In theory, that should be an easy question. Once they've started a new job.
Sure, there’ll always be people that drop out during the process and employers have long been aware that recruitment is as much about candidates reviewing the employer as the other way round.
And, of course, many candidates (62%) will turn down job offers even having run the whole gauntlet.
But surely offer accepted, job started, deal done.
Or is it?
Actually, it seems that many strong candidates spend their first few months in a new role actively looking for another. That their probation period is not just about settling in, but already about looking for a way out!
Alarming as it seems, under investigation this makes a lot of sense.
People usually leave an employer that they are unhappy with only when the risks of staying outweigh the risks of leaving. And even outside the current climate, leaving a job for another does involve taking a leap of faith.
However, having taken that leap once, it is not so much of a risk to change again very quickly. There is less emotional attachment and few people to yet call friends.
In fact, there is very little risk in taking a better job within the first few weeks of starting a new one.
Over and above the mitigated risk, there is a host of additional reasons for changing jobs within the first few weeks.
- The notice period is typically just a week until probation is served, giving candidates more flexibility on start dates
- Inboxes are still full of offers of second interviews and roles that have been well-filtered
- Candidates are in peak form – they have practised (typically for four months) so have their interview and application techniques honed to a fine art
- They have little/nothing to lose by seeing through the balls they had in play to a natural conclusion
- Confidence and self-worth are at an all time high – since they have just been offered a job, they have no reason to doubt themselves
But for an employer the risk of an employee moving at this point is huge.
Just when the right candidate has been found, and actually started, all of the others let down gently, the whole process has to start again, from scratch.
All in all, it seems that for all the effort put in to find the right employees, just as much is needed during the first few weeks and months if organisations are to convert a new joiner into a productive employee.
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