What to do if your interviewer doesn’t show up
Check the invite, send a message while you’re waiting and ask for a new time if you need to leave.
Ghosted editorialPublished 12 min read
On this page
- Check the invite first
- One message while you wait, one when you go
- What your messages have to do
- Three things to have open at the start
- While you’re waiting
- When you need to leave
- How long to wait, and when to write
- Phone calls, offices and late arrivals
- What a no-show does and doesn’t tell you
- The mistakes that make it worse
- A checklist for the next twenty minutes
- Once there’s a new time
- Questions people ask when an interviewer doesn’t show up
Before you write
Check the invite first
It’s five minutes past the start and nobody’s there. Before you message anyone, make sure you’re in the right place. Open the latest invite, not the first one you received, and go through it in this order.
- The latest invite. Search your inbox for the newest invite or update for this interview. A moved interview can leave the old event sitting in your calendar.Start here
- The date. Is it today? Check the day and the date together, not just one of them.Today?
- The time zone. Read the time in the invite’s zone, then in yours. An hour out either way is easy to miss, especially around a clock change.Theirs and yours
- The meeting link. Join from the link in that invite, not one from an earlier email. If there’s a waiting room or a dial-in number, check those too.Same link
- The email that booked it. Look for anything that changed the plan: a phone call instead of video, a different interviewer, an office address.A clue
If something doesn’t match, fix it and join the right meeting. If everything matches, you’re where you were asked to be, and it’s time to write.
Who to write to
Write to whoever booked the interview: the recruiter or coordinator who sent the invite. They hold the calendar and can reach the interviewer faster than you can. Reply in the invitation’s thread, so the details are right there.
The messages
One message while you wait, one when you go
Replace everything in square brackets. Both are replies in the thread where the interview was booked.
Subject: Reply in their thread
Hi [Name],
I’m in the meeting linked in today’s invite for the [Role] interview. I can stay until [time and time zone]. Is there another link I should use?
Thanks, [Your name]
Subject: Reply in their thread
Hi [Name],
I’ve had to leave the call now. I’m still interested and could meet on [day and date] between [start time] and [end time] [time zone]. Would that work?
Thanks, [Your name]
The first tells the scheduler you’re there, where you are and how long you can stay. The second keeps your place in the process and gives them a time to rebook. Neither asks what went wrong.
Should I mention why they missed it?
Describe what you saw. “I joined the link in the invite” gives the scheduler something to check, even if the interviewer was waiting in a different room.
Start here
What your messages have to do
When an interviewer doesn’t appear, the person who booked it usually doesn’t know yet. Your message is how they find out, and it has to give them enough to fix it in one go. That comes down to three things.
Say where you are
“The meeting linked in today’s invite” lets them check in seconds whether you and the interviewer are in the same room, or two different ones.
Say how long you can stay
A time with its zone tells them how long they have to find the interviewer, and whether to try at all or move straight to rebooking.
Keep your place
“I’m still interested” and a window to rebook mean the next step is theirs to confirm, not a fresh round of questions.
That’s three or four lines each time. The scheduler may be juggling several candidates and diaries, and a message they can act on without reading twice is the one that gets you a new time first.
Before it starts
Three things to have open at the start
The latest invite
Open it a few minutes early and join from its link. If something’s wrong, you’ll find out while there’s still time to ask.
The thread that booked it
Have the scheduler’s email ready to reply to, so your message takes a minute, not a search through your inbox.
A number to call
If the invite or the email has a phone number for the recruiter, keep it to hand. On the day, a call is faster than any email.
Still on the call
While you’re waiting
Filled in, the first message reads like this. The names and times are made up.
Subject: Reply in their thread
Hi Jo,
I’m in the meeting linked in today’s invite for the Support Engineer interview. I can stay until 10:20 London time. Is there another link I should use?
Thanks, Alex
Three facts and a question. “The meeting linked in today’s invite” says exactly where you are. “Until 10:20 London time” tells Jo how long they have to find the interviewer. “Is there another link?” points them at the easiest fix to check first.
Send it about ten minutes in
Five minutes can be a meeting running over. By ten, it’s worth telling someone. For a short screening call, write sooner.
Stay in the meeting
Keep it open, camera and microphone ready, while you wait. If the interviewer joins two minutes after you’ve left, the slot is lost for both of you.
Call, if there’s a number
If the invite lists a number for the recruiter or for schedule changes, ring it as well. An email can sit unread while they’re in other meetings.
Name a time you’ll really stay until
Twenty minutes past the start is a fair wait for most interviews. If you have to leave at 10:15, say 10:15.
After you leave
When you need to leave
Reply in the same thread: “I’ve had to leave the call now. I’m still interested and could meet on Wednesday between 10:00 and 12:00 London time. Would that work?” Pick a window you can keep.
Filled in, with the date, it reads like this:
Subject: Reply in their thread
Hi Jo,
I’ve had to leave the call now. I’m still interested and could meet on Wednesday 13 May between 10:00 and 12:00 London time. Would that work?
Thanks, Alex
Leave at the time you said you would. Staying longer won’t help if it makes you late for something else, and you’ve already told them when you’d go.
Why offer a time straight away? Because the next email from them will almost certainly ask for one. A window in your message saves a round of replies and shows you still want the interview. Offer one or two you could really keep, each a couple of hours wide, on days soon after.
“Still interested” does a lot
Three words, and they answer the question the scheduler will have: does this candidate still want to talk? Put them in even if you’re annoyed.
Timing
How long to wait, and when to write
There’s no rule for this, and a late start usually has an ordinary cause: an earlier meeting running over, a wrong link, a calendar that didn’t update. These timings suit an interview of 30 to 60 minutes.
- When: The first five minutes
What to do: Check the latest invite: the date, the time zone and the link
- When: About ten minutes in
What to do: Send “Still on the call” to whoever booked it
- When: Until the time you named
What to do: Stay in the meeting, ready to start
- When: When you leave
What to do: Send “After you leave”, with a window to rebook
- When: Later that day
What to do: Nothing more yet; they may be sorting it out
- When: Two working days, no reply
What to do: One short follow-up in the same thread
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| The first five minutes | Check the latest invite: the date, the time zone and the link |
| About ten minutes in | Send “Still on the call” to whoever booked it |
| Until the time you named | Stay in the meeting, ready to start |
| When you leave | Send “After you leave”, with a window to rebook |
| Later that day | Nothing more yet; they may be sorting it out |
| Two working days, no reply | One short follow-up in the same thread |
Other situations
Phone calls, offices and late arrivals
The same two moves work everywhere: say where you are and how long you can stay, then offer a time when you go. Only the details change.
Subject: Reply in their thread
Hi [Name],
I’m ready for our [time and time zone] call about the [Role] role, on [your phone number]. Should I call a number instead? I’m free until [time].
Thanks, [Your name]
Subject: Reply in their thread
Hi [Name],
I’m at reception at [address] for my [time] interview for the [Role] role. Reception has called [interviewer’s name], and I can stay until [time]. Is there anyone else I should ask for?
Thanks, [Your name]
Subject: Reply in their thread
Hi [Name],
Thanks for letting me know, these things happen. I could do [day and date] between [start time] and [end time], or [day and date] between [start time] and [end time], both [time zone]. I’m looking forward to it.
Thanks, [Your name]
If the interviewer turns up late, carry on as if nothing happened. If there isn’t enough time left for the whole interview, ask: “We have about twenty minutes. Would you rather go ahead or find another time?” Let them choose; they know what they needed to cover.
Reading it
What a no-show does and doesn’t tell you
It’s easy to read a missed interview as a message about you. Usually it’s a calendar problem: an invite sent to the wrong person, a meeting moved without the link updating, an interviewer pulled into something urgent. How they handle it afterwards tells you more than the miss itself.
A mix-up, fixed quickly
- They reply the same day or the next
- They apologise and offer new times
- The rebooked interview happens as planned
A pattern worth noticing
- No reply to either of your messages
- A second missed or moved interview
- New times that keep slipping, with no reason given
One miss isn’t a verdict on the team. Two, with no apology, is information: about how busy the team is, or how much of a priority the role is right now. Weigh it alongside everything else you’ve learned, and decide for yourself whether you want to keep going.
What goes wrong
The mistakes that make it worse
Leaving after two minutes
Meetings run over. Give it ten minutes before you write, and stay until the time you name.
Joining from an old invite
If the interview moved, the old link may still open and lead to an empty room. Always join from the latest invite.
An angry message
However frustrating it is, the person reading it may not be the one who missed it. Describe what happened and offer a time.
Hunting for the interviewer elsewhere
Messaging them on LinkedIn or guessing their email address can land badly. The person who booked the interview is the right contact.
Leaving without a word
If you go without writing, the scheduler only hears the interviewer’s side. Send the second message as you leave.
Offering times you can’t keep
After a no-show it’s tempting to say “any time works”. Offer windows you could still keep if they picked either one.
Last look
A checklist for the next twenty minutes
After it’s rebooked
Once there’s a new time
When the new invite arrives, check it against the email: the day, the time, the zone and the link. Delete the old event from your calendar, so there’s only one to open on the day. The page on replying to an interview invitation has a short confirmation you can send.
If two working days pass with no reply, send one follow-up in the same thread: “Just checking whether either of those times works for rebooking our interview.” If the new time stops working for you, here’s how to reschedule a job interview. Your notes from the first attempt still count: the interview prep sheet keeps them ready for the new date.
Questions
Questions people ask when an interviewer doesn’t show up
How long should I wait if my interviewer doesn’t show up?
About ten minutes before you write, then until the time you named in your message. Twenty minutes past the start is a fair wait for most interviews; less for a short screening call.
Who should I contact if the interviewer doesn’t join?
Whoever booked the interview, usually the recruiter or coordinator who sent the invite. Reply in that thread. If the invite lists a phone number, call it too.
Should I mention why they missed it?
Describe what you saw. “I joined the link in the invite” gives the scheduler something to check, even if the interviewer was waiting in a different room.
Is it a bad sign if the interviewer doesn’t show up?
Not on its own. Most misses are scheduling mix-ups. What happens next matters more: a quick apology and a new time, or silence.
Should I leave or keep waiting?
Stay until the time you named, then leave and send the second message with a window to rebook. Waiting longer than you said won’t help if it makes you late for something else.
What if I was the one in the wrong meeting?
Say so plainly and apologise once: “I’m sorry, I joined the link from the earlier invite.” Then offer two times. Mix-ups happen on both sides, and a quick, clear reply fixes most of them.
What if they don’t reply at all?
Give it two working days, then send one short follow-up in the same thread. If there’s still nothing, the process may have stalled. Keep applying elsewhere while you wait.
Missed interview? Keep the new time with the job.
Keep each interview with its job: the link, the time in their zone and yours, and what happened last time.