This One Reason Is Why Candidates Keep Rejecting Your Job Offers

I’m speaking to lots of companies right now who have plenty of roles open, but they’re getting rejected by candidates at the job offer.

In this job market, that sounds crazy.

Salary isn’t being discussed early enough.

I do usually ask how they found the candidate, and a large majority of time when a candidate has rejected a job offer it was without a 3rd party involved.

Candidates tell me they are in a late stage interview process but still not sure on compensation, my advice is to please clarify as early as possible.

Coming from an agency background, that shocks me - we’re taught to always pre-screen candidates on salary expectations v the company budget before they even interview. Simply to prevent time wasting.

Yet some companies are waiting until the 4th or 5th interview to bring it up.

Only to discover they were never even close on budget.

Some even avoid mentioning salary altogether until the final stage, to “test commitment.” to the cause!

Salary is still one of the main reasons people move jobs.

And I don’t see that changing. Ever. If you’re not aligned on that from the start, filling the role becomes a lot harder than it needs to be. Salary expectations v budget always be discussed upfront.

Are you a Founder, Operator, or Investor at a VC/PE-backed company?

If you’re thinking about driving revenue, replacing underperformers, launching a new market, or gearing up to raise, then we should talk.

We partner with high-growth companies to place proven operators, strategic builders, commercial leaders, and transformation-focused execs.

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Most suitable for candidates interested in working for companies with 20 to 500 headcount, VC-backed Series A, B, C scale-ups, challenger brands and Private Equity.