Jobseeker Is Disappointed That Their Interview Is 35 Minutes Late, Realizes The Recruiter Walked Past Him Several Times

Good time management is crucial in both personal and professional lives. However, many struggle with it, leading to missed deadlines, increased stress levels, and even wasted opportunities.

Reddit user u/HachiTofu took to the subreddit r/AskUK to seek opinions on whether they made the right decision in walking out of a job interview at a local bakery. According to the applicant's post, they arrived ten minutes early, signed in, and were told they'd be seen in five.

However, time went by and nobody provided them an explanation about what was going on or even acknowledgment of their presence.

We managed to get in touch with u/HachiTofu and they agreed to have a little chat with us about the experience they've had.

"[I applied for this particular position because] it was local and about 2 miles from my house, versus 20 for most other similar jobs," the Redditor told Bored Panda. "It was for a delivery driver job."

They said the preparation for the interview was pretty casual. "Dress smartly, look presentable, research common questions, and have a few pre-prepared answers."

It's perfectly understandable that u/HachiTofu is questioning their decision. For an overwhelming majority of adults, the job interview is a dreaded, stressful ordeal as 9 in 10 employed Americans say they fear something about the experience. When you can't relax, you can't calmly react to the situation, either.

A survey conducted by market research and analytics company Harris Interactive on behalf of Everest College revealed that people's biggest fear is having the jitters, as 17% of respondents view being too nervous as their top concern, followed by being overqualified for the job (15%), being stumped by the potential employer's questions (15%), being late for the interview (14%), being underqualified (11%), and not being prepared (10%).

"For so many, the job interview can be a high-pressure, make-or-break event when searching for a job, so it's only natural that anxiety can play a major factor," survey spokesman John Swartz, regional director of career services at Everest College, said.

"Everyone is different when coping under the pressure, but the best advice to help manage job interview fear is to simply be prepared. Conducting research, anticipating questions, and acting professionally are staples that will stand the test of time, regardless of the latest job interview trends."

However, as we just saw, recruiters can make mistakes too. (Or be just plain negligent.)

According to the team at Vantage Circle, a company that uses AI-based innovations to support HRs in simplifying and improving the employee experience, leaving a candidate waiting is one of the worst things an interviewer can do when screening them.

"When it is about an interview, the job candidates are cautious about how they approach it. They come to an interview before time to make a good impression," the experts at Vantage Circle wrote in a blog post.

"What most recruiters do not realize is that interviewing on time is very crucial. If you make a candidate wait past their interview time, then they might feel that your organization doesn't regard the interview as necessary. This creates a candidate feeling demotivated and might affect their future discussions." And this story is excellent proof of that.

Luckily, the internet was there to cheer them up a bit. "[Reddit's reaction to my post was] overwhelmingly positive!" u/HachiTofu said. "[I] genuinely didn't think it would go viral the way it did and I'm glad people both supported my choices and had similar experiences to reinforce that my decision [was the correct one.]"