As a recruiter, there are so many occasions on which you find your perfect candidate – “the one”, “the unicorn”, “the cream of the crop”. You can see the dollar bills rolling in, you’ve done the impossible, you’re the best recruiter ever!

…and then they cancel on you, 10 minutes before the interview with your client.

It’s Your Reputation At Stake

Candidates should never feel pressured to accept a job, but I don’t think they realise what this does to their own brand. By simply not “showing up”, they come across as unreliable, not serious, flaky, and just generally unprofessional.

To make matters worse, social media such as LinkedIn have made the professional world smaller than ever. And moreover – WE RECRUITERS TALK. That’s right, we have forms of communication that allow us to tell each other when someone flakes out on our client. There is nothing more annoying than someone not turning up, not because it inconveniences us (although it does), but because it inconveniences our client. For the candidate, it automatically puts doubts about their commitment in the head of both the recruiter and hiring company.

Honesty Really Is The Best Policy

I believe you should just be honest. If you are not interested in a job, then don’t commit to the interview. Tell your recruiter that you are not sure and that you have questions. It is OUR job to answer these doubts and to give you more information. If you feel as if you can’t speak openly with your recruiter about any doubts or questions you have, then they may not be the right recruiter for you. They should listen and care about your concerns or doubts, as it will help to avoid situations like the above.

More importantly, if you feel you can communicate openly with your recruiter, and they with you, then you’re much more likely to find your dream job as your recruiter will much better understand what you want and need.

Help Us Help You!

And we WANT you to find your dream job! There’s a common misconception that recruiters are just in it for the money, and maybe some are, but I’ve found that most recruiters I have worked with are genuinely invested in finding the right job for their candidates. Not only does it feel good to help someone find their dream job, but it’s also better for our clients! If you love what you’re doing, then you are going to enjoy yourself and do your best work, which will be obvious to our client, thus reflecting better on us as recruiters.

So please, communicate with us! Tell us if you don’t want to go to the interview, or if you’re not interested in the job, or whatever it may be. Don’t choose to stand us up, because that’s only going to reflect poorly on you as a professional and make you undesirable to work with.