow through... and not verbally accept the offer. He also could have asked what their time line was in terms of waiting for him to complete this process.
About a year ago, I went through a similar experience with a candidate who renegged on an offer after accepting it. This was the first time in all the years of my doing executive search (over 30!) that this had happened. The candidate accepted an offer from my client, an entepreneurial company, and then we continued to negotiate certain points of the contract. At no time did he ever let me know that he wasn't 100% sure of this. He was dragging out some of the deal points and even when I asked him point blank if there were any other offers out on the table, he insisted there were none. When a candidate accepts a job, the interview process comes to a halt. So there were no more candidates presented and in fact a couple of candidates were told that the position was filled... After all he had accepted the job. About 10 days later, he called me to tell me he had accepted another job offer and was renegging on his commitment to start work at this other firm. Needless to say I was angry, not at the fact that a company came along that he thought was more appropriate for him, but that he lied. He cost me and my client a lot of time - and we had to crank up the search again, as the second and third choices of candidates were already off the market.
If a company wants you badly enough to make an offer, most of the time they will accommodate you in terms of completing your business opportunities and give you some time to think. And if the recruiter knows this, they can accommodate their client and keep the flow of people going to meet with them as potential back-up candidates. But if someone accepts a position and then backs out, well, to me that is totally unethical and they shouldn't have accepted the position to begin with.
One of my strong beliefs in business and in life is that we are only as good as our word. and if you are not consistent and honorable, your reputation may & very well could preceed you. So don't operate out of fear... and be honest - it will pay off in the end.
