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201

This++. I can't put my finger on exactly why, but I think that if someone did this to me in an interview, I would want them more. Being able to identify time-wasting activities is a big part of being an effective lead.. I mean, if they felt comfortable identifying an interview as a waste of time, imagine what they could do for your business. :)
– Dan
Commented Aug 28, 2012 at 20:24
97

A while back I was involved in an interview where the interviewee phoned 5 minutes before the meeting, and said he didn't like the area our offices were in (basically a downtown slum), and felt he shouldn't even waste our time. He wasn't telling us anything new, and we thanked him for being honest. An interview takes several hours away from both sides, so as long as the "abort" happens courteously, there's nothing wrong.
– Daniel B
Commented Aug 29, 2012 at 6:56
26

I was interviewing a someone for a combined UI/UX + Front End Engineer job and 10 mins in he asked what we were expecting and realized he only does UX. He said he wouldnt be suitable and I thanked him for not wasting our time.
– looneydoodle
Commented Aug 29, 2012 at 14:22
6

Karl always has a great outlook on these things, and I agree with his assessment: he was doing them a favor so long as he handled his exit tactfully. More often than not, I find that it is the interviewees time that is wasted because the interviewer didn't do his homework on the candidate or was too "polite" to stop short and say, "you know, you have great promise for some organizations out there, but ours is not the best fit for you".
– Matt Cashatt
Commented Sep 1, 2012 at 22:47
3

An "Open Office Plan" is a good enough reason to NOT want to work someplace.
– DLS3141
Commented Feb 21, 2018 at 14:39

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