Submitted by MattW on
in
Forums
Hi all.
BLUF: Is getting "stood up" from a phone interview a reason to back out of a potential job, and if so should I tell them why?
I've been going through the hiring process at a small company. I've done a phone screen and two phone interviews. I've been waiting to interview with the owner for about four weeks now. He's a busy guy with an erratic schedule, so I never had a scheduled time. Finally I thought we were all set for last Monday ("he'll call you as soon after 19:00 as possible"), and... nothing. I get an email last night saying "I promise we're not blowing you off, [person I'ved talked to before] has wanted to phone you personally since yesterday, but has been very busy. He plans to phone you tomorrow morning." In two hours it will no longer be morning.
At this point, I'm starting to wonder if I want to work for someone who can't find the time in four weeks to schedule an hour to talk to a potential employee.
To be clear, I'm not angry about this, and I get that stuff happens. Heck, I'd still kind of like to work there, as they're doing some pretty cool stuff. But I'm quite early in my career, so I don't yet have a sense of what is reasonable and what is unreasonable. Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks!
This is what working there will be like
BLUF: yes if repeated pattern, and no need to say why.
Getting "stood up" once is reasonable. Getting "stood up" repeatedly is not. Being refused scheduled time for final interview, especially without explanation, for a full month is not normal for a well-run firm. As it's the owner causing this, well, expect the rest of his "organization" to be ad-hoc and unfocused too.
If you were still interested in interviewing there, schedule a definite time-slot with whoever schedules him -- nail down a start and end time. If it's important enough to the owner, he'll be there. If not, well, be aware that working there will be working in chaos -- not easy for early-career.
In similar situations, I've said simply "thanks but you no longer need to consider me as a candidate" and walked away without saying more.
Hmm
Looks like, they are working with a skeleton crew for being so busy and having no time for you.
Well, if the position is
Well, if the position is really important to them then the person to interview should follow the set schedule and i think it wont be take so much of their time, isnt it? We understand and consider the 'busy time' especially of the executives but if they really care then a few minutes of interview would really matter.