How to Deal With Arriving Late to an Interview
Make contact., Apologize., Have a good reason., Inform your contact of when you expect to arrive., Reschedule your appointment.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Make contact.
As soon as you know that you are going to be late, you must call your contact and inform them of this.
Informing your contact that you will be late will help keep the remainder of the interview process on track.Contact by phone, if possible.
If your contact has specified another means of communication, such as email, use that method instead.
Not showing up at all, without a call, will cause you to be dropped from consideration for the position. -
Step 2: Apologize.
If you were able to reschedule, you should apologize for being late in the first instance.
Be sincere and professional in your apology, strike a balance between saying too much and too little.Keep your message direct and brief.
Don't go into too much detail as to why you are late.
Provide information, not excuses. , Not all reasons for being late will be considered by interviewers as being legitimate.
Generally actions out of your control will be treated with more sympathy than those within your control.
Inform your contact as to why you were late.Regular traffic issues are not valid excuses.
You are expected to know what the traffic is like near the location of your interview.
Major transportation failures, public or personal, may be accepted as valid reasons for being late.
A true emergency, personal or family, may also be an acceptable reason for being late. , Once you make contact and have apologized, you should let your contact know exactly when you expect to arrive.
By knowing when you now expect to arrive and informing your contact, you can both work together to figure out what the next step will be.You may be allowed to reschedule your appointment.
The amount of time that you will be late will determine when you should reschedule your interview. , If you and your contact both agree that rescheduling is the best option, you will have to choose a time that works best.
Choosing the new appointment time will depend largely on how late you expect to be and what time the interviewer has available.When rescheduling you may choose another day entirely or move the interview to later that day.
If you expect to be late by more than ten minutes, choose another day for the interview.
Ask your contact if your proposed times work for them.
If your suggestions do not work, check with them and work with their availability.
Remember to thank them, sincerely, for the opportunity to reschedule. -
Step 3: Have a good reason.
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Step 4: Inform your contact of when you expect to arrive.
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Step 5: Reschedule your appointment.
Detailed Guide
As soon as you know that you are going to be late, you must call your contact and inform them of this.
Informing your contact that you will be late will help keep the remainder of the interview process on track.Contact by phone, if possible.
If your contact has specified another means of communication, such as email, use that method instead.
Not showing up at all, without a call, will cause you to be dropped from consideration for the position.
If you were able to reschedule, you should apologize for being late in the first instance.
Be sincere and professional in your apology, strike a balance between saying too much and too little.Keep your message direct and brief.
Don't go into too much detail as to why you are late.
Provide information, not excuses. , Not all reasons for being late will be considered by interviewers as being legitimate.
Generally actions out of your control will be treated with more sympathy than those within your control.
Inform your contact as to why you were late.Regular traffic issues are not valid excuses.
You are expected to know what the traffic is like near the location of your interview.
Major transportation failures, public or personal, may be accepted as valid reasons for being late.
A true emergency, personal or family, may also be an acceptable reason for being late. , Once you make contact and have apologized, you should let your contact know exactly when you expect to arrive.
By knowing when you now expect to arrive and informing your contact, you can both work together to figure out what the next step will be.You may be allowed to reschedule your appointment.
The amount of time that you will be late will determine when you should reschedule your interview. , If you and your contact both agree that rescheduling is the best option, you will have to choose a time that works best.
Choosing the new appointment time will depend largely on how late you expect to be and what time the interviewer has available.When rescheduling you may choose another day entirely or move the interview to later that day.
If you expect to be late by more than ten minutes, choose another day for the interview.
Ask your contact if your proposed times work for them.
If your suggestions do not work, check with them and work with their availability.
Remember to thank them, sincerely, for the opportunity to reschedule.
About the Author
Kimberly Cook
Experienced content creator specializing in practical skills guides and tutorials.
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