Posted on LinkedIn: March 29, 2021

My client was all set to meet my candidate. Both on paper and in previous interviews, we seemed to have a great match. But something felt wrong.

In previous discussions, the candidate showed interest. Our client is a world leader in logistics, and the job represented a step up in both responsibility and compensation.

However, the day before the interview, I called the candidate to review a few details and to make sure he was ready for the meeting. The interest that seemed so evident in our earlier conversations had faded. He seemed to think he would be doing me a favour by going for the interview.

After the conversation, I contacted my client and let them know of the candidate’s change in attitude. My client decided to cancel the interview.

Bad news for the candidate? Maybe, but when I let him know the interview was cancelled he actually seemed relieved.

Bad news for my client? Not really. He had other priorities and said he preferred not to waste time interviewing someone who was not interested.

Bad news for my firm? I was disappointed at first, but I may have developed a higher level of trust with my client by looking out for their best interests, instead of pushing the wrong candidate.

Was there a better way to handle this? Please let me know in the comments.