You made the offer. They accepted. You celebrated. Then they never showed up for day one. Offer falloff is one of the most frustrating experiences in recruiting, and it's getting worse. Here's how to actually prevent it instead of just hoping for the best.

Stay Engaged During the Gap

The time between offer acceptance and start date is where candidates ghost. They're still on the market emotionally, still getting recruiter messages, and still second-guessing their decision. Your job is to keep them engaged and excited without being annoying about it.

Send regular check-ins—not just logistics emails about paperwork. Share team updates, relevant company news, or intro emails from future teammates. Make them feel like they're already part of the team before their official start date. The candidates who ghost are usually the ones who feel disconnected during the waiting period.

Make Onboarding Prep Feel Personal

Generic "complete your I-9" emails do nothing for engagement. Personalize the onboarding process. Have their manager send a welcome message. Set up informal coffee chats with future teammates. Send them swag or a welcome kit. Small gestures make candidates feel valued and less likely to bail.

If your onboarding communication is entirely automated and transactional, you're leaving room for buyer's remorse to creep in. Humans accept offers from humans, not from ATS workflows.

Address Counteroffers Directly

Most offer falloff happens because of counteroffers from current employers or competing offers from other companies. Don't pretend this doesn't happen—address it proactively. After the offer acceptance, explicitly ask if they've had conversations with their current employer or other companies. Make it safe for them to be honest.

If they mention a counteroffer, don't panic. Walk them through why they were job searching in the first place. Remind them why they were excited about your opportunity. Most counteroffers fail within six months anyway because they don't address the underlying reasons someone wanted to leave. Help candidates see that clearly.

Set Expectations About the Start Date

Long gaps between acceptance and start date increase falloff risk. If possible, get candidates started within 2-3 weeks. The longer the wait, the more time they have to reconsider, get cold feet, or receive other offers. Sometimes delays are unavoidable, but don't default to "let's start in six weeks" if there's no real reason for it.

If a long notice period is required, use that time intentionally. Schedule pre-start meetings, send reading materials, or set up system access early. Make the waiting period feel productive instead of uncertain.

The Real Talk

If you're consistently losing candidates after offer acceptance, the problem isn't bad luck—it's your process. Audit your time-to-offer, your communication cadence, your offer competitiveness, and your onboarding experience. Something in that chain is broken, and candidates are voting with their feet.

Offer falloff is preventable. It requires intentional engagement, authentic communication, and treating accepted candidates like they're already on your team. Do that, and you'll see fewer ghosting incidents and more successful day-one starts.

Stop assuming acceptance equals commitment. It's just the beginning of closing the deal.