I practically got stood up for a phone interview...what should I do?

Question

I was scheduled for a phone interview with a local company for 1pm last Friday. I have no privacy at work, so I planned on leaving the office at 12:45 for lunch. It just so happens that at 12:40, the interviewer left a message on my cell phone saying that she needs to reschedule for 2pm. I had already announced at work that I was going to lunch at 12:45 and I knew I couldn't be offsite from then until after 2pm! Unfortunately, before I was able to go to my car to call the interviewer to say that I wouldn't be able to make the 2pm appointment, my boss pulled me aside to ask a question...which turned into an almost hour-long discussion. At the end of it all, I was only able to call the interviewer a few minutes before 2pm to say I couldn't make it and I ended up not having a lunch break at all. What should I do? I find it odd that the interviewer never offered to reschedule the interview with me and told me mthat she was going to call me at her convenience. How should I follow up?

Answer 1

I don't think you should follow up.  You also seem to have a very one-side way of looking at things.

Answer 2

The employer probably thought that you weren't interested in the job and were giving excuses.

What the interviewer said about calling at her convenience may mean she's going to pass you over and call up a bunch of other applicants and if none suit her, she'll call you back. But to me it sounds as if they're no longer interested in you.

Answer 3

Actually, I would rethink wanting to work for this new company.  That first interview, even if it's a phone interview, is as much about the company selling itself to YOU as it is for you to convince them that you would be an asset to their company.  The person conducting the interview represents the attitudes of the company as a whole.  What this company has just told you is that they don't respect other people's time.  

The interviewer gave you only 20 minutes notice that they were (unilaterally!) changing the interview time, and then they were offended when you were unable to accept their change.  That's completely unprofessional.  This interviewer knew that you would be rearranging your lunch hour to accommodate this interview.  The interviewer should also understand that in some companies, lunch hours are written in STONE, so once you arranged your lunch hour for that day, the interviewer had no reason to expect that you could change it yet again.

You can follow up with a phone call or a letter explaining that you couldn't rearrange your lunch hour for a 2:00 interview on such short notice.  It isn't rude to remind them that since you are presently working, any phone interviews have to be scheduled so that they don't raise any suspicions with your current boss.  Let them know that you would even be willing to do a phone interview before or after normal hours.

But if it were me, this interviewer's attitude would convince me I didn't want to work for that person or that company.