Let’s say you are out somewhere Tuesday night and meet someone interesting. You strike up a great conversation. The chemistry seems to be there and thoughts of future steamy scenes are running through your head. You say, “I’d love to get together with you” – they say “Sounds great, here’s my card, give me a call any time, my cell is on the back” BINGO, you’re on your way to the promised land.

But then, the next day at work there is a huge fire to put out. Then, your best friend calls with the newest personal drama and insists on meeting out after work to talk it over. You’re exhausted and slightly hung over the next morning and focusing on the job at hand is the most you can handle. You leave work, hit the gym, then go home and hit the hay. You realize the next day you never called your Dreamdate, and you should really get a plan together pronto. Unfortunately, you’re headed out of town that afternoon and are just too pressed for time, and since you can’t make plans for this weekend anyway, why bother until Monday. So basically, you’re just as interested as you always were in the hook-up, but daily life simply took over. Not to worry, it’s only been a few days and things were so electric that obviously you’re still on the top of the list. Now, here’s what’s been happening in your Hottie’s world: Had a surprise birthday party thrown for them Friday. Hit the town the next night and was decked out to the 9’s in celebration of the birthday weekend. Met a great new Dreamdate and ended up meeting for brunch the next day. By the time you call, you’re going to be a distant memory here. Nothing happened to turn anyone off, but interest waned in just a short timeframe. You’re going to be stuck at home watching HBO boxing this weekend my friend.

We use a phrase around here when recruiting to strike while the iron is hot. Over the years, I’ve learned the hard way that if a delay occurs between the interview and the offer, SOMETHING is going to come up and kill the deal. It’s not necessarily that the candidate is put off by the delay, or even get another job - life unfolds, and something bizarre is going to surface that no one could have expected. It will be the reason you don’t get the candidate you want. Doubt me? I thought I would share some of the random things that have come up in candidates’ lives over the years that killed my deals when there is a delay of a week or two. Enjoy, and I hope they never happen to you:

[tags]candidate, hbo boxing, dream date, recruiting, hiring revolution[/tags]