A reader writes:
How honest are companies about their reasons for rescinding a job offer? I applied at a large multi-national company, ran through 3 interviews, and ended with the HR recruiter sending me an email that they were waiting on my background check to complete and that she was going to call me the next day with the intent of making an offer.
Here I am thinking I have this in the bag. Next day, no call. So I email, with no response to the email. Crickets. During this time of silence, one of my references lets me know they had called her for a reference check. So I convince myself that they’re just finishing up references before officially making me offer. Of course, I become frantically anxious and I finally break down and leave her a voicemail three business days after the initial email. I get a call back and she tells me she spoke with the hiring manager and that they are restructuring the position, the position duties and they’re not sure if they’re hiring for said position anymore. She tells me I should take the other job (one that I had already turned down!) that I was offered instead of waiting for them to get their ducks in a row. Good luck and that was it. Completely written off. Um, what?
After having a few days to cool down, I guess that’s all good and fine, I understand a tight economy and changing business needs, but I checked online and the job was re-listed! The exact same description of job duties, wording has not been changed. I know I have a clean background, my references were excellent and I definitely hit it off with the hiring manager, so I am a little confused. Was it really a restructuring or did they just have a change of heart? Can you shed some light into the possible reasons for rescinding a job offer?
Okay, first of all, there is no job offer until you have the formal offer in writing. Someone telling you they intend to make you an offer? Not an offer. Someone saying they’re just waiting for a few final pieces and then they’ll put together an offer? Not an offer. There is no job offer until you have a formal job offer in writing. Never, ever count on it based on someone’s word, and definitely never turn down another job on the promise of another offer forthcoming.
Why? Because things change. Budgets get frozen, last-minute candidates emerge, references can raise concerns (even if you think they won’t), positions get restructured, the person who was supposed to just rubber-stamp the decision gets more involved, minds can change. And lots more that I’m not thinking of here.
As for what happened in your situation, there are a few possibilities:
1. They told you the truth. They’re restructuring the position. It’s not reflected in the job ad, because the changes are less about the job itself and more about who they want to fill it. They’re now looking for someone with more experience in X or more of an orientation toward Y. You’d think this would be reflected in the ad, but it’s not always, particularly if it’s more about soft skills. (See examples 2 and 3 in this post.)
2. They didn’t tell you the truth. They simply changed their mind about you, and it was easier for them to fall back on “restructuring the position” than to tell you that your attitude makes them uneasy, or they saw something about you online that gave them pause, or a reference raised red flags, or a better candidate emerged at the last minute. (At this stage, they should tell you the truth, but the reality is that many employers won’t.)
3. Your references aren’t as good as you think they are. Or they are perfectly good, but just not what this hiring manager was looking for. A good reference-checker isn’t just going through a perfunctory checklist about whether you were punctual and didn’t embezzle; she’s asking probing, thoughtful questions about your strengths, your weaknesses, how you operate, what kind of management you do best with, and so forth. So you could have perfectly lovely references, but their answers just weren’t quite in line with what the employer wants for this job. In other words, when done well, references aren’t just about being “a good worker” or not; they’re much more nuanced than that and are about your fit for this particular job in this particular culture. Even the greatest employee isn’t going to be the right fit everywhere.
4. The reposted ad that you saw was a mistake. Say, for instance, that they have an HR assistant who keeps all job ads fresh until the position has been filled. She’s junior enough that she hasn’t yet heard about the decision to restructure the job, and so she went ahead and reposted the ad when she saw it was about to expire, or when she saw that it had fallen to the bottom of the site’s listings, or whatever. In this scenario, they were 100% truthful with you and you’re reading something in to the reposted ad that’s not correct.
So you’ve got a bunch of possibilities here and no real way to know which one it is. That’s why the biggest message to take away is the one we started with: Never assume you have a job offer until you really do.
{ 59 comments… read them below or add one }
One other possibility is the posted job is actually a position that reports to a different manager or comes out of a different budget. I’d reapply.
Two
AAM is right. You don’t have a job offer until one is in front of you on table. And even then, you don’t have a job until pretty much you start working for the paycheck.
However, that does not excuse the HR person saying she would contact the OP on a specific day with the intent of offer only to come up with some story about restructuring the position. In my opinion, that’s the problem. These people should really think before they open their mouths with some “we’re going to offer you the job” hogwash. Like the OP, it gets their hopes up, they make rash decisions in turning down other offers because this is their dream job, etc. Of course, that’s the OP’s decision to react in that manner, but things might be a bit better in this crazy world if people didn’t say things they could not follow through with – this being one of those examples.
Just say “We’ll be in touch.” Which can mean yes or no.
Totally agree.
I agree with you, but I wanted to point out that it’s not always the HR person’s fault. I have been told a few times to tell someone they have the job, and then told to tell them they don’t have it. It’s not up to me. I’m just the one who has to crush their dreams when my bosses change their mind. Is it right? Of course not, but it happens.
Having to “tell them they don’t have it” is one thing — but simply clamming up rather than actually telling that is hard to excuse.
Exactly!
It never ceases to amaze me how many times I’ve seen you post something along the lines of “there is no job offer until you have a formal job offer in writing”. It’s getting almost as commonplace as the “is this legal?” question.
So, is it legal to tell somebody they are sure get the job and then go back on it? :-)
Yes. And it is legal to give someone a written offer, with a start date and salary, and then rescind it. Such is life.
Uh, that’s not true. An employer doesn’t get to offer someone a job, wait until they’ve quit their current job, rescind the offer and then say, “such is life”.
Here’s info from Donna Ballman on this:
http://employeeatty.blogspot.com/2011/12/is-my-offer-letter-contract.html
What little of the page I could read (it froze up my browser and won’t allow me to page down) — indicates that the person was hired, and after being hired they proposed cutting her pay. Different matter, different details, although related.
I don’t know labor laws in Texas concerning pay cuts.
But this is in contrast to making a written offer and then rescinding it before you start work. I know that in some states, you can get into trouble for doing that. I was in a company that did that once, a gentleman had resigned his job as a police officer to take a computer programming trainee job, moved to another state. At 9 am he was told “we have a freeze on, the offer’s withdrawn.”
At 1 pm, he returned with an attorney.
At 2 pm, he started work.
And further legal trouble if you are a competitor of the company that you lured the employee away from, as it could be argued that you extended an employment offer to a critical staff member, not to employ him or her, but to deliberately screw up the competition.
I’m not an attorney — but there’s another factor in here, the ETHICAL factor.
Donna basically says that unless the offer letter promises anything other than at-will employment, they can change the terms of employment at any time (including deciding not to hire you). The exception is fraud — i.e., they had no intention of ever honoring the agreement — but this is hard to prove.
Keep in mind that just because your friend’s company caved, that doesn’t mean that would have lost in court. It just means that they didn’t want to go through the hassle of a lawsuit.
Oh yes, they do…..happened to me.
There’s a lot of truth to that statement. I’m currently in the middle of a so-called “transition” from my current position to another inside of my company.
I don’t have any formal offer letter or other documentation, just an empty promise. I’m actively hitting the streets for a new job and interviewing as much as possible. At a previous company, they had everything lined up in a row – but my current one, mostly because they’re dysfunctional.
I don’t agree with your comment about people who do interviewing do not know what they are doing and/or not good at doing it. If any company takes stock in the type of people they will employ, they will hire people who know how to go about getting these people. Most of us that do intereviewing have done our homework especially with this tough job market; we have to be able to weed out the less qualified quickly.
I’m not sure what this refers to.
Looks like an attempt to respond to point 1 of Monday’s “10 Secretes of a Hiring Manager” USNews column.
Ah, got it. Anonymous, unfortunately there are tons of interviewers out there who just aren’t good at it. Some are, of course — but many aren’t. This blog is full of examples of them.
I just want to tell the OP if they read this how sorry I am that happend to them. The same thing happend to me this week. I interviewed, the interviewer and I hit it off ( i didn’t apply for the position, they contacted me off my resume) I interviewed with another person, I interviewed a second time with the original, and then I did a DISC profile. Got a generic email from someone completely removed from the process saying the regular spcheal. I screamed, I yelled, I sorta cried…then I sent a very kind email to the original interviewer inquiring if I could have done anything differently and letting him know I wish them luck finding the right candidate. UGH! So OP, it sucks and Im sorry! :)
That’s the exact right way to handle it!
Tara, I’m so sorry! I can totally sympathize with you, the private screaming, yelling, sorta crying bit…I’m really sorry that this happened to you :(
It’s definitely hard to stay cool when you feel like you’ve been taken for a ride, but I’ve learned that how you handle situations like this is a test within itself. I played the understanding and professionalism card when they called me with the news (mostly because I was absolutely paralyzed with shock), but after the call was different story. That’s when the yelling and crying bit kicked in. And I think it’s valid to feel those kinds of emotions. Sounds like you handled the news with professionalism and grace so I’d say that’s a personal win and a plus.
There is something out there for you. Same for me. I know it. We just have to keep looking and continue to stay positive :)
Tara, I just wanted to say that if all of my applicants were like you I would feel like I was in heaven. You are a class act. That is the best way to handle a rejection in my opinion. :)
As a hiring manager, I can attest that the #1 scenario listed above happens for me as the business changes around me. It’s no slam on the wonderful people we spoke to in the first round.
One more reason — somewhat in line with other postings that have been made by me in the last couple days –
Sometimes, an internal candidate steps forward and he or she wants the job. If that candidate is told “we’re going in a different direction, outside” — and decides to move on before he/she has to train and indoctrinate the new hire, management might have to change their game plan. I’ve seen that happen as well.
One more reason — somewhat in line with other postings that have been made by me in the last couple days –
Sometimes, an internal candidate steps forward and he or she wants the job. If that candidate is told “we’re going in a different direction, outside” — and decides to move on before he/she has to train and indoctrinate the new hire, management might have to change their game plan. I’ve seen that happen as well.
And another reason – if a company goes into a hiring freeze, they can be forced to fill that position from within.
Well, if there really was a hiring freeze, the job wouldn’t be reposted online.
Just going by my own experiences, and from what I see here at my poorly run company, I have to say that interviewers (especially hiring managers) don’t have a clue (incompetent at interviewing), and employers lie (afraid to tell anyone the truth).
I just read OP’s post below about the reposting being a mistake. They should have been more careful, though, and taken it down right away.
Wow. Thank you, Alison and everyone. I appreciate your answers.
I’m the OP of the question and I’ve pretty much learned my lesson about the no offer until you have a written offer as opposed to someone telling you that they’re going to offer you a job. I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading in the days since. I’ve never been in this situation, known anyone to be in this situation or I expected this to ever happen, so in that way I guess I was a bit naive about it, hence the above frantic email to you ;). It would have been my first corporate “career track” job after recently getting out of school. Most of my other jobs have been at non-profits where I’ve gone from being an intern to staff, so there hasn’t been that kind of ambiguity in the hiring process.
Well, I can say I know what to expect next time and not to put my eggs in a basket until everything is solid. And I will consider this bump just another of life’s lessons :). That’s the only thing you can do. And the job I turned down was a first right of refusal. Luckily, I’m on very good terms with the people that work there and they’ll reconsider me again, but I will have to properly interview against others for the job.
The re-posting of the job was a mistake, it was on a cycle on the job posting site and has since been removed. I do think they were being honest about the restructure, so I can at least feel better about that.
If they issue was the background check, make sure you request a copy of the report. It’s your legal right and if there is incorrect information this is really the only way you’re going to find out about it.
Besides, they make for fun reading.
Already ahead of you! I’ve requested it. Everything looks good, it’s complete and the information that needed to be verified says verified. I’m 99.9 percent sure it wasn’t anything to do with the background check.
And yes, I agree, it was pretty educational finding out what kinds of information they check you out for.
When I got mine, I considered photocopying it and giving it to my fiancee’s parents as a gag gift. :D
LOL
!!! That would have been awesome!
A woman I worked with was turned down for a job because of a background check, only to find out later it was erroneous information…but by then, the job was gone. She was pretty devastated (it had stated she’d had a felony arrest! The company had the wrong SS#), as she was being laid off at her current place of employment due to cutbacks.
I want to know why companies are wanting to run credit checks on candidates now for customer service type jobs. If you’ve been out of work 18+ months, most people’s credit scores are going to take some kind of hit. Such as, we lost 80% of our household income but had to fix the hole in the roof that of course showed up…had to tap that HELOC.
Excellent advice!
What really makes me cringe here is the HR person saying “she was going to call me the next day with the intent of making an offer.” I am in HR and would never allude to making an offer until we’re done with all the steps and I’m 100% sure, even if the hiring manager asked me to do it, because I’ve seen things play out in all the ways AAM mentions. I would still call the person and tell them we are still interested, that they are the top candidate or one of the top candidates, apologize for the wait, etc.
What AAM says about references is true, but I would add that checking references is not a formality. Sometimes it feels that way, because so often it does not change the decision, but they can actually tell the employer more nuanced things about you, which may sway them. That’s why, in searches for higher level/professional positions, I make sure to present references as part of the decision making process. You could be a great employee, but by talking to references they learn that you do not have the qualities they are seeking for that particular position (or just that someone else has more of them, which is particularly true in this job market). We might encourage you to apply for other jobs at our company, but realize you are not the right person for this job.
Also, I had the experience once of telling candidates we had interviewed that we were restructuring the position. At the moment that I told them this, this was indeed the truth. Then a couple months later, the higher level manager vetoed that decision and insisted we re-post it again. Maybe the folks we interviewed two months before saw the posting and probably thought I was lying. Nope. Just a case of managers disagreeing and changing minds.
So try not to take it too personally. Unless stuff like this happens to you repeatedly, it is not you, it’s them.
On the topic of references, AAM and Elizabeth have raised excellent points, making me wonder how good my own references might be. In a way, it’s who can tell the best story and are they interested in telling your story? For instance, HR may have called them at work as they are trying to put out a customer fire – you’re not going to get their full attention or interest. Also what if your best references are becoming dated? Lastly, if I were to be a reference for someone, how could I be a better one?
this happened to my friend a few months ago. she applied for a job, got an email saying “we would like to offer you the job. it starts on X date”
she replied, “I accept, but I have a trip planned can the start date be moved to X + one week?”
she got no response for 3 days despite sending a follow up email and leaving a voicemail. on the 4th day she got a response stating “the date is firm…” she said, “ok, I will start on the original date.”
they then responded that the offer was rescinded.
freakin jerks if you ask me.
V, I think I can offer this advice to your friend…
Last month I was interviewed for a job. During the second interview the interviewer asked if I was offered the job, when I could start. I said that I had to give my current employer a 2-week notice; and then I added that I had already committed to a vacation at the end of the February. The interviewer asked for the exact date when I would need to take off and noted the dates in her notes.
And then a week later, I was offered the job. Before I signed the employment letter I called and spoke to the hiring manger (he interviewed me during the first interview; he was not present during the second interview). I asked if the interviewer had related to him that I would be taking a vacation during the probation period if I accepted the offer. He said, “No problem! Enjoy yourself in the mountains!” (It’s going to be a ski trip.)
Of course I have accepted the offer. I will start my new job next Monday.
Advice: I think you just have to be upfront about when you could start working and whether you are going to take off for vacation soon, and you have to be upfront about it before – not after – you get your job offer. If my application got turned down because of my ski trip, I guess I would not want to work for that employer either.
yes but if that question isnot broached during the interview it would be somewhat presumptive to say “by the way, I have a vacation in 3 weeks”
it could easily have been resolved if the employer communicated with my friend instead of dodging her calls and emails for a few days. i know she wanted the job more than the trip
Yeah, in general you should bring up pre-planned vacation time once you get the offer, not before (unless it comes up naturally in conversation before that; you’re not hiding it, just not proactively raising it until it becomes relevant). Here’s a post on this: http://www.askamanager.org/2008/06/pre-planned-vacation-when-job-hunting.html
I just recently went through a hiring process and my new employer did something that I’d never seen before and wondered how common it was. They didn’t begin background and reference checks until AFTER I had received and accepted their offer. It all worked out in the end, but did provide me with a couple of weeks of anxiety and awkwardness while I waited for them to finish. (Not that I expected anything bad, but one never knows for sure what other people are telling them). Is this common? What’s the advantage in proceeding in that order?
Some places do do that. I’ve never understood why — seems like too much risk for both sides.
That doesn’t make sense to me either. We would never do that at my company. I’m glad it worked out for you.
I’ve done that before when someone comes highly recommended to me from a colleague and I’m in a bind.
There must be some degree of risk in your mind though, or you wouldn’t be doing the checks at all, right? So what would happen if you turned up concerns in the checks after they were hired?
I’ve seen such a thing occur.
A company will usually defend itself by asking certain questions on the application. For instance =
“Have you ever been convicted of a felony? You may omit offenses that were adjudicated in a juvenile court, and violations of the Selective Service Act between 1966 and 1973″…
If the applicant says “NO” … and he/she is later found out to have, as we say, a “rap sheet” — it’s instant termination time. And it’s termination for cause. False statements on the application.
There are also cases — someone is fired for sexual harrassment, for instance, or in a school environment, is dismissed for inappropriate moral conduct. Employers used to just hush it up. Not today.
The reasons for termination are spelled out, because if you let, say, a harrasser walk out — and give a strong beaming recommendation to his next employer — or someone employed by you does — YOU’RE ON THE HOOK.
If a teacher is dismissed for inappropriate conduct with a student, that goes on the record so he or she doesn’t just go to another town in another state and does (whatever) again.
Sure there’s a degree of risk, but i think it’s minimal with a trusted referral. I still do the checks as part of due diligence and consistency. Of course the person knows up front that the job is conditional on the checks just in case. So far I haven’t had any issues.
NEVER give notice at a current position until you have the letter IN HAND.
Two experiences I had -
One, a job I applied for in the mid-1980s. I had three interviews. The position was offered to me verbally, with a salary. I wanted to go there as did the hiring manager. HR dragged their feet on the cover letter… finally I had to go over and pick it up. Only THEN could I give notice to my current employer.
Two – when I was out of work. I traveled 1400 miles (at my own expense) and managed to get my foot in the door. I had a full day of job interviews. We even agreed on a salary. We shook hands. I thought “HEY that’s it!” and I really wanted to go there. I didn’t hear back, I waited three weeks, I called. “What went wrong?”
Long story – they hired someone else. Six months later they called ME and said “we made a mistake…” (long story) and offered me the job then, but I was in another situation at that time.
Never think “I’m in” until that letter is in your hand. I mentioned “internal situation” above because I have seen it happen – an open position is about to be offered to someone externally — a disgruntled, passed-over employee decides to resign over it — and the hiring game then changes completely as management “comes to Jesus” and takes a broader look at what should have been done.
Often outside offers are pulled before they’re formally made, because internally, the company has determined that they had better stay inside for this one.
In our state, if a new job is rescinded, our govt unemployment office will still deny you for unemployment because you QUIT A JOB even though you had a new written offer in hand. Ridiculous.
Wow. That is hugely F’d up.
I landed a great job recently at an international firm in San Jose, California. Took about 3 months of interviews and waiting by the phone for that offical offer. I drove 3 hours to the headquarters to pick up the offer in writing. Wasn’t going to chance it by mail. I was told by my new boss that they had another applicant they were going to make an offer just one day before they received my application in the mail. The applicant would have been an excellent choice, but I had more experience in certain regulatory matters that they needed at the time. Timing sometimes is everything.
What about if your job offers don’t/won’t include offer letters? Of the two job offers I’ve received, not a single one has included anything in writing, they were both over the phone.
If they’re resistant when you ask for it in writing, then I’d do this: Write up the terms of the offer that you’re accepting — all of it: title, salary, benefits, etc. — and send it over an email, saying something like, “I want to reiterate my understanding of the offer.” The idea is that you want something in writing so that later on there’s no question about what was agreed to.
hi,
I have a similar situation, however mine is unfortunately worse.
I was offered a full time, salary job with the company. Fiscal year end is September and I was hired at the end of October. After working here 2.5 months, I was told that they have received their new budgets, and they are restructuring so that my position will be taken over by someone else who will be doing two jobs at once. I have now been laid off. This position didn’t even EXIST before hiring me so I find it hard to believe that they did not already plan for it to be taken over by someone at our sister office.
What are the legalities here? Since I am within 3 months probation, I assume there is nothing I can do? I quit another job for this position :(
Unfortunately, this isn’t uncommon. It’s legal unless there’s evidence that they made you a fraudulent offer — i.e., convincing you to leave another job knowing that this one would be eliminated in a few months. But short of actual evidence of that, it’s probably just really crappy timing. However, you can certainly try to negotiate for more severance by pointing out that you left a good job for this one.
This is what exactly I am going tru… thanks for the article, at least now.. I am not so hopeful about it. I’m back to my reality… thanks