Offer to day 90: checklist for studios

The time between "offer accepted" and the first weeks in the job needs as much care as the search.

Why this matters

• A Mint and Shine Talent Insights study, as cited in The Hans India, found 22% of Indian companies called offer drop-outs their biggest hiring challenge.

• Many games candidates we spoke to in 2026 had 30 or 60 day notice periods. That is a long time to stay silent.

• Talya Bauer's SHRM Foundation guide on onboarding notes that new hires have about 90 days to prove themselves. Her 4 Cs are Compliance, Clarification, Culture and Connection.

Making the offer

• Offer within a week of the final round

• Call the candidate before you send the letter, and walk through numbers and benefits

• Put fixed pay, variable pay, benefits, leave, location and review date in writing

• Give a clear but fair deadline to accept (3 to 5 days is common)

• Ask directly: "Is there any other offer we should know about?"

During the notice period

• Hiring manager message in week 1: "Excited to have you"

• Share the first-week plan and team list

• Invite them to one informal team call

• Send laptop, email and tool access details before day one

• Regular check-ins from the recruiter and the hiring manager

Day one to day 30 (Compliance and Clarification)

• Desk, laptop and accounts ready on day one

• Manager agrees 90-day goals with them in week 1 or 2

• A named buddy

• Explain how work is reviewed and how feedback is given

Day 30 to 90 (Culture and Connection)

• Check-ins at day 30, 60 and 90

• Buddy meets them regularly. Microsoft found that 97% of new hires who met their buddy more than 8 times in 90 days said the buddy helped them get productive

• Ask: "Is the job what you were told it would be?"

• Fix small problems fast (tools, access, unclear ownership)

What Playdawn does after placement

We check in with the candidates we place after they join, so that if something is going wrong, you can hear about it early.

Sources

• Mint and Shine Talent Insights, via The Hans India, September 2025.

• Bauer, T. N., Onboarding New Employees: Maximizing Success, SHRM Foundation.

• Microsoft internal research on onboarding buddies, as reported by SHRM.