Turning Away a Late Candidate

After posting last week about turning away an interviewee when the person was 30 minutes late, I heard from many of you with questions about what I did and how hiring managers should deal with these situations in general.

You can check out the post here.

Here are my responses to your top five questions:

Question #1: What if an interviewer is late and leaves the interviewee waiting?

It is unacceptable for either party to leave the other waiting without communication. Everyone’s time is valuable; remember that both the company and the candidate are interviewing each other. I’m based in Scottsdale and the talent climate here is highly competitive—there are likely 50 other companies vying for the same candidate.

It doesn’t make sense for an interviewer to leave an interviewee sweating in the lobby. If you have to make someone wait, ask a colleague to tell that person you will be there in a few minutes. For the candidate, if you are waiting with no communication for any more than 15 minutes, that is grounds for leaving. If a company doesn’t respect you during the interview process, they won’t respect you on the job.

Question #2: What if the candidate had called or emailed and was still 30 minutes late?

I get it; there are a million reasons to be late. If the person would have called, emailed or even texted to give me a heads up, I would have been happy to either speak to them when they got to the office or just reschedule. If they didn’t feel comfortable calling while driving, I would have preferred they pull over and do it there. These days everyone has a cell phone, so there really isn’t an excuse for tardiness.

Question #3: This must have been a Millennial! Why does this always happen with Millennials?

First off, this doesn’t always happen with Millennials. The stereotype that this either was a Millennial or that this always happens with that generation is unfair. More than 80 percent of my department comes from that generation and I can tell you that they show up on time, come in with positive attitudes, strong work ethics and high levels of energy. They don’t want participation trophies; they want to earn their place.

To immediately make the assumption that this was a Millennial is irresponsible on the part of any leader.

Question #4: I thought this was LinkedIn, not Facebook. Is this an appropriate thing to post on this network?

Yes, it is. This issue is something that professionals face on a daily basis. As a manager, I’m constantly dealing with people who are late to interviews, not prepared, and who don’t put their best foot forward. I posted this to explain what happened to me and to start a dialogue on how others deal with similar issues.

Question #5: Why would you publicly call out this interviewee?

I didn’t. I did not mention the person’s name, position or time they showed up. I didn’t want to draw attention to them at all. It isn’t about them; it’s about a problem faced by business professionals everywhere. 

In short, when you are interviewing for any position, it is your first impression. It is up to you as the interviewee to make a great first impression and to display value in your skills and highlight the impact you can make at the organization. Showing up late without communicating and then being nonchalant about your disregard for the other parties time will not do you any favors. Put your best foot forward and give it everything you have!