How Do You Handle No-Show Candidates and Prevent Future Hiring Disappointments?

Dear All, I'm an HR consultant in Bangalore, and recently, I recruited a candidate for one of my clients. After three different rounds of interviews (client company's usual procedure), the candidate was selected, and the offer letter was issued. The candidate accepted the offer and provided the joining date (May 1st). I followed up with the candidate until April 30th, and the candidate confirmed joining on May 1st. On the evening of May 1st, I received a call from the client stating that the candidate hadn't shown up. Upon contacting the candidate, I learned that he was bed-ridden with a fever. After discussing with the management, we, "as per the candidate's request," rescheduled the joining date to May 14th. Despite regular follow-ups, on May 14th, after numerous phone calls, the candidate informed me that he was no longer interested in the position and was planning to take a career break. I had let down my clients for the second time, and they were furious!

Seeking Advice on Handling No-Show Candidates

My friends! My question is: Is there anything, other than starting to look for new candidates, that I can do in such a situation? For instance, should I consider blacklisting the candidate, or how can I avoid such situations in the future? Please advise on what you would have done differently. I await your reply.

Regards,
Ashwin

Be cool and relax. This is a common situation in the recruitment process, where after being promised an offer letter and after many follow-ups, candidates don't turn up for interviews or on the date of joining. The best option is to have more backup candidates for the required job positions. Even if one candidate doesn't turn up on time for an interview or on the date of joining, we have another candidate ready for the same date. Also, we need to clearly communicate to the candidate that if they don't turn up after the grace period, the opportunity will be given to another candidate, and no further chances will be entertained.

From what I can see, you have done what you can. You could have prepared and advised them as much as possible beforehand. This is the process I follow.

Dear Manoj,

Thank you for your valuable suggestion. Just like you mentioned, I did have backup candidates, so I handled the situation. The problem was that one of the interview rounds by my client is done by their onsite personnel via Skype. It was hard to align his date and time with the candidate's time.

Also, Manoj, is there any way you can ensure that we don't approach this candidate in the future? For example, blacklisting.

Regards,
Ashwin

I don't think about blacklisting a candidate. For example, as HR, sometimes we select a candidate and give them the offer letter, but due to reasons such as finding a better candidate or any other reason, we might cancel the previous offer letter by providing an explanation to the candidate.

For example, if we were in the candidate's shoes and received a better job offer after accepting an offer and attending an interview, we might also reject or change our mind about joining.

Therefore, it's not only about the candidates, but as HR professionals, we might also take similar actions. So, there isn't much to be done, but it depends on each individual's thinking, honesty, openness, etc.

All I do is not entertain the candidate in the future if he/she doesn't provide a satisfactory explanation. In short, everything is fair, so let's keep it simple.

Dear Manoj, thank you for that insightful advice. That's an excellent point of view you have provided. I'll definitely keep this in mind.

Regards,
Ashwin
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