Hello.

36 Comments

1. AnonymousNovember 18,2021 at 1:40PM UTC

   Move on.

2. AnonymousNovember 18,2021 at 1:54PM UTC

   Absolutely move on. They are stringing you along to accommodate other things in their life. Can you imagine how this person would behave if you actually hired them.

3. AnonymousNovember 18,2021 at 1:57PM UTC

   Move on.

4. AnonymousNovember 18,2021 at 2:15PM UTC

   I agree, it sounds like work is not a high priority for that person. You may be asking for more headaches if you would hire that person onto your team. Good luck!

5. LaurenNovember 18,2021 at 2:27PM UTC

   They don’t appear to need/want a job. Time to move on & cut ties.

6. AnonymousNovember 18,2021 at 3:41PM UTC

   Move on. An offer needs to be accepted in good faith and good faith means starting to work I think.

7. KatNovember 18,2021 at 3:55PM UTC

   Over two months of waiting on an unreliable person is more than long enough. If you haven't re-opened the position or interviewed other candidates, it's time to do so. Consider yourself lucky that the person showed what type of worker they are before you hired them. No need to deal with their never ending drama now. Plenty of solid candidates are looking for jobs, so I'm sure it won't take long to find someone qualified and ready to get working.

8. AnonymousNovember 18,2021 at 4:10PM UTC

   Withdraw offer. Makes you look indecisive to other workers

9. Retired happyNovember 18,2021 at 4:07PM UTC

   I would consider if you need the job to survive as the pandemic winds down. If work balance is more important than leave. Why has the company changed? If they are changing direction because of the pandemic to survive then that's their call.

10. AnonymousNovember 20,2021 at 1:28PM UTC

    You may want to re-read the article. They haven’t even started the job..

11. AnonymousNovember 18,2021 at 4:26PM UTC

    Hiring for government positions is a lengthy process and once someone leaves it takes a while to replace them. Consider hire for someone who will do good work and stay in the position for a while.

12. Deb AllenNovember 19,2021 at 1:36PM UTC

    You will need to formally rescind the offer, send them a letter stating that since they were not able to start on the last agreed upon date, we are formally rescinding your offer of employment with XXX. We wish you luck in your future endeavors.

13. AnonymousNovember 20,2021 at 1:29PM UTC

    Going to be one of those "it's always so mething" people. Find someone more reliable.

14. AnonymousNovember 20,2021 at 8:27PM UTC

    I meant it's always something. (Auto correct sucks). This person will always have an excuse to be unreliable.

15. Vivian Chern ShnaidmanNovember 20,2021 at 2:07PM UTC

    Personally I think you have no obligation to them. Unfortunately for them they can’t work right now and you need the position filled. Many years ago my sister, a dentist, found a fantastic position at an academic institution. Unfortunately during the hiring process which took months she got pneumonia and had to be hospitalized. They ended up hiring someone else and she had already given notice at her previous job who hired someone else too. She was basically un or under employed for a year. This can happen through no fault of our own and yes it sucks, but meanwhile there is work that needs to be done and your loyalty is to your institution.

16. AnonymousNovember 20,2021 at 2:22PM UTC

    you need to identify your company's need and timeline. Based upon that, choose a start date that meets those needs. If this individual cannot start, move on. You are giving way too much power to a person who is not even employed yet! (wow)...Take the emotion and any "guilt" out of this and create some framework for your office needs.

17. AnonymousNovember 20,2021 at 2:46PM UTC

    I don't think you are obligated to even talk to them anymore. They said they couldn't start yet, you deferred their start date. After a reasonable amount of time, you let them know that you were moving on to the next candidate. They were never an employee, just had the offer so I would reply to their "I can start now" with something along the lines of :

    This position is no longer available. Please feel free to apply in the future.

    Then don't engage anymore. Send them a formal letter that while they were a good candidate, they were not the best candidate . And don't feel bad about it. It is great to be flexible, but I'm getting an uncomfortable feeling that this particular applicant will be more trouble over time than they are worth. Government employees can be extremely difficult to terminate.

18. AnonymousNovember 20,2021 at 3:09PM UTC

    In the past I’ve deferred once for a new hire, if it’s only a few weeks and/or depending on the reason. However, after that it’s not reasonable for me to continue to do so. In the end we have business needs and continuing to defer for someone who isn’t even employed yet is detrimental to the current employees and their need for support in getting new colleagues hired.
    Unless you are hiring for something significantly specialized or finding good candidates is very hard, you do not owe anything to someone who hasn’t even started.

19. AnonymousNovember 20,2021 at 3:58PM UTC

    I believe that you've provided enough lee-way for the individual. I would move on. They are establishing a dangerous pattern of absenteeism and while I agree that things do happen, if they're not available to start at the agreed-upon time you can't carry them to your team's detriment.

20. Focused721350November 20,2021 at 4:39PM UTC

    Good Morning,
    I'm sorry! But! This person has way to much going on in their personal life. RED FLAG!!!!! I personally wouldn't hire them. I need someone that's going to be there and not have some sort of crises constantly Personally! I really don't buy it! I'm thinking this person is looking around for other options. As far as better pay etc.... TOO FLAKY!!!
    MOVE ON!!!!

21. Leader135412November 20,2021 at 5:42PM UTC

    Let that person go, immediately. People who drag their personal and social life to work, like it's more important need to be put politely in their place.

22. Nancy MontalvoNovember 20,2021 at 6:38PM UTC

    Too many problems probably some sign of something of someone who is not interested in working there and is not serious. The whole thing is very unusual. Good luck I hope you’re office get up to speed

23. Jody LaflenNovember 20,2021 at 7:16PM UTC

    These are giant red flags. Go with your gut, which was to move forward with the other candidate. Your responsibility in your job is to hire someone who can get the work done. You’ve been more than generous, but I feel like if you hired that first person out of sympathy (never a good reason) you’d have a lot of absenteeism and be in a bad place. I hope that person gets a job when their life is more sorted, but focus on your deliverable, and hire the other candidate.

24. AnonymousNovember 20,2021 at 7:21PM UTC

    To hold the position two months was more than generous. Just move on.

25. Joanna PoeNovember 20,2021 at 7:28PM UTC

    If you sign an offer letter, it's for a mutually agreed-upon start date. I can understand if life intervenes, but repeatedly? You have to get someone trained, so go ahead and move on.

26. Karen GongawareNovember 20,2021 at 8:22PM UTC

    Whay haven't you hired someone else? Red flags everywhere with this person. Just say you have moved on in the process and wish them the best.

27. AnonymousNovember 21,2021 at 2:29AM UTC

    I was done weeks ago, but it's not just my call. My last gig had the capacity to defer candidates to future classes if something interfered with their offer date. The dates were always fixed by the agency tho. This has definitely been a learning experience for me.

28. AnonymousNovember 21,2021 at 2:20AM UTC

    Thank you all for the feedback. It can be so hard to balance empathy with business needs in a leadership position. Appreciate all the great advice!

29. AnonymousNovember 21,2021 at 1:15PM UTC

    Walk away. Wish them well and move on. There are people out there who have one issue after another. Check references and you’ll see it’s happened before. You need someone reliable and this person is not.

30. Abegail JNovember 21,2021 at 2:06PM UTC

    I am mindful that troubling personal issues are not something people go around asking for. Since the person was not on the books you are not legally obligated to keep the position open for them. So a polite response would be kinder than assuming they're a problem. It would be discriminatory to assume they are a revolving door of problems otherwise as they have indicated ill health as a valid reason.
    For that matter, some people do go extremely difficult times but that does make them a bad risk or unsuitable. What if it was the other way around , let's say candidate was waiting for a start date and the company was having problems for one reason or another and our candidate had turned down other positions leaving them solely dependent on the start. Would the company be blacklisted as incompetent?
    I think you extended an empathetic response without adding pressure to whatever problems the candidate was going through.

31. AnonymousNovember 21,2021 at 3:36PM UTC

    Have you received any information about specially why this person has had to delay? I had four family members die unexpectedly in three months this year. I have needed significant time off of work and in fact had to be off just three days after starting a new job. I was honest with my new boss about what was going on, and she has been very understanding since this is not my normal life. This is to say, unavailability is not always a “red flag” as so many have commented. Maybe this person like me has been dealt extremely crappy circumstances that are temporary. Perhaps this person has had things happen beyond their control and needed time off. They may be an excellent employee who could be a great asset to your team when life settles down. Tossing them out because of one period of their lives may be the wrong choice given they could be with you as an excellent hire for years.

32. AnonymousNovember 22,2021 at 12:17AM UTC

    Do you think you did your job? Remember who butters your biscuit- and who takes a bite leaving crumbs-

33. Liz MilneNovember 23,2021 at 3:55AM UTC

    what does that even mean?

34. Ruth A. Ford, PHRNovember 22,2021 at 3:05PM UTC

    Even during the times of COVID, deferring a start date for 2 months is more than generous. Two words - rescind offer.

35. Liz MilneNovember 23,2021 at 3:54AM UTC

    Yeah, I think you've done enough for them - say no, you've found another candidate but you'll drop them an email should another suitable position come up. I get that stuff happens, but multiple deferrals, and then a promise to start only for them to ask for yet another deferral? I think that's pushing it, to be honest.

36. Ayush MukherjeeNovember 24,2021 at 12:29PM UTC

    Get a new employee, clearly this person is delaying the joining process, probably giving interviews elsewhere and keeping you guys in-hand.
    Better to move on to someone else. If in future a vacancy comes up and he is still looking out, hire him, but if he repeats his past actions, don't go for him.