When is a good time to hang up on someone? 📞

I was talking to a very frustrated hiring manager the other day (who I respect) about when it's a good time to hang up on someone.

I don’t mean literally… I’m far too British to be that rude 😜

What I mean is - when has someone wasted enough of your time in an interview process if they keep changing the goalposts on what they want from you?

Ever had this situation before where you’ve got an A player candidate in a process, but as it goes on they become more and more demanding and keep changing the goals posts and every step along your hiring process you feel they’re bending the narrative to themselves only… 

…suddenly they want more flex, more cash, a different title, they're obsessing over details in the JD and not willing to trust your view of the role and its scope, or they want 2 weeks to make decision on an offer - how long do you run with this sort of behaviour…

Before you hang up and call time? 📴

I’d always go with your gut. 

But with this caveat / if you are proactively targeting the best candidates in the market, they’re likely not active.

If that is the case, then they may only really work out what they need from you in the process to make a decision on you after the first meet. 

But! And this is a big but!

It is the job of your recruiter to understand what they need before and after the first call. 

If your recruiter can’t discover this, then they need to communicate this to you ASAP, as the candidate probably doesn’t know and your time is at risk. (Personally, I’d cull those in the process that are unclear on what they want from an offer at this stage, no matter how good they are)

No one likes surprises at the end of a process, so make sure your recruiter gets to grips with what a candidate needs right from the start.