Missed and returned two calls with HR so far - Should I apologize?

Question

I have missed, and promptly returned, two calls from the HR recruiter. One to schedule a phone interview, and the second to schedule an in-person interview.

Both return calls were about 20 minutes or so from the initial missed call, and I apologized both times. However, these were brisk apologies, and I didn't think to provide a reason for missing the calls. I just kindly said "I am sorry for missing your call" and went on with scheduling the interview.

I feel as though I should send an email to the recruiter and further acknowledge my apologies for missing both calls. I don't want the recruiter to think that I don't respect their time.

Would an apology email be too much? I am expecting an interview confirmation email, and this could be a natural response.

Answer 1

Would an apology email be too much?

That's a difficult question to answer since none of us are this person trying to call you.

That said, it's somewhat typical for recruiters to have to play a bit of "phone tag" with candidates, especially since recruiters are typically calling candidates during normal working hours, and many candidates are working current jobs - which can make it awkward, since you probably don't want to take a call about an interview if you're sitting among your current coworkers!

In short: unless you've made specific arrangements for a call at a specific time, it's somewhat expected to have at least a little back and forth and a few missed calls. As such, there's certainly no need to go out of your way to apologize.

Answer 2

Yes an email is too far.

I'm sure they are used to not getting an answer straight away, that's why we have voicemail.

As long as you are polite and apologise over the phone on return call. Remember they are paid to place you, you calling them back is a favour to them.

Answer 3

There's no need to apologize. They could easily send you an email suggesting one or two times for a scheduling call or one or two times for the appointment.