To think employers prefer candidates who can start immediately?

[Silentfriend]

I’ve noticed that some job postings mention a preference for immediate availability. Do employees actually value this, or are they more interested in finding the right fit, regardless of when a candidate can start? Would love to hear others’ experiences!

It depends on the industry. A three month notice period is normal in my world so employers would not expect immediate availability.

Three months is usually standard for our company intake. If someone could start earlier that would be a bonus, but no, we'd always wait for the right candidate even if another person could start earlier.

Perhaps sometimes - if the company is desperate to fill a role and/or if the skill level required is low. Being available immediately is possibly an advantage.
In a highly skilled role, it’s so important to find the best candidate, so companies will wait for that. Being immediately available could also be a negative - why is that person not in work at the moment?
So…it totally depends..

It's definitely a bonus when the right person is available immediately but this would never be enough to sway my decision on who to recruit, unless everything else was exactly equal. It's more important to get the right person in post. Plus we generally factor in the likelihood that someone will have a notice period so we include this in our planning.

It depends on the industry and level within it. Notice in mine ranges from a month for junior staff to three months for more senior staff, and that's what we'd expect going into the recruitment process. It takes IT etc. 2-3 weeks to get a laptop, phone etc. ordered and delivered plus setting up system access etc. so even if someone was available "immediately" we'd probably be looking at a start day 3-4 weeks after the offer was accepted just to have everything in place.

Unrealistic though when it comes to many roles...

People at senior manager and director level are likely to have a 3 month notice period.

I can understand that if a company is recruiting for a short term contract they want someone who can start quickly, but beyond that it is not a reasonable expectation.

Nope would never ever take a candidate with an immediate start date over one who was better and had a notice period. Now this is for a project manager so c£60k salary so a longer notice period is a given. If someone can negotiate sooner that's great but I want the perfect candidate from the ones I interview not the one who is just "there" sooner. I'm not recruiting to make up numbers. Now a longer notice period does risk them being courted by their existing employer which can be a risk.

It's great if they can start immediately but would not impact my decision on who to hire.

Well yes of course employers prefer candidates that can start immediately - all things being equal. But immediate availability isn't necessarily the most important factor when deciding who to hire.

I have worked in a couple of places where it takes weeks to go through onboarding procedures (financial services) so immediately available is actually a risk as the candidate might go and find somewhere they can start sooner.

First reply nails it.

Generally, in professional circles, there is a fairly lengthy notice period and employers are aware of this. You can't start one week later/immediately if you are already employed in a reasonably senior position.

In my industry, it’s the highest ranked candidate. We would have no real interest in when someone could start, unless it was something ridiculous, like not for 6 months. Pulling together a contract and getting all the right people to sign it and getting budgets in place easily takes 3 months, so there is rarely any rush.

Depends on the job.
Some jobs need a body, any body, urgent
More professional jobs are happy to hold for the right candidate

No, and I’d wonder why they were so available.

In the service industry with high turn over I imagine immediate start is preferred.

In professional roles with highly valued skills then a long resignation time isn't unusual. My current workplace waited 6 months for me and that role didn't even require specialist skills. - Left teaching and had to give my notice after May but wasn't permitted to leave until Christmas

I agree it depends on the job.

I’m in the civil service and you make the offer without knowing a person’s notice period. You wouldn’t get away with factoring that in, or withdrawing an offer because of it, unless it was wildly outside of the normal range.

Would very much depend on why they were available immediately.

Made redundant? Just finished uni? Fine.

Been fired for gross misconduct? No thanks...

This for me too.

I'd rather offer to someone with a 3 month notice than someone available ASAP but just so obviously desperate for a job they'll take anything and don't seem genuinely passionate about the role/company

If a company NEEDS someone to start immediately then this potentially screams of desperation. I'd want to know WHY they need someone to start so quickly. High staff turn over perhaps?

Most professional jobs have a 3 way notice period, so if someone quits that gives them plenty of time to start looking for the right person, with potentially a small gap between one leaving.

I worked for an engineering company and when I was offered the job they were annoyed with the 3 month notice period and did their best to get me to start sooner. I should have noticed the red flag. Their turnover of staff was horrendous due to poor management. I stayed 4 years as the work was interesting, but saw many people come and go!

If you need someone desperately, then you attract desperate candidates.

Depends. In my industry a lot of people would be suspicious if someone could start immediately and would want a reason for this. As soon as there's a reason like "I'm returning from mat leave" "I travelled for a bit" "I was ill" that's fine. But if they have nothing to say then it's sus

A bit of both. If you had two equal candidates and one could start immediately and one had to give notice then you would go for the immediately available one. However, if the one giving notice was the preferred then you would definitely wait. It you are in a position to be available asap then it helps with interview times and start date definitely.