Ever lost a great candidate at the finish line?
I see it happen far too often: companies invest in 3-4 rounds of interviews to find their perfect candidate, only to lose them because of that long, frustrating time gap between “we want you” and a formal written offer. Meanwhile, their chosen talent sits in limbo – wanted but without anything concrete to act on.
Last week, I witnessed this scenario unfold yet again. My hiring manager called me on Thursday, excited to share they’d made their decision and wanted to extend an offer to my Account Manager candidate. “Great!” I told them. “When will she receive the offer?”
“I just need to get with HR, but she’s out of town till Monday.”
I immediately informed them: “This candidate wants your job and it’s her top choice, but she also has a final interview with another company on her own tomorrow. Can’t we at least get her a verbal offer now?”
“I wish I could, but I have to wait till HR comes back.”
I went back to my candidate, told her the good news, and asked her to be patient because the HR person was out on PTO till Monday. She was excited but understandably anxious to see the offer details.
Come Monday, still no offer! The hiring manager tells me: “It’s coming, I just need to catch up with HR.” Meanwhile, my candidate had completed her other interview and was now weighing options.
Their avoidable delay had created unnecessary competition for their ideal hire!
🔥 THE REAL COST OF DELAY 🔥
✅ Your candidate is still actively interviewing elsewhere. Today’s insurance market moves quickly, and strong candidates typically have multiple opportunities in process.
✅ Momentum and excitement fade. That post-interview enthusiasm naturally diminishes as days pass without a formal offer.
✅ Candidates question your company’s efficiency. They wonder: “If getting an offer takes this long, what will working there be like?”
✅ It signals a lack of urgency. Top candidates want to feel valued and prioritized.
Here’s 3 ways to fix the offer time gap problem:
⭐ Establish a 24-hour rule: From final decision to formal written offer with benefits summary and all onboarding/background check documents in one business day, regardless of internal hurdles.
⭐ Empower hiring managers to make verbal offers with specific compensation details, even while paperwork is processing.
⭐ Create offer templates pre-approved by legal and HR that can be quickly customized.
Don’t lose the candidate you worked so hard to get to the finish line! Make sure the time from “we love you” to formal written offer with complete documentation in hand is as short as possible.
Tired of losing great candidates over slow offer processes? Contact me – I’d love to share how my clients are closing talent faster with simple adjustments to their hiring workflow.
