When A Job Offer is Withdrawn

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

I recently had a professional colleague faced with a very painful situation in a job search.  A formal offer had been extended to them and a contract was in process.  Two weeks before the start date, the job offer was withdrawn because of a change In financial circumstances in the organization.  The leader had already given notice and a replacement for her old job had been recruited.   She was devastated to learn that the contract had not yet been fully executed.  Fortunately, this is a rare occurrence  in healthcare but it does happen.   Most HR experts agree that your legal rights in these situations may be more limited than you might think.  You are entitled to ask questions about why the offer was withdrawn but there may or may not be full disclosure.  If your relationship with your current employer is good, there may be an opportunity to stay in the organization.  If not, you need to move on.

Some key dos and don’t lessons to learn from this story include the following:

1. Don’t submit notice without a fully executed contract from your new employer – often employer offers will be written with contingencies.  HR experts advise that unless a contract is fully executed with no further contingences, the offer can be withdrawn at any time.  In most situations even with a signed contract, you are considered an at will employee and employment can be terminated even before a start date.  In this situation, my colleague should not have submitted notice without a fully executed contract.
2. Don’t delay a start date in a new role – you may be tempted to take a vacation between employers but this can prove dangerous.  Circumstances in organizations today can quickly change and if you have not yet started the new position, you may be vulnerable if any downsizing is planned.
3. Do always be in a job search mode in the event of surprises like this – while you may feel relieved that a stressful job search is over, HR experts advise that you should remain in the job search mode until you have started and determined that the new position is a good fit.  Having a backup plan is always a good idea.
4. Don’t ruminate about what has happened – when a job offer is rescinded, you will probably feel victimized.  While you reaction might be to tell everyone you know how terrible you have been treated, this is not a good idea.  A better approach is to tell the story as unemotionally as you can and ask for help/advice.  Ruminating about what has happened will not provide you with the strength you need to move on from negative event.
5. Do due diligence into the financial health of an organization – some organizations have a history of unstable finances.  Rescinded job offers or sudden layoffs may have happened before.  Do as much due diligence about this prior to taking a role.  If you decide to take a position with an organization whose finances are not stable, you need to begin with your eyes wide open to this reality.  
6. Learn the lessons and move on – when confronted with a situation like this, it is important to be reflective about what you have learned.  For my colleague just beginning her leadership career, it is unlikely she will ever approach a new job negotiation in quite the same way.  The quicker you move on from this event, the stronger you will become.

The moral of this story is that we think about many things during a job search but a rescinded offer is usually not one of them.  The best strategy is to be proactive which may not work in every situation but might prevent the stress and heartache my colleague is experiencing.