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I recently got recommended by a colleague for a position at a large company, and applied through an internal channel. My colleague thinks I'd be a fit for the team and the position, but my first phone interview with the company recruiter didn't go very well.

The company recruiter emailed me available times for a phone interview that day, and I replied to reserve an appointment. From here, things got a little messed up. The recruiter apparently never re-checked their email, so when the time came up that day, and I didn't get a call, I made the decision to call them 10 mins after the appointed time.

I feel this is very unprofessional for the recruiter, and being pressed for time, my phone interview did not go as well as it could have.

What are my options for contacting a second recruiter for a different phone interview? Should I mention my first phone interview did not feel like the best impression because my appointment was forgotten?

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    I think this is a different question. This is about getting a second chance with a different interviewer.
    – IDrinkandIKnowThings
    Commented Mar 31, 2014 at 17:01
  • After 10 minutes is hopelessly too soon to be deciding that the person won't call you - not everyone is that prompt, and there are a lot of unpredictable factors that can contribute to calling a bit late (and initiating the call seems like a bad idea in itself). It might have the advantage of the conversation sometimes actually happening at that time (in cases when they forgot or didn't check their email, for example), but is likely to leave the interviewer un-/underprepared, not to mention that you're starting off on a bad foot, both of which are likely to lead to a bad interview.
    – Bernhard Barker
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 6:00
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    Who was pressed for time, you or the interviewer? If it was you, you really should have enough time after the scheduled time that a measly 10 minutes won't make you pressed for time. If the interviewer, that further strengthens my above point.
    – Bernhard Barker
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 20:52

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No, you should not attempt to get an interview with a different recruiter. These recruiters work on the same team for the same company. You are most likely in their computer system with notes from your interview with the first recruiter.

If you do somehow get an interview with the second recruiter, once they see those notes your attempt to reboot is likely to do more harm than any good that could come from it. It could even ruin any chance you had to be employed there now or in the future.

In this case, you should probably let it play out before taking further action. I would probably follow up at the end of the week to let the recruiter know you are excited about the potential of the position. The reason is that by calling "late" the recruiter may get the impression that you do not really want this job. Your greatest hope here is that your friend's recommendation is enough to get you an in-person interview. Even if it is not, your interview may not have gone as badly as you think. I have had a few interviews that I thought I bombed, only to find out later that they really liked me. People can be hard to read, and over the phone it's hard to read the actual response you are getting.

If this fails, most companies will reconsider a new application in 6 months to a year. When you reapply you will have a chance to get a new recruiter and even if you do not get a new recruiter you should get a chance at a new phone interview.

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    +1, but I think you may have misinterpreted the situation - the recruiter was supposed to make the call, not OP, then OP called the recruiter instead 10 minutes later (at least that's how I read it).
    – Bernhard Barker
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 5:58
  • @Dukeling - That may well be. But the perception of the recruiter is likely that the OP contacted him late. I put it in quotes not because I felt the OP was wrong just that it is likely the perception of the Recruiter.
    – IDrinkandIKnowThings
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 13:34
  • To clarify, the recruiter was supposed to call me. I called him when he was late.
    – jpostdesign
    Commented Dec 18, 2014 at 1:26
  • @jpostdesign - Well it seems that you thought that but they thought you were supposed to call them. In this case the customer(the company you are wanting to interview with) are always right.
    – IDrinkandIKnowThings
    Commented Dec 18, 2014 at 14:22
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    @ReallyTiredOfThisGame There was no mis-thinking here. They were supposed to call me. They apologized for forgetting to call as a matter of fact.
    – jpostdesign
    Commented Dec 19, 2014 at 6:56
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In addition to the above excellent comments (which I upvoted) I highly recommend sticking with a company recruiter instead of any third-party recruiter, as independant agencies will charge a placement fee of anywhere from a 20-40% of wages for a given time period like a year, or up to a third of your annual salary. So any candidate going through a company recruiter would be cheaper and therefore more attractive.

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