As exciting as the progress with specific job applications may be, donât get too attached to them. In other words, donât stop searching for promising leads until a new employment contract is signed! Until this is the case, a lot can suddenly change and significantly diminish your chances. The reason bad news often comes as a shock to top candidates in particular lies in the interests of the recruiting side not to share all the latest internal updates with them too quickly.
Here are a few examples:
The hiring manager has hinted that the decision has been made in your favor. You feel theyâre honestly looking forward to welcoming you on board. Then, the corporation’s distant headquarters announces a cost-cutting program and a hiring freeze. The manager is determined to get the hire approved anyway, but this may take longer than you can afford to wait. Although the threat had been looming on the horizon for a while already, they kept quiet about it because they were afraid of losing you as their candidate of choice.
The hiring manager appears to be a great boss and views you as a strong addition to their department shortly. When the contract is about to be signed, the manager themselves accepts a job offer from another company and is replaced by someone else who doesnât know you yet. The hiring process starts over, and its outcome becomes uncertain for you. The first manager had been in talks with several headhunters for a while, but couldnât share that with you, obviously.
Youâve been told youâre the number one candidate. The contract is supposed to be signed in 2 weeks when the hiring manager is back from vacation. When you contact them to finalize the details, you learn theyâve received another promising application in the meantime and want to follow up on it. The signing of your contract is therefore put on hold and may not happen at all. The other candidate had been approached by the hiring manager earlier but had requested time to consider the position. The manager didnât share this with you because they assumed that the other application was unlikely.
Numerous further scenarios are also possible. More often than not, you can neither foresee nor control them. A warning signal is always a sudden delay in the hiring process, excused with vague reasons. Whatever happens on the other side, donât let it slow down your search for further opportunities.
