How Do I Miss An Interview?

Poor excuses and ghosting 🎭 will blacklist your chances at the same company in future. However, revealing legitimate reasons where you've received a better offer or, worse, an interview at a competitor can become a forever black mark.

Your Needs Come First

Novice interviewees tend to place the needs of the company before themselves - You're so wrong!

On the surface, you show that your values align with the company. You show that you want to produce the best work for the organization.

But at the end of the day, you work for money. You work to feed yourself and your family. You work because you want to stop working one day.

Prioritise the interview which could offer you the job that FEEDS YOU best.

Every interview offers a potential chance at a specific position. Which do you covet? Which do you want the most? Prioritize according to YOU and not the scheduling wants of each HR. Know that - you only can land one job. After accepting the offer you want, all other interviews won't matter. 😄    

It's ok to miss an interview, just make sure you use the time wisely to prepare for the next interview.

Tips: Applying for Jobs Before Graduating

• Tidy Up Your Online Presence• Know Your Job Hunt Options• Advantages as A Fresh Grad• Identifying Hot Jobs & Sunrise Industries• Seek Internship Opportunities• Tailor Your Resume to the Job• Get to Know Recruiters• Make the Most of Job Fairs

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White Lies Save You from Future Pain

Blacklisted names stay forever but white lies are forgotten easily.

If you were a kid, I would say lying is bad. But now that you're in the workforce, lies aren't lies as no one lies - unless you got caught red handed!

Weigh the pros and cons. Truths of going for a competitor's interview, "forgetting the interview date", showing up to the wrong location, missing your bus, etc are poor reasons which no interviewer will accept. Some of these reasons are easily construed as excuses, and depending on how you say it, may sound unbelievable.

Screw that chance of being misunderstood 🪛.

White lies prevent you from being inflicted with pain in future. Any poor incident can easily be recorded and digitised by HR (Human Resource) for future consideration. The HR exec who you've interacted today may not be employed a year or two down the road but your record stays. Poor references will then hurt your prospective chances at that point in the future, and we don't want that.

If You Are Nervous

There are many ways to calm yourself down and become composed. But as a reader of this specific article, I am very sure you have: (1) already tried it, (2) doesn't work, (3) tried many times and (4) it still does not work. So (5) you gave up.

Try applying for work from home jobs instead. Interviews are usually done through Zoom, by video or through a phone interview. This reduces the need for face to face interaction.

Applying for a Work From Home Job

∙ Self Improvement During the Pandemic∙ Submit an Ultra-Relevant Resume for Each Job Application∙ Humanize Your Personal History∙ Make an Impression with Minimal Words∙ Show Quality Work in Your Resume

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Reasonable, Excusable Excuses

1. Make it your interviewer's fault
2. Reschedule due to an unforeseen circumstance

Make it your interviewer's fault

In your search for a reason to miss your interview, you'll find that you have to assign blame so that your reason becomes excusable and tolerable. By pushing the blame to the people who called you up for the interview in the first place, you show no wrong in your actions and they can't fault you for it. Not being able to penalize you in any way removes all weight from your shoulders.

• HR's colleague called to say to show up on another day. No paper trail on this call and no name to the voice means that you can pin the missed interview session on anyone on their side. Should they really want you in their company, you can bet they'll reschedule you in soon.
• Say that you've went to their old office address. Somewhere in their email signature, namecard or website, the company may not have thoroughly amended their address to reflect a change. You can claim that you went to the old address and no one was there.

A Definitive Guide on How to Prepare for an Interview

• Prepare Resume• Understand Current Trends• Use Keywords• Character References• Plan Questions• Dress & Look Right• Body Language• Have Backup Plans

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Don't have the hurt to pin it down on the friendly voice on the other end of the line? Then blame the forces of nature, make it sound like it was an act of god or make it just-because.

• Weather works. First thought may ring that only in extreme weather conditions will this reason work. However, local floods and heat waves are ordinary phenomena that are reasonable if said convincingly. Flood waters blocked the main road? Reasonable. Made your underground carpark look like a mini kiddie swimming pool? Reasonable. The dry heat has cracked and deflated your car tyres? Again, reasonable.
• The baby is faultless. Kids are adorable. Who will blame the kuchi-koo? So if your family emergency seems one-off and within reason then okay. But if you keep using it as an excuse, the company won't want such a long term burden.

A Courtesy Call is Always Appreciated

I would rather be updated than left in the lurch.

Please, let your interviewer know early and ASAP. Not knowing where the incoming interviewee is gives HR crazy ideas. Minimally informing them is far better than to have them guessing.

Going MIA is the Worst Outcome

A no-show is wasted time.

MIA (Missing in Action) sucks.

Much like a tinder date, a no-show wastes the other party's time. In-lieu of a fulfilling interview meeting, missing the prearranged appointment really looks shitty 💩 on you. Leaves a salty feeling and obviously, no one will give you a second shot in the future.