How late is too late to cancel an interview?

Question

I started the interview process with two companies, Company A and Company B at approximately the same time, have been through 2 rounds of phone screenings with both companies and had a final interview for Company A today and a final interview with Company B tomorrow. Company A was very excited after the interview today and got me a job offer the same day. I am 99% sure that I want to accept job offer from Company A so I want to cancel my interview with Company B so that I am not wasting their (probably higher paid) time. I am now under 24 hours before the final interview at Company B.

What about that 1%, you ask? What if they come back with a better offer? While I will admit it is possible, I have already been asked about compensation by Company B and they have provided me with their pay scale. The culture, work and compensation all seem to be a better fit for me at Company A and I am willing to risk that 1% so I do not need to take additional time off at my current position, don't have to go through the stress of a multiple hour interview, etc...

Is under 24 hours too late to cancel an interview (they may have even left for the day and so will not receive my cancellation until tomorrow morning)? If that time frame is too short, how short is too short?

Update: At the urging of many user's here, I decided to go through with the interview even though it meant taking a little more time off from my current job. I liked the folks there but realized it wasn't a great fit for me, solidifying my choice for Company A (plus their offer was a bit lower) but I realized it would be an excellent fit for a coworker who is also looking for a new job so I sent him a link and told the hiring manager at Company B about him. They really appreciated it and now I have some brownie points with Company B for the future, a friend and coworker is closer to a potential job and Company B has a new, exciting candidate so it was a win-win-win.

Answer 1

Is under 24 hours too late to cancel an interview (they may have even left for the day and so will not receive my cancellation until tomorrow morning)? If that time frame is too short, how short is too short?

It's never too late to cancel a interview that you are sure you don't want.

The alternative is wasting their time as well as yours.

As a hiring manager, I've had plenty of folks cancel out of interviews - some as short as a few minutes before the interview was to take place. While that can be frustrating, I'm glad my time wasn't wasted.

Answer 2

Question, again: Is under 24 hours too late to cancel an interview (they may have even left for the day and so will not receive my cancellation until tomorrow morning)? If that time frame is too short, how short is too short?

The moment you realize you must cancel, then contact them. No time is too short. You have no idea when they are committed to being at the interview site. An email they will check before the drive into the office, may allow them to adjust their schedule. Or it might just open a block in their day because you were 1 of 3 interviews they had scheduled.

If your alternatives are waste their time, or not show up then yes contact them.

The standard advice (which I agree with) is that until everything is signed and accepted and there are no contingencies, then keep applying and interviewing. There was even a question on this site about a delayed starting date that was not communicated until the last working day before the start date. So it might make sense to keep interviewing even if you are sure you won't turn down company A.

Answer 3

It is not too soon to cancel, but I do not think it is necessary. Interviews are valuable learning opportunities for you personally, and a chance to practice a hard-to-acquire skill, despite the perceived "leading on" of Company B, there is no reason to forgo the interview as you have nothing to lose. But, you should politely decline any employment offer they may give as soon as possible.

You are still in "courtship", and while you are inclined one way or another, fundamentally you are undercutting your own opportunities.

I believe it is OK, and even normal to go for interview you have no intention on accepting a job afterwards, I have co-workers announce they are going on interviews just to go interview. It is normal practice in many fields to interview regularly to keep the skill. Who knows it may be a valuable connection for the future, but I do not believe worrying about anything beyond your opportunity is required of you.

As an example, in a contract project situation when evaluating multiple vendors with competing bids, a company would wait for every bid to be finalized even if they know early on that one vendor is the most likely candidate. There is value in going through with the process for both parties. Company B may get use you as a "model candidate" and work harder to recruit individuals like you in the future.

This has its caveats, is if an offer and contract with Company A has been signed, and they find out you are still interviewing, there is a small possibility they will be upset and rescind your offer.

Answer 4

I'm going to answer your question, but also play Devil's Advocate, sorry if the second half seems off-topic...

If you truly believe there is no chance you will gain anything from this offer, cancel ASAP as the others have said. You'll save yourself some time, as well as the people at company B.

However, you possibly have more to gain than you think. The interview is a chance for you to learn more information about the company, as much as it is for them to learn about you. You may discover things about them that help cement your decision to choose company A, or that make you question whether that is actually the right decision to make.

Finally, if company A are excited to have you, you have a lot of power. If you were to get a better offer from company B, you could use that to negotiate remuneration more strongly than you otherwise can.

Answer 5

Just let company b know. A simple 'thanks' would suffice. That is the polite and professional thing to do.

Good luck on the new job!

Answer 6

Go to the interview or don't. It is up to you.

I am personally a fan of not telling them and not showing up. Everyone is mentioning professionalism as a reason to call and cancel, but I doubt the company would be so professional to you if roles were reversed.

It is a nice and polite action to call them and cancel, but completely unnecessary. Chances are Company B will have no bearing on your future even if they remember you. Hang them out to dry. Of course someone earlier said you should go and see what they are offering. I agree with that as well. If they do have a better offer take it and tell the other guys you quit. You have to do what is best for you. If you expect the companies of today to sacrifice even a penny for your well being, you are seriously delusional.