Interviewing is an important event in the life of every person who is looking for work. You need to come to the interview on time to make a good impression on the potential employer. However, none of us is safe from chance. Being late for an interview does not mean that you will not get a job. It is only necessary to take some steps that will help smooth out the oversight.
Call and alert
If you do not have time to arrive on time, notify the person who should conduct the interview. The sooner you call and say that you are late, the better. This will help smooth out the negative impression that makes non-punctuality.
Of course, there are situations when making a call is simply impossible. For example, you feel bad, have a car accident, and so on. In this case, you need to call immediately when such a chance presents itself.
If you do not have the telephone number of the person who is to be interviewed, dial the company number that you have. Introduce yourself and ask for your message to be sent to the HR manager with whom you have an appointment.
Indicate arrival time
If you are late, you must report how late you are. It is unlikely that the interviewer will expect you to indicate a new meeting time to the nearest second. However, he will definitely want to know if you will be arriving for an interview in 15 minutes or in an hour.
Try not to make promises that you can hardly keep. If you are on the other side of the city, then physically you will not be able to arrive at the meeting in 10 minutes. Assess the situation before calling the interviewer. And then indicate your estimated time of arrival.
Call even if in doubt
Suppose you are not late yet, but there is already a chance that you will not be in time. In a similar situation it is also better to call and warn. Great if you arrive for an interview on time. Your call will emphasize that you are worried about the impression you will make, you want to get a job. If you are late, a timely warning will help smooth out the unpleasant impression.
The interview may be postponed or canceled.
Well, if the hiring manager decides to wait for you. But being late for an interview can also lead to the interviewer offering to reschedule him. Be prepared for such an opportunity, do not give up on it. Let the person whose time you spent set a new day and hour. Demonstrate your willingness to meet at a time convenient for him.
Even if you call and warn, the interview may be canceled. It is possible that the job has already been offered to another candidate who arrived at the meeting on time. In such a situation, just tell yourself that you have done everything possible. Another time, you will do your best to be interviewed on time.
Take a breath
When you are late for an interview, you want to get to the meeting place as soon as possible. It seems to you that you do not have a single extra minute. As a result, you enter the office of the HR manager out of breath and confused, you can’t get your thoughts together. You can hardly make a positive impression that will help you get a job.
Do not forget that your main goal is not to arrive for an interview as soon as possible. Your main task is to convince the hiring manager that you are in the right position for which you are applying.
When you get to the place, be sure to give yourself a couple of minutes to calm down and put your thoughts in order.Take a few deep breaths and exhale, mentally say a few mantras that will help you find a confident state. The time you spend on this will not play any role, and confidence and self-discipline will help you get a job.
Apologize
Do not pretend that everything is going fine if you arrived late for an interview. The hiring manager will probably pay attention to the fact that you are late. No need to behave as if it is in the order of things.
It doesn't matter how late you are. Even if you spent only five minutes of someone else's time, you must definitely ask for forgiveness for this. If you do not do this, the interviewer will have the impression that being late is the norm for you. Do not forget that punctuality and responsibility are qualities that every employer wants to see in their employees.
Try to make your apologies sincere. Mention how sorry you are for breaking the interviewer's plans.
What is the reason
Most likely, the HR manager will not insist that you state the reason for your delay. However, this must be done if you want to make a good impression.
It is important to be able to explain your lateness correctly. It’s hardly worth it to tell the interviewer that you didn’t come for an interview on time because you overslept or got stuck in traffic. Such excuses characterize you as a person who does not know how to plan his time and does not respect someone else's.
Emphasize that the delay was due to reasons independent of you. For example, you can refer to a bus breakdown or an emergency in the family. The interviewer is the same person as you. He is well aware that sometimes a situation really gets out of hand.
Apologize again
Suppose you already apologized for being late when you called to warn about it. However, you should certainly do it again in person.
Again, talking about the reason for being late is not worth it if you have already described the situation by phone. Just mention that you are very sorry that this is completely different from you. After that, you should get out of your mind about being late and focus on the conversation with the hiring manager. Take advantage of the second chance that you have been given.
Send a thank you note
After each interview, you must send a thank you note. It allows applicants to express appreciation for the time taken, to receive new information about the company’s activities, and so on.
What to do if you did not come for an interview on time? In this case, it is appropriate in the letter to apologize once again for being late, and also to thank the interviewer for agreeing to wait for you. Allocate one or two sentences for this; this is quite enough. This will be another proof that you are interested in working and regret the mistake you made.
Summarizing
Being late for an interview is still a serious mistake that is best avoided if you are really interested in working. Ideally, you should be in place at least 10 minutes before the meeting.
To come in time for an interview, try to think through your route in advance, consider various options. Prepare in advance the clothes in which you plan to go for an interview so as not to waste time searching for the right elements of the wardrobe. Try to leave your home at least 30 minutes earlier than necessary. It’s always better to wait a bit than to be late.
If delays could not be avoided, in no case do not have to panic, cancel the appointment, and so on. Just do everything that is covered in this article. It is possible that you will be able to restore your reputation and get a job.