Wait…What? No job offers on Friday?
I know, I know. Let me explain.
Envision this with me. It’s Friday at 4PM and you’ve had a great week doing great work in the office and finally, the stress and work that went toward finding and interviewing candidates for that position you’re looking to hire at your company is over.
Finally, you have the candidate you’ve been looking for! You’re excited. They’re excited. It’s a perfect fit. You can hear the sweet symphony in your head, and the future awaits. Now, you want to end-cap your Friday on a high note by sealing the deal and sending the candidate that coveted job offer.
JUST (DON’T) DO IT.
If your candidate is just now hearing the offer for the first time, this can be (and usually is) a disastrous move. Making the offer on a Friday before a holiday weekend? Forget about it. Kiss your candidate goodbye.
Photo by Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash
Here’s why:
They start overthinking: The weekend is too long. A holiday weekend is even longer. Your candidate has too much time to dissect the offer, your company, and the position being offered. Its human nature to second guess and this can create counters on Monday that would have never happened otherwise.
Too many opinions: Suddenly everyone is a career coach/expert. Wife, Mom, Dad, in-laws, neighbors, 3rd grade teacher. Everyone seems to think they know what your candidate can and can’t get from your company. Keeping in mind they have no expertise in this area, have zero knowledge of the job market or your sector specialty – however they will fill your candidate’s head with ideas “they once heard about”. None of them want to pay the candidate’s bills, but they feel justified to influence his or her income.
The Internet: If you had access to your candidates browsing history after that Friday job offer, you would see endless salary comparisons, cost of living tools, Glassdoor reviews and inauthentic job forums they used to find subjective information. At this point in the weekend, information constipation kicks in. That’s soon followed by decision paralysis. It all becomes too much.
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.” – Steve Jobs
Monday: They counter your offer with unusually odd requests, and now you enter into an awkward negotiation that didn’t have to occur (what we refer to as the Monday Morning Offer Hangover).
Photo by Maria Teneva on Unsplash
CURE MONDAY MORNING OFFER HANGOVERS
We call it a hangover because all that information doesn’t actually create clarity or informed decisions. It usually just confuses and overwhelms a candidate until they choose to stay comfortable. In their current role. Often, it’s fears and confusion that keep people trapped in comfort. No worries! Being the smart, critical thinker you are, you’ve already planned ahead and thought through the psychology of presenting a job offer to your ideal candidate! In fact, you went ahead and created a checklist for yourself so you can be sure you’ve maximized your efforts. (Again, you’re a critical thinker!) You’ve put in so much work so far, so why not enhance your efforts? The checklist probably looks like this one:
- Never make an offer on a Friday or leading into a holiday.
- Always make a verbal offer first. Either directly or through your recruiter. Any negotiations should happen here or shortly after.
- Once terms have been agreed upon, create a written offer letter that confirms these terms. These should rarely have to be re-written if you prepared correctly and listened to the candidate.
- The written offer should request a signature of acceptance and be returned within a clear and designated time frame.
- Set an expectation! Again, we should have already come to terms, so there should be no reason to have to “think” about things further than the deadline. Don’t write an offer before the “thinking” is done. This isn’t a trap. A delay here is a sure sign of stalling for another offer or uncertainty about their decision.
It’s easy to cruise on the Friday end of day vibe. We’ve all done it. However, keeping these components in mind will keep the vibe going and allow you to have more hiring success. Remember, if it doesn’t open, it’s not your door.
Ryan Sirmeyer is a Senior Associate at Luxus+. He is a graduate of University of Central Florida and lives in Winter Springs with his wife and family. Outside of work, he enjoys being outdoors locally or enjoying time with his family at Disney World. Additionally, he and his wife are volunteer puppy raisers for Canine Companions for Independence. Prior to his recruiting career, Ryan worked as a Production Manager for the Santa Clara Vanguard.