Multiple final round interview cancellation, what should I do?

Question

I have been interviewing with a Tier 2 company for almost 3 months. The last month was spent scheduling a partner interview. I would receive a slot and the partner cancels, it happened 11 times before one partner showed up. After passing this round I was asked to join another partner interview the same day they called me. I shuffled my work schedule around (I’m working full time) to attend and the partner did not join the meeting without prior notice. This is now the 12th cancellation I have had and it is making me very uncomfortable, I am not sure if this is normal especially given how much time I have invested in this process.

Any advice? Is this a red flag?

PS. My initial start date was supposed to be in March, this was agreed with HR at the beginning.

Answer 1

Hi there,

First of all, I am sorry to hear about your poor experience with this company!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

First of all, this is anything but standard, and I personally consider this highly unprofessional behavior.
While you do not have any other option but to cancel the interviewing process altogether, I would highly advise you to reach out to the recruiter and politely explain your situation, both regarding your full-time employment and the planned start date in March.
Lastly, I would highly advise you to reconsider continuing the interviewing process with or at least accepting the offer of this company. While it might have just been this one partner that is unreliable (for interviewing purposes), it might also be a company-wide issue of lacking respect for the individual.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Answer 2

Hi there,

First of all, sorry to hear you've had such suboptimal recruiting experience.

This is clearly not normal, and - agree with the other coaches - clearly a red flag that poses question on the professionalism of the firm.

Now it is true that Partners have busy calendar, scheduling conflicts happen, and candidate interviews are not top priority for most senior leaders in a consulting firm. Yet, 12 cancellations is absolutely unreasonable and can frankly be considered disrespectful.

While I would not overreact without knowing the root cause of this happening, in your shoes, I'd ask myself if I can actually see myself working in that environment, especially in case I have other options where I feel more valued.

Wish you all the best!

Regards, Andi

Answer 3

Hi there,

Reconsider this job.

If the recruiting is already this bad, imagine how you are treated on the job, no matter how amazing or prestigious it might be.

Sorry to hear but this is a clear case to move on.

All the best,

Florian

Answer 4

Hi there,

Q: This is now the 12th cancellation I have had and it is making me very uncomfortable, I am not sure if this is normal.

This is definitely not normal and I would say the company is not acting professionally to say the least. Unfortunately you don’t really have leverage to change things, unless you get another offer, in which case you can use it to try to speed up the process.

In case you get an offer, I would do a bit of due diligence to understand if the company normally acts in this way, as it doesn’t look very promising.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 5

Hi there,

Honestly, this is a red flag. I would personally drop out of the interview process if it were me (but, note, I am at a certain stage in my career where I can. I'm not necessarily saying you should).

This is not normal, and, honestly, in all my years I haven't seen anything this bad!

This is reflective of the firm.

That said, if it's your only option and you need the job/brand, It may still be worth going through the process.

Ultimately, do not depend on them nor wait on them. This is true no matter what. You should be networking and applying to dozens of firms.

Answer 6

Hi there,

sorry to hear about such an experience.

This is unacceptable behavior for a firm. If you did that to them, they would have rejected you a long time ago. At this point I would try to stay clear of them to be honest.

I have seen such behavior on a company's end when there has been something going on internally (e.g. a recently decided hiring freeze) but the company does not want to reveal that to their applicants (yet). Needless to say, that is just another red flag.

Best of luck

Answer 7

Hello A,

It's understandable that you're feeling uncomfortable with the situation. While partner interviews can sometimes be rescheduled due to unforeseen circumstances, having 11 cancellations before finally getting a slot with one partner and then another cancellation for the second partner interview is quite unusual.

I think it is very important to reach out to HR and politely express your concerns and ask for an explanation. You could also ask if there's anything you can do to help facilitate the scheduling process. Even the way they will react to this will tell you a lot about the company.

Having said that, if after talking with HR, you still feel that the company is not respecting your time and effort in the interview process, it's worth considering whether this is the kind of culture you want to work in.

In my opinion, the way that you are treated during the interviews is a great indicator of what happens in the company and how they treat their employees in general.

I hope that everything will work out for you at last!

Best,

Victoria

Answer 8

Hi there,

Definitely a red flag and definitely not professional.

If that is your only option however, you may not have a choice. Another point is that as bad as the HR process might be (and the partner cancellations), it may not necessarily totally represent other aspects/areas of the firm in client facing work.

Otherwise, would encourage you to also try to apply to other firms at the same time. You can only use leverage if you have it.

All the best!

Answer 9

Honestly I think they’re stalling at this point because they probably don’t have open positions but also really like you as a candidate.
More than a red flag I think it’s reflective of demand for them at this stage. It might be worthwhile asking them if it’s better to postpone the hiring date to later in the year as and when things pick up.

Answer 10

My gosh, sorry to hear this. But I am surprised you are still giving this a go! Cut the cord and move on. Clearly this is not worth it.

All the best for next moves. There is plenty out there, so dont worry :).

Answer 11

It's a red flag in the sense that they are disrespectful and not very well organized. Also means that at this point recruiting doesn't seem to be a priority for them.

Of course this is not normal, and I would definitely look for an alternative and, if I had accepted an offer there, would be very on the watch out for any other red flags.