Curious what you would do.

[droptopman]

Seth,

Trust your instincts. Wise decision on moving on from this one. HR is such a PITA these days. Once you hire them....

You will find the right person soon enough.

[Thatguy]

Originally Posted by superdog

I thought the same.



His reasoning was that he was in the car waiting for his daughter.



I honestly don’t believe that tho.

How is that an excuse? I am in sales and most of my emails are sent when I am on the road from in my car. I would definitely pass on him.


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[superdog]

Originally Posted by Thatguy

How is that an excuse? I am in sales and most of my emails are sent when I am on the road from in my car. I would definitely pass on him.


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Yeah. It was blamed on “fat fingers”.

I didn’t buy that either.

The more details I think about the more certain I am.

I too send endless emails from my phone. It’s inevitable in this line of work.

[Boothroyd]

I am late to this thread, but in my business, even intonation is important. No such thing as an unimportant detail. If the hire can't communicate in email, they can't communicate in person, is my experience. Thinking=Writing=Speaking. One has to be able to convey thoughts effectively.

[superdog]

Originally Posted by Boothroyd

I am late to this thread, but in my business, even intonation is important. No such thing as an unimportant detail. If the hire can't communicate in email, they can't communicate in person, is my experience. Thinking=Writing=Speaking. One has to be able to convey thoughts effectively.

Good feedback as well. And I agree: “no such thing as an unimportant detail”.

[superdog]

Originally Posted by droptopman

Seth,

Trust your instincts. Wise decision on moving on from this one. HR is such a PITA these days. Once you hire them....

You will find the right person soon enough.

Yeah man, once they are in the process is horrendous if it’s not working out.

[ejvette]

Seth I've done a lot of hiring and firing in my 30+ years in business and the one thing I learned very early on is trust your gut and references don't always tell the truth

[HobokenRolex]

Definitely pass on him. It's an important role that you're looking to fill. This is someone acting as a representative of you and your company. You need someone you can trust. Could you imagine the emails that would be going out to your potential customers?

[superdog]

Originally Posted by HobokenRolex

Definitely pass on him. It's an important role that you're looking to fill. This is someone acting as a representative of you and your company. You need someone you can trust. Could you imagine the emails that would be going out to your potential customers?

Exactly what I’m afraid of. Ive got enough problems.

[BrazenC5]

Originally Posted by superdog

I thought the same.

His reasoning was that he was in the car waiting for his daughter.

I honestly don’t believe that tho.

Already providing excuses prior to the first day. Wow!

Hopefully he's learned a valuable lession through the experience.

[Star Ferry]

Sounds like he has a pattern

Gives a polished interview, secures offer, then shifts into low gear and mails it in

Rinse, lather, repeat

[superstarmar]

I concur with most everyone here Seth!
Good call on rescinding the hire offer .
My iPhone 7 Plus has pretty much taken over my laptop
so the in car email excuse is quite lame if you ask me as well...
Best wishes on finding the right candidate!

[SDRider]

I proof read everything, even posts on Facebook and forums.

The only way I would let something like this slide is if English was not his first language.

[swils8610]

You can’t perfume a hog/can’t make a silk purse out of a sows ear.


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[Tri-Tip]

Sounds like you made the right choice.

Last person I hired was back in 2001 (guess I made the right choice). His was the only resume out of 50 or more that didn't have any spelling or grammar errors, brought him in for an interview and hired him on the spot. I've left the company, but he is still there.

[Brenngun]

Originally Posted by superdog

I proof read my emails dozens of time, sometimes. I also have other people read them from time to time, if they are high profile enough.

First email to his new boss. I just cant get comfortable with that.

That could sink a potential sale in moments. And I just don't have the time to babysit. At this cost of a sales professional, I expect him to be able to operate nearly on his own. Guidance from me for sure, but not babysitting.

Seth, I think you have your answer in these 2 comments alone. Let's set aside for a minute the reason for his email to begin with which is a whole different discussion. The one thing you want and expect from a sales professional is a strong attention to details. Whether it be in formal communications, planning or actual sales meetings/presentations. Keep looking.

[teqp]

You did the right thing in trusting your gut. If this was my first email to my new boss, I would start it off saying that I'm excited to be joining the team but had some questions about my computer, car, etc. I would make sure it reads correctly before clicking send. And if I was waiting for my kid, then I would wait to send. There are some people that do well in interviews/tests, it when it comes time to apply what they knew in the interview, they fall short.

Keep searching and a great fit will turn up, especially if you have to pay 25%. Good luck.

[waQstar]

just confirming your decision here, keep the offer rescinded.

[Ruud Van Driver]

In my work, written communication is everything. My work is technical and we have to write in such a way that our educated clients (lawyers, insurance claims executives and, ultimately, barristers and judges) can understand what we're writing. Not as easy as you might think.

In any event, if someone can't string together a coherent sentence to their potential boss then it's adios muchachos.

[BLACKHORSE 6]

I fat finger a lot when typing on my phone, which you can tell from some of my TRF posts. However, anything sent out in a professional setting has to be spot on with no mistakes. I routinely create emails and save them as drafts, reading over them several times before adding the address and then sending off into the ether.

I think you made the right decision. Best of luck moving forward.

[Cru Jones]

Several red flags....you 100% made the right call!

[superdog]

Originally Posted by teqp

You did the right thing in trusting your gut. If this was my first email to my new boss, I would start it off saying that I'm excited to be joining the team but had some questions about my computer, car, etc. I would make sure it reads correctly before clicking send. And if I was waiting for my kid, then I would wait to send. There are some people that do well in interviews/tests, it when it comes time to apply what they knew in the interview, they fall short.

Keep searching and a great fit will turn up, especially if you have to pay 25%. Good luck.

Yes. 100%. This too caught my attention and I was not thrilled with it. I might have overlooked it if not for the grammar disaster.

But this too is a big deal for me. It was all about what he is getting. Not what he is giving. And this company is needs team players.

Even if his thoughts were pro-company, the way he presented himself, it did not appear so. In which case, not a great salesman. He needs to sell himself before he can sell a product or project.

[Etschell]

some people just dont learn business etiquette these days or have the skill set.

that said sounds like a pass on him is the best option.

hiring is a crap shoot but my #1 requirement is if i like the person. if i dont i cant hire them. it is that simple no matter how skilled or good on paper they are.

[mfer]

You already set the precedent by rescinding the offer. Now this guy will be on eggshells around you all the time rather than doing what is right for business.

You have to go with your gut always. Another suggestion that many companies do is right to higher. You basically employee them as a contractor for a fixed set of time. You don’t have to fire them then if it doesn’t work out. Contractors don’t have the same headache to let go. Being a sales guy his hourly rate might be high in order to make up commissions or something. Not sure if it can directly apply. Maybe do his salary plus target commission for the year divided by 2080 hours.

Reading this makes me really want to start a business.

[NewEnthusiast]

Follow your instincts.

I find poor grammar (and vocabulary) jarring and distracting from the point being made. That's not a good basis for a professional relationship.

Do you have capacity to reach out to local schools and find a talented young person you can train from scratch thus getting what you desire in an employee and giving someone a good start in their career?

[77T]

Now that you’re back in the hunt for a new sales professional, have you considered recruiting from your most revered competitors staffs?


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[Danny83]

He sounds like a drama queen already Seth ....flush him. Throw and ad up on Indeed the right person will come along soon.

[breitlings]

Going against the grain here: A start-up CEO is different from a growth CEO and that is often different from a Fortune 500 CEO (even if it is the same person, their jobs are different). An IT/math guy, Elon Musk or someone like that in the middle of product launching and creating value, I would think it would actually be a waste of time for him to check his email for grammar. Perfect grammar might actually be a redflag to me in that regard.

If it was a copywriter that's a bit different although I've seen SEO's "play" with the language for an intended purpose. I wouldn't not hire him because of the grammar and punctuation but if the risks and assumptions he took in the content of the email are worrisome then I would pass.

I don't know much about sales, but I've been told you can either teach people about your business or how to do their job.

[Andrewlennywatches]

Originally Posted by toucan

If you already have doubts before he starts its better not to go down that road.
You have a small shop it's best to find the right comfortable fit.

Totally agree with you, i had a similar issue and the experience was not encouraging.

[swils8610]

Hiring the wrong person can be disastrous. I once interviewed a service manager. The interview went well. I had two other colleagues interview him as well. We have a bit of a philosophy. 3 interviews with 3 different people. All agreed he was the perfect candidate. Once he started...the worst 90 days of service we ever had. Couldn’t even put a pencil to how much that mistake cost us. He knew how to ace an interview though.


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