IITian Co-Founder’s Response To Candidate Who Backed Out Just 2 Days Before The Joining Date Goes Viral - “Reflects Poorly,” He Wrote

The job market is a complex place to navigate. The process involves applying, waiting for responses, giving interviews, and then finally weighing all options and zeroing in on an offer.

But what happens when someone receives a better offer just days before joining a job?

On July 7, Srijan R Shetty, an IIT-educated co-founder of fintech firm Fuze Finance, sent a response to a candidate who backed out just two days before his confirmed joining date.

He posted the e-mail screenshot he sent along with his thoughts on the importance of open communication.

WHY DID THE CANDIDATE BACK OUT?

In the e-mail, Srijan mentioned that he had received information about the candidate not joining because of two reasons: one, he secured a better offer elsewhere, and two, personal reasons due to which he couldn’t confirm a joining date.

He wrote to the candidate, “I hope there is nothing serious on the personal front, happy to get on a chat to help in whatever way possible.”

He added that at Fuze, they maintain a “very flexible workplace” and would have been open to letting the candidate join at a later date or assigning a reduced workload.

Srijan R Shetty remarked that the reasons provided by the candidate were “a bit off.”

He acknowledged that everyone is free to shop for offers in the market.

“But you could have come back to us and we would have been happy to have a chat about the new offer that you have,” he wrote.

Additionally, he mentioned that Fuze has always done what is best for its employees, even if it means that they join a higher-paying job at another company.

Srijan concluded the e-mail by stating that rejecting an offer a day before joining “reflects poorly on the person partaking in the action.”

In his post, the Fuze co-founder said, “I believe that everyone should optimise for themselves, but being honest about what you are seeking in life is important.”

He also suggested maintaining “open communication” for all actions and that it is beneficial in the long term.

THE INTERNET IS DIVIDED

Srijan’s post quickly went viral on the Internet, with people voicing their opinions on the matter.

While some people said that shopping for offers after finalizing and accepting one is wrong, others believed that the candidate didn’t have any other choice in the situation.

“You're the top 0.0001% that would've done what you mentioned. In most places this dude would have instantly lost this offer to someone else had he shared he was exploring for other offers,” an X user wrote.

“I understand and kind of agree to what you proposed, but as a candidate it's pretty difficult to do open conversation,” another commented.

“For whatever reasons, candidate doesn't want to join your company. The interactions so far + their collective experience so far prevents them from being candid with you. Do you want them to join you despite not feeling good about it? Bad idea,” an X user said.

“Everyone shops for offers. That is perfectly fine to do. But if this was me once I've agreed to an offer there's no way I'm shopping around for an alternate offer,” another user commented.