Podcaster Tom Raftery’s recent interview with hold music completely cracked me up. <via Scoble> I found it particularly funny because I once had a big boss who loved to hold conference calls in lieu of in person meetings. He was just that busy. The only problem was he rarely showed for the meetings, and since he was the conference leader, everyone always sat on the line listening to that groovy doo-doo-doo-doo elevator music for about 20 minute until we decided – via IM - that it was safe to hang up. Talk about a great way to focus your team!
As a recruiter, I’ve been stood up by candidates many times. Comes with the territory. But I’ve heard way more stories about candidates getting stood up by recruiters and interviewers. You know … your interview is scheduled at 1pm, and you’ve been prepping all morning. 1:00 comes. 1:05 comes. 1:10 comes. 1:15 comes. Yikes. What are you to do? Well, below are a few tips. (And no, even though it’s funny, one of them is not to record the hold music interviewing you.) ;-)
Grant a grace period. Usually, you should set aside at least an hour for a phone interview anyway, and most phone interviews wrap up within 30 – 45 minutes. So, as annoying as it is, give your interviewer a 15 minute grace period. You know how meetings go; they always run over.
Set expectations. Your interviewer has called, but she’s a bit late. So late, in fact, that you’re worried you may not have that 45 minutes to devote before your next appointment. Let her know. Tell her that you set aside an hour for this interview, but you have a hard stop on the hour. You’d be happy to talk now for as long as you can, or if it’s better, you’re happy to reschedule. Interviews are important, but don’t let them derail your schedule or make you even more flustered.
Notify someone … quickly. Your grace period has passed, and all is still quiet. If you have the contact info for your interviewer, shoot him a quick email or leave a message. If you’re working with a recruiter, let your recruiter know what happened. Missing the appointment was probably a complete oversight so be sure to raise a flag. I've see so many candidates who never say a thing ... so no one knows to reschedule!
If now isn’t a good time, say so. I threw this one in for an opposite situation: Your interviewer or recruiter calls you out of the blue – no pre-set time – and expects you to engage in an on-the-spot interview. JUST SAY NO … politely. In my book, the one thing worse than an interviewer missing an appointment is not setting an appointment at all. Before you engage in any interviews or job discussions, you should be in a quiet, comfortable place. If now is not a good time, that’s ok. Politely let your interviewer know that you are tied up with something else right now, but you’re definitely interested and can proceed with the conversation at a mutually agreed upon time.
When these situations happen … late calls, no shows, spur-of-the-moment interviews … I often find innocent mistakes and ignorance are more to blame than anything. While these acts can seem malicious or like a “test,” it’s likely your interviewer is just busy … or not thinking properly. It happens to the best of us. :)
gretchen