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Most candidates tend to use the following excuses when they refuse to attend an interview appointment offered by the employers:

–“I have got another offer.” – When you ask him / her further about the details of the offer, he / she will not able to tell. An experienced recruiter is able to judge from the conversation whether the candidate refuses to tell; or have nothing to tell, as he / she has no offer in fact.  Later on or in the future, the employer might advertise the same position again without disclosing the company name, and the candidate who rejected the offer earlier might have applied again, and the application reveals the truth.

–“I have something on and not able to come. May I let you know my next available time and call you again to fix another appointment?” or

– "I will call you to confirm the appointment.”

– He / she will never call you. And might not answer you calls / email as well. Finally, the employer has no choice but to put a negative remark on the candidates. Rejecting an employer directly if you are not interested in the application instead of delaying them.

–“Oh, I’ve forgotten!” – When he / she does not turn up on time and “accidentally” answer your call, you will get this most common excuse. When you offer him / her re-scheduling, he / she will find excuses to reject you. In fact it is quite impossible for a candidate to forget an appointment if he / she really sincere in the application. 

–“Your location is not my preferred place of work.” – This excuse is quite unreasonable, as the location of the company usually will be stated in the advertisement. The candidate is presumed to know his / her own application.

Tell the truth if you want to say "no" to an employer. It is alright to say "no" than lying.  

Many candidates unintentionally show no respect to the employer before the official interview session. They do not realize that they in fact give impression to the potential employer much earlier than their meeting.

Some of them sound very rude during the phone conversation while the appointment is to be fixed. They might not know that the person who coordinate the appointment might be the interviewer him / herself. They might not know that the interviewer might ask the opinion of the person who coordinate the appointment. No matter who is the caller, be respect from the beginning.

Some of them do not pay attention on the details of the appointment, including venue, required documents etc. They end up lost their ways therefore waste both owns’ and the interviewer’s time. Some candidates do not bring the documents as requested. These give very bad impression to the employer, as it shows disorganisation and lack concentration / attention.

Some candidates do not turn up on time. Some allowance is allowed, perhaps due to some unforeseen circumstances such as traffic situation, but shall not more than 15 minutes late. Some candidates do not even bother to call, when they expect to be late; or explain, or at least apologise on their lateness. In fact this shows the candidates’ irresponsibility, no time management and self-disciplinary.

Some candidates refuse to produce the requested documents, or reveal some information which according to them, confidential. An ethical recruiter will ask for the right things. An interview session is for both the employer and candidate to understand each other better. If both parties are too reserved in an interview session, it serves no purpose.

Besides showing professional appearance, good communication skills and other visible strengths during the interview session, the candidates shall help themselves to the best possible start by showing respect from the very beginning.