Hiring
Ninety days is a long time: hiring around notice periods in India
Most experienced candidates in India serve 30 to 90 days' notice. Here's how to stop losing them between offer and joining.
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You found the right person. They accepted the offer. Then, somewhere in week six of a ninety-day notice period, they stop replying.
If that sounds familiar, you're not unlucky. Long notice periods are normal for experienced professionals in India, especially in technology, and they create a window in which a lot can go wrong: a counter-offer, a second offer, or simply second thoughts.
Here's what we've learned about keeping good candidates through that window.
1. Plan the timeline before you open the role
Ask early: can this role wait 60 or 90 days? If not, say so in the brief. It changes who we approach. Candidates who are serving notice already, or who can negotiate a buyout, are a different search.
2. Make the offer hard to counter
Most counter-offers are about money, but many acceptances are about something else: the work, the manager, the growth. Before the offer, find out what made the candidate start looking. Then make sure your offer addresses that, in writing.
3. Stay in touch, without hovering
A short call every week or two works better than a flood of messages. Useful touchpoints:
- An introduction call with their future manager
- An invite to a team lunch or an online team meeting
- Onboarding paperwork started early, so joining feels real
4. Ask about other offers, directly
It's better to know. Candidates often hold two or three offers. If you ask openly and early, you get the chance to respond instead of finding out on joining day.
5. Keep a backup warm
For critical roles, we keep the second-best candidate informed and interested until the first one has actually joined. It's the cheapest insurance in hiring.
The offer isn't the finish line. Day one is.
The short version
Notice periods aren't going away. Treat the time between offer and joining as part of the hiring process, with an owner and a plan, and you'll lose far fewer people in it.
If you're hiring for a role where this keeps happening, tell us about it. It's one of the problems we solve most often.
Not sure where to start?
Send us a note. We'll point you to the right person.