A social media firestorm erupted after a tech recruiter, Siddharth Sharma, revealed rejecting a candidate for "offer shopping." Mr Sharma, a former CTO, stated he was interviewing a candidate when it became clear the person already had a job offer but was seeking a better one. The candidate, it seems, was prepared to back out of the existing offer if presented with a more attractive opportunity.
Mr Sharma, critical of this "offer shopping" practice, ended the interview and took to X to express his disapproval, calling it a sign of desperation among job seekers.
He wrote, "It reeks of desperation and tells the world that your word is worth nothing to you. And then the only people who would associate with you are those to whom this is not important."
Mr Sharma offered a word of advice to job seekers in tech, "Learn to program and to love programming. Go find others who love programming."
See the post here:
Siddharth Sharma's post sparked a heated debate on social media, with opinions split on the ethics of "offer shopping" during job hunting.
Mr Sharma's supporters agreed with his stance, viewing the candidate's actions as disrespectful and a waste of time. However, others sided with the candidate, arguing they were simply mirroring the behaviour of companies. They pointed out how companies often interview multiple candidates and select the best fit, just as the candidate was trying to secure the best offer.
Critics of Mr Sharma highlighted that companies frequently rescind offers after making them, leaving candidates in precarious positions. They argued that if companies are allowed to prioritize their needs, candidates have the right to do the same.
A user wrote, "You just made everyone reading this tweet including the candidate not be open and honest about their situation. it's a market. companies come up with their deadlines. "if you don't accept this offer in 2 days, we will withdraw". candidate has to accept if that's his only offer. now that you politely declined, what do you think will happen? he will go to next employer and not disclose about his offer until much later. one can love money and also love programming. both can be true."
Another user wrote, "Won't it be good to ask candidates about the reasons to be on the lookout for a "better offer" before declining to continue? The trouble stems from the fact that the hiring process is missing trust on both sides. Candidates can't keep the word and organizations can rescind the offers."
"That's actually very interesting cause an employers word means nothing either. So I guess I'll have to do what's best for me," the third user wrote.
