Is Being Late a Dealbreaker?

Arriving on time is rule number one of a successful job interview. If you’re late, many employers will cut the interview short, or refuse to meet with you. But what about arriving too early—is that just as bad? The truth is, everything you’re doing as part of the interview process is being judged and each move you make should be calculated. Your arrival is the beginning of your first impression. Here are answers to 4 questions about punctuality that you’ve always wanted to ask an HR professional:

How late is “late” to a job interview?
If your interview is at 4:00pm and you arrive at 3:56pm, you’re already late. If you walk through the door with less than 5 minutes to spare, you’re taking a gamble. Almost everything that happens after you walk through the door is out of your control. If the receptionist is on the phone and you have to wait 5 minutes for her to greet you and call HR to let them know you’ve arrived, then you’re late. If you arrive 5 minutes early and are told you’ll need to fill out a general application before your interview begins, you’re already late.

How early should I arrive?
You can definitely arrive too early and this is not good either. In general, we recommend walking in no sooner than 15 minutes before your interview. This does not mean you should be parking 15 minutes before because it may take you 10 minutes to walk from your car to the building. Figure out where your interview is located ahead of time (ideally the day before). Whatever you do, don’t go in 45 minutes early and then play on your phone! That’s a terrible first impression to make.

Is being late a dealbreaker?  
Yes it usually is—but it does depend on the circumstances (and sometimes even the mood of your interviewer). If there was a genuine unforeseen incident like an accident or a family emergency, then you might be able to salvage the situation. But you are at the mercy of the interviewer. Timeliness matters. Do your best to communicate that something unexpected has occurred as soon as you know you will be late (this means BEFORE your interview time). It's much easier to save things if you let them know ahead of time as opposed to after you're already late. This can help if you have a genuine last minute emergency or unforeseen obstacle. Employers expect people to demonstrate good communication and planning skills. So if you misjudged the location or ran into traffic, then you’re probably looking at a missed opportunity. 

Should I make up an excuse?
No. There’s nothing a company leader likes less than hearing about how your dog got out when you were leaving the house, you thought they were in a different building, or your GPS wasn’t working. All of these things make you look unorganized and unprepared. If you were on your way and you got rear-ended by a truck, that’s different. Pull over, call to let your interviewer know what happened, genuinely apologize, and ask to reschedule.

The reality is your job interview is the first impression a company leader will have of you. The way you structure your time is a big factor of being successful in any job. Arrive late and you look unorganized and inconsiderate. Arrive too early and you appear disrespectful of your employer’s time. He’s not sitting around waiting; he’s probably in another meeting or fixing a problem. Think about the image you want to portray. Arrive early enough to be able to handle any unforeseen road blocks, but not so early that you disrupt the flow of business.

Happy Interviewing!