Job Seeker Emails Recruiter 7 Minutes After Their Scheduled Call To Slam Them For Being Late

The email stated that the candidate was holding recruiters and employers to the same standard as they held potential candidates.

By Megan Quinn — Written on Apr 24, 2023

Photo: TikTok

Email to job recruiter who was late to interview

When going in for a job interview, it is always important to show up early to give yourself enough time to prepare and to impress your potential new boss with your punctuality.

By arriving on time, the candidate can demonstrate that they are serious about the position and that they value the opportunity to present themselves as the best candidate for the job. Arriving late can send a negative message about the candidate's reliability, punctuality, and organizational skills.

However, should the same standards be held for job recruiters and employers conducting the interview? Some believe so.

One job candidate who was set to have an interview sent an email to the recruiter criticizing their professionalism after they did not arrive on time to conduct the interview.

The job seeker emailed the recruiter 7 minutes after their scheduled interview and slammed them for being late.

TikTok user @care4people is a social media user who publicly advocates for the rights of those who work in human resources. In one video that has garnered nearly 2 million views, he reveals the screenshots of an email an unidentified job seeker sent a recruiter after they failed to show up for their scheduled interview.

“Imagine having a job interview and the recruiter is late so you send this,” he says, displaying the screenshots in the video.

“Good afternoon,” the email begins. “We had a 12:00 PM phone call. I called three times already and there was no answer.”

“I am holding recruiters and employers to the same standard as they golf potential candidates for an interview.” Before the candidate is even given the opportunity, he turns down the possibility of the job position entirely. “I don’t have faith in your time management skills or your ability to properly screen candidates. I am longer interested in the position or in working with you or company as a recruiter. Best of luck in your search.”

According to the screenshots, the email was sent at 12:07 PM, just seven minutes past the scheduled interview time.

TikTok users had mixed reactions to the job candidate’s response.

Some people were on the candidate's side, believing that the recruiter should be held accountable for being late. “If they can’t be considerate enough to let me know they’re running late they don’t deserve my time,” one user commented.

“He’s holding them to their standards. Simple as that,” another user wrote.

Others pointed out the double standards that are unfairly applied to employees as opposed to job recruiters and employers. “If I went to a job interview seven minutes late they probably wouldn’t even consider me,” another user shared.

However, others, including the user who posted the video originally, believed that the candidate was too quick to pass up a job opportunity for the reason that he did.

“I’m the first person to call a recruiter out, but writing and sending this whole thing seven minutes after the call was supposed to start, and I’m assuming you called three times in a row, is not gonna have the effect you want it to,” he says. “You’re trying to stick it to the company, but I doubt that this recruiter is gonna care and now you’re out of a potential job opportunity where you would have had some leeway.”

He points out that the recruiter could have very well been in the restroom, or an interview that took place beforehand could have gone on longer than expected.