Coming Back From The Brink

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“Oh, it’s packed away in boxes.” she said. I offered to help her locate it and she assured me that she would get it done. Well, the diploma was never located because she never received it. A degree was not even a prerequisite for this opening - and had the candidate been upfront with me, this whole ordeal could have been avoided and she would have had a new job. But instead, the offer was “off the table”; time dedicated to this candidate had been lost and robbed me of time to secure another candidate.


The candidate went into hiding. The client was furious with me. I was furious with me. I had really dropped the ball. The client was adamant that they would not work with me again and I couldn’t blame them. I apologized profusely and I estonia whatsapp phone number took full responsibility for what happened. I asked for a second chance and it seemed to fall on deaf ears. I followed up with another stellar candidate whose background had been completely vetted and was told “they were about to make an offer to a candidate”. Disappointed but pleased to get some feedback I soldiered on and waited.

About a month later the client emailed, “The offer fell through with the other candidate. Is your candidate still available?” And so it began again, but this time the recruiter / candidate harmony was a symphony. Candidate was fully vetted, our foundation was strong and about a month later an offer was extended and accepted. So many lessons learned here:

1) no matter how closely you evaluate your candidates, go a step further - it’s your reputation and business on the line;

2) apologize for mistakes and take ownership of them - this shows the client you have integrity;

3) never give up - don’t lose faith in your ability and you just might close that deal yet


About the Author:

Britt-Angela Williams is President and Principal Recruiter at Britt-Angela Williams & Consultants, a boutique recruiting firm that specializes in Administrative & Legal placements.