Withdrawn job offer by prospective employer? What next? (And does this really happen? Often?)

The Guardian shared this story on July 3 “Banker lined up to lead Santander sues for €100m. Andrea Orcel accuses bank of breach of contract after it withdrew offer to hire him”.

How often does it actually happen that companies withdraw offers made to senior candidates after

  • a (binding) handshake?
  • an email of intent?
  • a letter of intent?
  • after signing the employment contract?
  • after having started working?

Depending on your country of origin, the lawyers will interpret context differently and how legally binding an agreement actually is: in some cultures a verbal contract is as binding as a written one; in some, a signed contract is the basis to start negotiations.

One way or another, at Career Angels we’ve seen companies breach contract (or not breach depending on country or lawyer) in all of the above situations. On the other hand – to be fair – most Executive Search Consultants can share probably at least one story per year of how a candidate never showed up for their first day of work or changed their mind a couple of days earlier. Seems unbelievable? Happens all to oftenand yesat the C-level.

Let’s focus on the candidate side: what can you do to prevent situations like these? How do you avoid becoming Andrea Orcel?

Our most important tips:

  • Before quitting your job, get a lawyer involved and make sure that the offer you have received and accepted is indeed legally binding in your country. Even better: sign the actual contract.
  • If you are actively looking for a job, continue searching and interviewing until you’ve actually have signed a contract. If you are set to sign at 4 pm, and you have an interview at 10 am. Do the interview. Don’t postpone. Don’t reject offers actively.
  • Don’t start ANY arrangements (resigning your current job, initiating moving to another country / city) unless you have a signed contract.

Are you a senior manager currently looking for a job? Maneuvering the job market? Feel free to get in touch with Career Angels for a non-obligatory, confidential and complimentary consultation of 30 min via Skype. Click on this link or send an email to Bichl.Sandra@CareerAngels.eu, subject: Complimentary consultation

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