There comes a day in every recruiter’s life when a candidate simply doesn’t arrive for an interview. We get it, life happens but seldom is there sufficient reason for not getting hold of us or the person responsible for attending your interview. Of course, car accidents happen, people get sick and aeroplanes fall out of the sky but were you incapacitated at the time? If you were, was there no single person who could make a polite phone call on your behalf? There are very few situations in which a complete lack of communication will suffice. If you miss an interview, it could ruin your chances of ever getting a foot in the door again. Find out why you should never miss an interview…
Because First Impressions Count
What people say about first impressions; it’s true. They mean everything and you cannot go back in time; it’s just one of those uncomfortable truths we learn as adults. It’s one thing tripping over your shoelace as you walk into an interview – you can recover from that, not pitching? Nope. It’s one of the biggest nopes you will encounter in your search for career growth. When your first impression is that you don’t care, you are unlikely to be able to recover from that.
Time is a Very Limited Resource
Think of it this way, a team of people are involved in making time to get to know you. It’s not every day someone you don’t yet know will schedule time especially for you. You can never get time back and whether you are an HR manager, a hiring manager or a senior executive in a company, your time is precious and is always in short supply. When someone disrespects your time, in turn, they are disrespecting you. If your first impression of someone is that they do not respect you, how likely are you to give them a second chance?
Time = Money
Missing an interview is more than a whoops. It results in a domino effect which affects more than just you. You have wasted the time of some important people and more than limited, their time comes at a cost. When someone has blocked time off in their diary, they could have been earning money for their business, interviewing someone else or watching their child’s hockey match. The bottom line is that is costs a company money to interview you.
Your Recruiter Has Second Thoughts
Recruiters have a tough job. Not only do we work hard to align your skills, experience, career goals and salary expectations with that of the perfect employer, we also do all the legwork behind the scenes. We condense your CV, check your references, set up interviews, prepare you for the interview and ensure that you are still going to make the interview. We invest in our candidates because we absolutely love seeing you succeed! But when you don’t pitch for your interview, we start to wonder whether you equally want to succeed. So we hesitate when a new role presents itself, even if it has your name all over it, in fear that we will look bad to our clients who we work equally hard to foster solid relationships with.
Start by Being Honest
Recruiters really do care. Some recruiters have a bad reputation but at e-Merge, we work exceptionally hard to counter negative stereotypes. We don’t pull any of the heavy sales tactics, we respect you and we prefer to play the long game; getting you the right position with the right company so that everyone is happy. This makes for lasting relationships and successful ones too. To this end, when you are honest and admit to us that you aren’t especially keen on a particular role, you have a colonoscopy scheduled or you overslept… we have a lot more room to do what we do best. We can liaise with the company on your behalf and ensure both your reputation and our reputation remain intact throughout the process.
Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute
When you are honest with us and you let us know you have a problem, we can help. If you wait until the last minute to tell us you cannot make it to your interview, it becomes a lot more difficult for us to explain your situation to your prospective employer. When you tell us an hour before your interview is scheduled, they have already probably planned their day around your interview. Avoid letting people down and tell us at least a day in advance if for any reason you need to reschedule your interview. People will respect you for being considerate.
Nothing Goes Unnoticed
In a relatively small industry, people notice. They remember. You might have missed an interview two years ago but you never know when or where you might bump into someone who remembers your unprofessional behaviour. It could be someone you haven’t even met, and HR manager CCD in an email or the person who was supposed to interview you. Even more worrying, your faux pas could be detailed on the company’s internal records. Businesses small and large often keep a record of internal interactions in order to filter out people who give them the run-around. You can’t blame them.
The Worst Thing You Can do?
When you’re already in a pickle and your interview cannot be saved, do not ghost your recruiter or interviewer. Do not lie. Do not get angry. Make a phone call and send an email. You need to apologise thoroughly and sincerely, even if you never get to see or hear from them again. It’s just the right thing to do; show people the respect that you would expect from other people.
Of course, where possible you want to save face, remain professional, avoid conflict and reschedule your interview. Whether it’s your dream job or not, every interview is an important one and the opportunity to learn something you didn’t already know. Respect the people who have taken time out of their day to accommodate you and that’s why you should never miss an interview.
