Hiring managers/HR: your opinion re: potential candidate

MomtobeNJ

Two weeks ago I interviewed a great candidate for a full time position we have available. Both interviews went extremely well and references were fantastic. She was a perfect fit. We offered her the job and she wanted to negotiate salary. We were able to go up a small amount, but still a few thousand less than where she wanted to be. She turned down the offer, saying that childcare would be an issue for her because of the schedule (we needed her to work until 6 and her daycare closes at 6). She didn't specifically say it was because of the money, but that was the assumption I made - I think she was trying to say that the cost of additional childcare was the real problem. Anyway, she said no.

Yesterday I got an email from her. Her husband was approved for a permanent shift change at work, eliminating her concern about childcare because now he can pick up her kids. She is still very interested in the position if it is still available, which it is. We were planning to repost it this weekend because we really didn't have any other stellar candidates. 

I have never had this happen before. What are your thoughts?

WBMom

I used to work in HR - personally if she was a great fit and she is accepted the final offer that you negotiated with her I would move forward.  The extra cost to repost, interview etc is large and you have a great candidate.  I am not sure where you are located but in my area daycares close at 6 p.m. so it would not be unheard of to have someone turn down a job due to the work hours especially if no other reasonable arrangements could be made for childcare.  She would not contact you again if she were not interested at all.  If a candidate turned down a job because of salary that is what they would have relayed to me.  Plus it was always good information to provide a hiring manager - if a manager had multiple candidates turn down a job bc of salary then the job requirements/pay would need to be reviewd.  My 2 cents.

MomtobeNJ

I was leaning in this direction too. She seemed sincere throughout the whole process, and I really believed that she wanted the job but just couldn't make it work. 

What made me second guess: I had a coworker say it was "flaky" and that the candidate was probably holding out to see if we'd come back to her with more money. Now that we haven't, she said the candidate probably realized this was the best she was going to do and was regretting her decision. 

WBMom

Be honest with her - verify that she is comfortable with the salary negoiated and work hours.  Ask her if she has any outstanding questions that would prevent her from committing to the position - pose a couple questions on what prompted her to change her thoughts on the position. This will help you feel comfortable with the final decision. Nothing is ever guaranteed - you could find another great candidate in the next round of interviews or you could not. Good luck!

snicksnack

Estwd2 said:

I'm not in HR, but I hire for my own team. I'd offer it to her again. It's a legitimate reason to turn down a job and it sounds like the issue has been resolved.

I agree I don’t think it was flaky. Maybe the extra salary would have allowed them a nanny and when that did not happen there was no way to make it work.  Maybe she was hoping when you said no on salary that when she told you about childcare you could flex the hours.  I would hire her I hire for my team and good candidates are hard to find.  <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

MomtobeNJ

Thanks for your input, ladies. I'm going to give her a call today. 

ebp913

Did the person who thought it was flaky have kids?  If not, I think they may not really be understanding.  I could see the salary part playing a role if she was hoping for more money and then also worried about having to hire someone to pick up the kids from daycare.  That might make it financially a bad deal for her.  Sounds like she worked things out and/or realized that her salary expectation were too high and she's truly interested.  I would definitely not let a great candidate go over something like this. 

Pips09

If she was professional about everything, and didn't leave a bad taste in your mouth, I'd absolutely still consider her/hire her. Her situation changed, and you get to benefit from it.

shannm

Estwd2 said:

I'm not in HR, but I hire for my own team. I'd offer it to her again. It's a legitimate reason to turn down a job and it sounds like the issue has been resolved.

I agree. I don't understand why there is a question about the validity of the childcare excuse.

FemShep

Yeah, if my husband and I both *had* to work until 6, we'd be screwed.  DD1's after school program closes at 6, and DD2's daycare closes at 6.  Sounds like an absolutely legitimate reason to turn down a job, and if I were you, I'd be happy that her circumstances changed.

I'm curious, OP-what type of job is it that requires such a rigid schedule?

MomtobeNJ

FemShep said:

Yeah, if my husband and I both *had* to work until 6, we'd be screwed.  DD1's after school program closes at 6, and DD2's daycare closes at 6.  Sounds like an absolutely legitimate reason to turn down a job, and if I were you, I'd be happy that her circumstances changed.

I'm curious, OP-what type of job is it that requires such a rigid schedule?

It's actually not a terribly rigid schedule. It's a program coordinator position for several after school tutoring programs. The one that needs the most guidance and oversight is open until 6 pm, so I needed to make it clear that she would need to be on-site on a regular basis to evaluate and get them back on their feet.