When a new-hire doesn't show up on day one...

...the first thing I do is ______________

[Fill in the blanks]

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by David Manaster on February 7, 2009 at 12:07pm

I had this happen once. I took it as an extremely bad sign of things to come and went back to looking for someone who I could place more trust in.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Levy on February 7, 2009 at 12:59pm

call them

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Permalink Reply by pam claughton on February 7, 2009 at 1:00pm

This has never happened to me, hopefully it never will!

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Permalink Reply by Dan Nuroo on February 7, 2009 at 8:47pm

swear... call them, ensure they are OK, then react

Happened a couple of times last year. We'd even spoken to one candidate the previous week to ensure starting times. He just didn't turn up. Didn't answer cell phone, emails nothing. I rang his house, spoke to his wife, who said he was at work.. he apparently decided not leave the other company.. gotta love people.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on February 8, 2009 at 12:05pm

....realize that I have failed in my work and had obviously overlooked many signals from this candidate because i wanted to keep thinking everything was rosey.......

The point is as a seasoned recruiter we should never be surprised a no-show. The signs are there so pay attention to them.

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Permalink Reply by Jenny DeVaughn on February 8, 2009 at 12:59pm

First call the candidate to give them the benefit of the doubt for 60 seconds. Then immediately reach out to your client and start working towards a solution - free temp for the day, additional candidates, etc. Always follow up with the client regarding any new information about the new hire who didn't show, since they have to report to other colleagues or their supervisor within their company as well.

This happened to me once a few years ago, when I was in the world of temporary staffing. Long story short, I learned to believe what people do, not what they say. This candidate had some personal issues from the beginning of our relationship. I took pity on her, instead of thinking about how she could negatively affect my reputation and relationship with my client. Lesson learned!