We've seen dozens of searches go something like this...

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The job posting pulled in hundreds of applicants.

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Your team spent hours sourcing and vetting from that pool.

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3 rounds of interviews with multiple candidates, and you finally picked your A-Player.

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They sign paperwork… It’s a done deal, right?

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But then they didn’t start. They decided to stay in their role, or suddenly got offered a promotion at their current company.

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If this sounds familiar, you’re not the only one. We've seen this happen over and over the past year. But the good news is, it's preventable.

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Once a candidate signs paperwork, your work is not done. That’s the biggest blind spot we’re currently seeing in the hiring process: treating that signature as the finish line.

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In reality, once they’ve signed, the hiring process enters the most fragile stretch. You have to keep momentum with your candidate from the day of their first interview all the way to their first day on the job.

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Why?

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If they’re truly an A-Player, they’ll walk in to resign from their current role, which means their employer is about to lose someone hitting quota, leading a team, and/or producing at a high level.

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Their company suddenly finds that raise they’ve been sitting on. The promotion that was “coming soon.” Whatever it takes to keep their top performer, they’re going to find a way to do it.

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In Pursuit's 11 years in the recruiting space, we’ve never seen counteroffers as aggressive as they are right now. Companies that wouldn’t budge on comp for years are matching offers and bending over backwards to keep their people.

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Our own data backs this up, showing that 1 in 15 accepted offers never made it to their first day. It’s not enough to keep your fingers crossed the candidate turns down the counter. But there are things you can build into your process to lower the chances they take the counter.

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How to implement this:

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• Name the counter before it happens - Tell your candidate: “When you resign, your current employer might try to sell you on staying.” Most candidates haven't thought that far ahead, and naming it early keeps it from blindsiding them mid-process. Remind them why they wanted to leave in the first place.

• Ask them the “why” questions. What would actually change if they got the raise or promotion at their current company? Most of the time, it’s not fixing the reason they wanted to leave in the first place.

• Stay relevant until their first day. A quick check-in a few days after they resign, and additional touchpoints before their first day, does more to protect the hire than anything you can do before they sign.

• Give them something to run toward, not just away from. A raise makes staying easier. But a manager who’s excited about them, a clear purpose they're running toward, and a vision for the company they’re helping build makes leaving easier too.

Counteroffers don’t fix the reason someone wanted to leave in the first place. 80% of people who accept a counteroffer leave within 6 months anyway. Getting ahead of the counter before it’s thrown at them gives your candidate a chance to prepare instead of deciding on the spot.

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💡 TL;DR

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• Signing paperwork isn't the finish line; day one is.

• A-Players who resign often trigger aggressive counters: raises, promotions, whatever it takes to keep them.

• Pursuit data: 1 in 15 accepted offers never made it to day one.

• Prevent it by naming the counter early, asking candidates their "why," staying in touch through their start date, and giving them something to run toward, not just away from.

• A counteroffer doesn't fix the reason someone wanted to leave, it just delays the move.

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