Most Job Offers are Accepted, According to a HR.BLR.com poll of HR Managers

The vast majority of job candidates accept job offers made to them ñ only about 10% turn them down. The major reason for non-acceptance tends to be money, according to two recent polls at HR.BLR.com.

Itís still an employerís market out there, according to a poll at HR.BLR.com, where a majority of respondents said less than 10 percent of applicants turn down their job offers.

A follow-up poll by the Business & Legal Reports (BLR) website found that, when prospects do reject job offers, money, rather than such other factors as commuting or the nature of the work, is the usual reason.

Asked, ìWhat percentage of applicants ultimately decline job offers at your company?î 70 percent of HR.BLR.com visitors responded less than 10 percent. Another 25 percent said more than 10 percent but less than 25 percent, 3 percent answered between 25 percent and 50 percent, and 2 percent said their job offers are rejected by more than 50 percent of applicants.

The early December poll drew responses from 301 human resources professionals.

The follow-up poll asked, ìWhen applicants decline job offers from your company, what is the most common reason?î

Seventy 70 percent said job offers were rejected because the salary was too low or the applicant took another job for more money. Another 9 percent said job offers were declined because applicants used the offers to leverage more money from their current employers.

Of the 384 people responding to the second poll, 10 percent said the job wasnít what the applicant thought it would be, 9 percent answered ìOther,î and 3 percent said job offers were rejected because of the commute.

ìThese polls would seem to indicate that workers are still hungry, but not so hungry that theyíll jump at just any job or salary,î said Chris Kilbourne, BLRís senior managing Web editor.