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Why graduates reject job offers

Laura Greaves

March 2018

Declined and reneged offers are a huge disruption in the recruitment process. Knowing the facts behind when, where and why graduates turn down opportunities can prepare employers for these challenges

Problems for employers

Last year, 8% of graduate jobs were declined and a further 4% were reneged, the Institute of Student Employers (ISE) showcase presentation 2018 shows.

This behaviour can be a real setback for employers, putting pressure on finances and resources, while also leaving a number of unfilled vacancies.

Some companies had to schedule a second recruitment window mid-year to make up for the declined offers during their January intake.

Sector breakdown

The ISE Annual Survey 2017 showed that some sectors were more likely to find their offers reneged or rejected.

Sectors with the highest percentages of declined offers were:

  • digital (13%)
  • engineering or industrial (11%)
  • law (10%)
  • built environment (8%)
  • energy, water and utilities (8%).

Sectors with the lowest percentage of declined offers were:

  • retail (3%)
  • accountancy or professional services (5%).

Meanwhile, sectors with the highest percentages of reneged offers were:

  • accountancy or professional services (10%)
  • built environment (8%)
  • digital (6%).

Sectors where the percentage of reneged offers was lowest were:

  • retail (1%)
  • law (2%)
  • engineering or industrial (3%).

Law firms tend to hire candidates two years in advance, which could explain the low percentage figure.

Reneged offers by month

The ISE survey collected data on the percentage of reneged offers by popular hiring periods. The results showed that the highest percentage of reneged offers was between October and December (7%).

From January to March, 6.6% of offers were reneged, whereas fewer offers were reneged between April and June (4.3%).

Reasons graduates renege on offers

The increasing rate of reneged offers is not surprising when 70% of graduates believe it is acceptable to revoke an accepted offer, according to the Milkround Candidate Compass Report 2017.

The motivations behind this behaviour are interesting. A typical assumption would be that graduates are accepting multiple job offers and then pursuing the best opportunity.

However, the survey actually showed that the top reasons for reneged offers were because candidates:

  • didn't know how to decline an offer (64%)
  • received a better offer (22%)
  • changed their mind (9%).

It appears that graduates are inexperienced and uncomfortable with the concept of declining offers from prospective employers.

Reducing the risk of reneged offers

While reneged offers aren't avoidable there are a few tactics recruiters can adopt, as outlined by the ISE and Milkround surveys, which could help to reduce reneged figures. Employers may benefit from:

  1. switching recruitment windows to between April and June, when reneged figures were the lowest
  2. offering future employees a visit to the workplace before their initial start date
  3. continuing to use 'keep warm' activities to build up a relationship with them
  4. normalising declining offers and outlining to candidates when and how employers prefer them to decline offers.

Written by

Photo: Laura Greaves
Laura Greaves
Information analyst
Prospects

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