5 Do’s & Don’ts Of Cancelling An Interview & STILL Be Considered For Future Jobs

By Florence Mukunya,

Getting a call that says you are invited for a job interview is the most exciting thing for a job seeker. But sometimes inevitable things happen in between the period you are supposed to attend the interview and sometimes you are unable to attend.

What are you supposed to do in such a scenario?

Recently,  Michael Oyuma* who works in a recruitment firm narrated of a scenario where he called a candidate to follow up on the reasons they did not attend an interview which they had confirmed they would attend three days prior. Surprisingly the candidate said he did not make it because it was cold.

“Such excuses are uncouth,” says Beth Wanjira a Recruitment Officer at Corporate Staffing Services.

She adds that, “If you are not sure of your availability, it’s advisable to call and give an alternative date of when you can avail yourself.

Speaking to Kennedy Olungo, the HR Manager at Barclays bank, he sheds some light on the do’s and don’ts of canceling a job interview

The Do’s

1. An immediate phone call
Call immediately and explain the reasons why you cannot make it.

“An immediate phone call shows that you were seriously interested on the position and in the same conversation, the interviewer may decide to reschedule your interview. Also make sure you thank the person for inviting for the interview,” says Mr. Olungo

2. Send an email to give notice
Mr. Olungo says that, “If and when you have the email addresses of your interviewer, write to them in a timely manner and notify them that you will not be available for this and that reason.”

3. Be courteous
Some people call and just say ‘I won’t make it’ without even mentioning why.

Mr. Olungo advices that, “Introduce yourself and politely say you are canceling an interview that you had been scheduled for due to unavoidable circumstances if you are not in a position to reveal what your reasons are.”

The Don’ts

Some people will give the most embarrassing reasons for not attending a job interview; Mr. Olungo says that once a candidate called to say they had a toothache and that they could not talk, yet on the phone they were communicating quite okay.

1. Lie about the reasons
“I know of people who get better job offers and when they call to say they won’t make it they simply make up stories, see I can’t recommend such a person in future even if I had a position that clearly fits them,” says Mr. Olungo

He also warns that, “Most recruitment people exchange notes and you might give a certain employer blackout thinking you may never see them again only to find them in another panel, this is how people burn bridges.”

2. Not showing up and not calling
“Mostly people cancel interview after they have done their research and they are not comfortable about the company hiring, the worst thing though is not alerting the interviewers that you won’t make it as it wastes the employer time and resources,” warns Mr. Olungo

In today’s job market one cannot afford to burn bridges because you are not if  tomorrow if you will still have that job. It’s better to avoid these  silly mistakes.

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