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DECEMBER 3, 1999

NET JOURNAL
By Scott Kucirek

Pretty Please with Sugar on Top, Take This Job!
Why are we begging this guy to work for us?


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Take careful notes on this week's episode, fellow entrepreneurs. At the bottom of the column, there's a quiz. Actually, my purpose isn't to bring back memories of exam anxiety, but to get reader feedback on a situation I'll bet many of you will face in this drum-tight labor market. Names and details have been changed to protect the innocent (as they used to say on Dragnet), but the circumstances are true to life. Call it: "The Case of the Reluctant Job Candidate."

November, 1999 — Berkeley, Calif. ZipRealty.com, our online real estate brokerage, has a critical opening in the operations department. We interview many candidates, and a Mr. Smith appears to be the best. He's bright, fits the job requirements perfectly, and professes eagerness to move from a big company to a startup. He's even willing to take a salary cut (balanced by stock options, of course). He hits it off with our head of operations, who can't wait to get him going on a huge pile of work. Mr. Smith interviews twice with my partner, Juan Mini, Kurt Waag, our director of human resources, and me. We decide to offer him the job.

Monday — We formally ask him to join our company. The salary is fair, but not top-of-the-market — we are a startup, after all. Mr. Smith looks over the terms, talks briefly with Kurt, and leaves. The offer expires on Friday. We huddle after the presentation. We all have a gut feeling that something is amiss.

Tuesday — Mr. Smith calls the head of operations to clarify his would-be role. He wants assurance that there will be room for him to assume more management responsibilities. Without making promises, the head of operations says those opportunities are there if he performs at top level. After an hourlong conversation, our operations chief invites Mr. Smith to our family dinner the next night to meet the entire company and get a better feel for the friendly zipRealty.com culture — a strong selling point.

Wednesday — The dinner goes well.

Friday — Mr. Smith calls Kurt and asks for the weekend to discuss the change with his family. He wants to be absolutely sure about leaving his company and accepting a lower salary. Kurt agrees to the extension. Later that day, Mr. Smith calls the operations chief to say that he plans to talk with Kurt about the options package over the weekend.

Monday — In the afternoon, Mr. Smith e-mails me, asking to talk about the options package after work. Apparently, he never talked to Kurt. That evening, I spend 30 minutes with him. Why didn't he call Kurt? Mr. Smith says he was unable to reach him. I ask for his decision. He waffles again. He would like to think about the job until Wednesday night. Now, I'm getting a little impatient. I tell him that we need to fill this position immediately. I point out that we already extended the offer and try to suss out his real reason for not accepting. Mr. Smith says the salary is below what he needs to pay his bills, and he'll need to return a bonus to his present employer if he leaves. I empathize but options are the attraction of a startup, I explain. People looking for large, steady salaries with big bonuses should work for large, established companies. After a bit more discussion, I give Mr. Smith until noon Wednesday. Later that night, I regret it but remind myself that he was a strong candidate and the department liked him. Still, I don't believe that he has been candid about his real objections to our offer.

Tuesday — I tell the team about my conversation. We discuss a strategy. Within the hour, Mr. Smith calls again. He says he still needs more time. This is a big career move for him, and all he wants is the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend to reflect.

O.K. You're on the phone. What would you do? A) Extend the deadline; B) Pull the offer then and there; C) Tell him the second extension till Wednesday noon holds — but that's it. (Send your responses to Scott@zipRealty.com)

Here's what happened: The team concluded that the few people who have left zipRealty.com had two things in common — they were hesitant to join and concerned over the position. We wanted to pull the offer but felt we should keep our word on the Wednesday deadline.

I relayed to Mr. Smith that we were committed to the deadline. He replied that he couldn't make a decision by then. We hung up. Wednesday came and went. We never heard from him. Did we handle it right? You never know. We have two theories: We were his backup for another deal, which got stalled, spoiling his plan. Or he was genuinely indecisive. Either way, his behavior didn't augur well for us — however appealing he was in the interviews.


Scott Kucirek is president and co-founder of zipRealty.com, an online real estate brokerage. The company's Internet site and online real estate agents let people complete the entire purchase or sale of a house via the Web. The company's Web site is www.zipRealty.com, and you can E-mail Scott at Scott@zipRealty.com.
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