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I am really irritated right now, my application was accepted and I had a scheduled phone interview with a large corporate brand.

First the hiring manager rescheduled the interview time, then on the day did not bother to show up. I proceeded to contact HR after 15 minutes of waiting via email, heard nothing. I then phoned and left a voice mail asking whether the interview was still on, heard nothing. Next day (Today), heard nothing from HR.

My questions are the following:

  1. Should I chase HR up or withdraw my application? I am in two minds now about this opportunity. On one hand it is a global brand, and for that reason alone I want to pursue it but than on the other hand, I am so extremely irritated that if I took the brand name away in any other circumstances I would withdraw my application. I have other options, job offers etc.

  2. Why have HR suddenly gone cold, it is striking me as extremely unprofessional and disorganised? Has anyone on here experienced something similar?

  3. If I complain, and do get an interview, are my chances blown? Is it better to wait and let them come back to me.

Current circumstance: I accepted a job offer elsewere, serving my notice period, so cannot wait forever for these guys to make a decision.

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    Interviews are not just for the company to evaluate you but for you to evaluate the company as well. It sounds to me like the hiring manager "blew the interview" by choosing not to show up. Why would you still want to work for a place like that?
    – user48276
    Aug 24, 2017 at 12:42
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    Yes, by not attending scheduled interviews, offering a less than competitive salary, ignoring your starting date preference, etc. Then, once you are hired, by not holding promised performance reviews, denying vacation requests, taking away your red stapler, and in general acting like they're doing you a great favor just by letting you work there.
    – A. I. Breveleri
    Aug 24, 2017 at 13:55
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    @A.I.Breveleri sounds like I have dodged a bullet. I think salary expectations might have put them off, company 1 are offering a good salary, I put that on the HR form. Will never know.
    – bobo2000
    Aug 24, 2017 at 13:58
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    "Interviews are ... for you to evaluate the company" - absolutely. I once had an on-site interview with a blue chip company that was a disaster from start to finish. The interviewer kept me waiting outside his office for 2 hours because of some "panic" that he needed to sort out. That was actually useful, because it soon became obvious just from watching and listening that none of his team had any respect for him. The final insult was "well, you only live 20 miles away, so we don't need to pay you any expenses, do we?" (and they didn't even provide any lunch during a whole-day session!). ...
    – alephzero
    Aug 24, 2017 at 14:15
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    ... they arranged a second interview, at which I was the one who just didn't show up. I eventually got a rejection letter from them - no surprise about that, except it took them literally 9 months to write and send it!
    – alephzero
    Aug 24, 2017 at 14:17

3 Answers 3

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You've followed up and for whatever reason they haven't gotten back to you. There can be lots of reasons for this and, short of finding a good mind reader, I doubt you'll ever truly know why. Things definitely move a lot slower in the hiring process than you expect but to be honest given their unprofessional behavior I'd suggest you've dodged a bullet there.

I definitely wouldn't bother complaining - I doubt it would achieve anything and even if they then interview you and offer you the job. Do you really want to start off your working relationship with them on a complaint?

You've got another offer elsewhere which you have accepted so I'd move on and focus on the new job (congratulations by the way!).

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Should I chase HR up or withdraw my application?

Neither.

Focus on the offer you have already accepted. Leave your application open and wait until this company gets back to you. If they don't reply, just cross them off your list.

Current circumstance: accepted a job offer elseware, serving my notice period, so cannot wait forever for these guys to make a decision.

Very strange.

You accepted an offer elsewhere, but are continuing to chase an interview at this new company?

Perhaps they got wind of the fact that you already committed to a different job and don't want to pursue someone who changes their mind so quickly.

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    He has nothing to lose by attending another interview
    – rath
    Aug 24, 2017 at 12:08
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    I applied to both companies at the same time, this was my first choice originally so decided to explore the opportunity once it presented itself. Their application process was also very long and protracted.
    – bobo2000
    Aug 24, 2017 at 12:26
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    @JoeStrazzere I'm not legally binded to the company unless I sign an employment contract. Also my offer is conditional, so it goes both ways. I agree it's good practice to not do this, and under normal circumstances, I would never do this. The second company is a blue chip.
    – bobo2000
    Aug 24, 2017 at 13:14
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    @JoeStrazzere in the UK yes that is how it works. It's not uncommon for people to withdraw their offers and accept another. I didn't even get the chance to weigh up both offers since the blue chip's recruitment process is long and protracted. Either way, it looks like the original company has benefited.
    – bobo2000
    Aug 24, 2017 at 13:28
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    @bobo2000 My experience in the UK is that it is very uncommon for people to withdraw from an accepted offer and accept another. I would not want to hire somebody who would do that.
    – Martin Bonner supports Monica
    Aug 24, 2017 at 14:18
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Usually when HR goes cold like this, it means they have made a decision and are not wasting time on candidates they have rejected. However that usually does not involve not showing up for a scheduled interview without cancelling it.

What may have happened is that someone had a family emergency and forgot to cancel. It may be the tone of your contact concerning the cancellation that caused them not to respond to you further or they may just be busy with higher priorities than that particular job. Sometimes it means that the person who was handling it has left the company and no one else is even seeing your emails. Things get dropped through the cracks sometimes in large corporations. Sometimes they stop all hiring for budget reasons or because of upcoming problems such as a layoff in the planning stage.

Yes, they should have contacted you to tell you the interview was cancelled, but as I said, sometimes things get dropped through the cracks. Assuming an honest mistake is always more productive than getting mad.

In any event, you have contacted them as you should have done, but no one can force an answer. If you have a second contact name, I would try that but make sure your tone is not negative. You are perplexed at what has happened and perhaps the email got mislaid, not mad at the whole thing. Attitude in an email like this is critical.

Since you have another job offer, I personally would just move on.

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  • Doubt the HR contact has left the company, I just think they are incompetent. I have accepted that I am not going to work for these people, the lack of professionalism and arrogance is really just irritating for such a global brand.
    – bobo2000
    Aug 24, 2017 at 14:53
  • @bobo2000, it is not good to assume incompetence. If the tone of your initial inquiry about the interview made it clear you were angry and thought they were incompetent, that alone would stop the process for you because no one wants to work with angry people.
    – HLGEM
    Aug 24, 2017 at 16:49
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    No it wasn't , I simply asked if there was anything wrong and if the interview was still on. At the end of the day it is incompetence, where in comparison to the job role I accepted there was similarly a delay but HR were quick to deal with it. Apologising. On this occasion I had every right to be angry, I followed the process and they did not act professionally to the point that I have still not heard from them. No excuses.
    – bobo2000
    Aug 24, 2017 at 17:32

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