Interviewer Never Called: What You Should Do (Plus Samples)
Hey Job-hunters. As you start your quest for getting your first job, internship, or entry level position, there may be times when things come up. The interviewer never called. What should you do? First, this is a real bummer and can put you down. The important thing here is that something could have come up. Let’s Look at some reasons your interviewer never called.
Possible Reasons You Didn’t Get Called
Clerical Error – Sometimes it comes down to a simple clerical error. Everything was all set and confirmed on your end, but the recruiter forgot to update his/her calendar. I know this sounds totally amateur, but it happens more than you think. This has happened to me more often than I can remember. Send the recruiter a short email and try to reschedule. I will share a couple templates below.
Stuck in a Meeting – your recruiter may have been stuck in another meeting, and this pushes the whole schedule back for the day. The problem with this is that, everyone has a smartphone nowadays. A recruiter could quickly shoot you an email to let you know if he will be late or need to reschedule. What normally happens is the recruiter will email you and suggest a few times or ask you to send some possible times to schedule this interview. I suggest you try rescheduling with the recruiter. Sometimes things happen and interviews need to be rescheduled. Just pay attention though; if this happens a couple of times, the recruiter is probably not very serious, the company is a mess, or there isn’t much of a need to fill the position.
Out Sick – Sickness happens and could be another reason your interviewer never called. What was on the schedule will get delayed. In most cases, you will get a follow-up email in the next couple of days to try to reschedule the missed interview. The recruiter might send you some available times or ask you for your availability. The other approach that works well and recruiters often use is to send a digital calendar link where you can see certain times on the recruiter’s schedule and pick which time works best for you.
Car Problems, Weather Problems, And The Unexpected
Face it, the unexpected happens. If your interviewer never called, most likely something came up; it is not that he doesn’t want to interview you.
Stay Positive
Think about the way you would feel or felt when the interviewer never called. You feel turned off, maybe panicked, and might not even care to interview with the company anymore. First and foremost, stay cool and maintain positivity. I can’t stress this enough. Let’s say you get the call later than expected, and you have the interview, but suppose you were still irritated. That irritation can be hard to disguise and might be felt by the recruiter. You don’t want this happening. It was hard enough to get that first interview phone call; now you just shot yourself in the foot and probably won’t get called in for a follow-up interview. Stay positive.
Rescheduling The Interview
When rescheduling the interview, be polite and courteous. It is no time to be informal as this might appear that you are still peeved at the recruiter missing the interview. Be formal and respectful. Play it cool and stay positive.
Interviewer Didn’t Call – What To Say And Do?
If you have the interviewer’s phone number give a call. I normally wait about 10-12 minutes after the scheduled time before giving a call. If there is no answer, do not blow up his/her phone and call a thousand times. One time is fine. Leave a short message with the reason you are calling along with your name and contact number. If you don’t have the interviewer’s phone number, drop him/her a short email. State that you had an interview appointment, are not sure what happened, and ask if you’re still on for the interview. Here are some email options you can use.
Template 1
Hi (Interviewer’s name),
I hope all is okay. We were scheduled to have a (2 pm EST) (phone call) (Skype call) (video conference) today and I did not receive a call. Is there a better time for us to have this call? I am still interested in your (name of position) role.
Kind regards,
Philip Chesney
This is short, sweet, and straight to the point. I have used this template several times when interviewers didn’t call or no-showed for a Skype video conference. You will just need to adapt it to your own context (time, interview type, and position).
Let’s look at another option you can use.
Template 2
Dear (name of interviewer),
I am writing to inform you that we had an interview today at (time) on (Skype, Call) or at (place). I am currently waiting in the reception area just in case you are on your way or got held up in a meeting. If today is no longer possible to have our interview, I am more than happy to reschedule.
Contact info:
Phone number: (xxx) xxx-xxxx
Skype ID:
Best regards,
(Your name)
OK, so now we have two viable templates to use. Let’s look at one more in case you are leaving a message on the recruiter’s answering machine.
Template 3
Hi (name of recruiter), my name is (your name) and I am calling in regard to our interview that was scheduled today at (time). I didn’t receive your call, so I am not sure if something came up. I’m still very interested in your company and the (position name) position, and I hope we can reschedule. You can reach me at (phone number) from (specific times). Thank you.
The most important thing here is that you sound polite and nice over the phone. Make sure you do not call when you are irritated about the recruiter missing the call as this will not sound good and could hurt your chances of getting called back.
Wrap Up
It is a terrible feeling if the interviewer never called and you have to reschedule. The important thing to remember is, it happens. And I guarantee that at some point in your career a recruiter is going to miss an interview with you. The important thing is how you approach it. Send the recruiter one of the short notes above, give a call, and get that interview rescheduled.
Has this happened to you before? Share with the community what you did so we can learn from your experience.
For more tips on job search and interview tips, check out the CareerPrep blog and the CareerPrep and EnglishInterviews Youtube channels.
