How do I regain rapport with a recruiter whose phone screen meeting I missed?

Question

Background

Today I had a scheduling mishap for a phone screening with a recruiter. She had the meeting scheduled at 1:30 p.m., and I sincerely thought it was scheduled at 3:00p.m. I work in an area where I don't have immediate access to my phone, nor can I hear it ring. She called at 1:30, and then left a message and sent me a gmail. I replied with the following message:

Hello < Recruiter > ,

I'm really sorry I missed your call. I work in a closed area where I am not allowed to take my phone in so that is why I didn't hear it ring. Also I thought the slot was at 3:00p.m, I am still available at that time. Please call me back at < Phone-number >.

Apologies, < My Name >

She responded that she was not available at 3, but that she could do Friday at 1, which I could do also. So we rescheduled to that time. Later I found out that she scheduled under a calendar that is not synced to my phone, I found this out because I got a notification from my second email from the recruiter that the event was changed. The old time was indeed 1:30. But for some reason I manually input it as 3:00p.m. in the calendar synced to my phone.

Regardless, this snafu certainly can't help my chances of sounding good on the screening. Therefore I would like to know...

Question

How do I rebuild rapport with a recruiter after fumbling the meeting time?

Answer 1

Dealing with recruiters, potential bosses, etc., can be hard. I once completely missed a job interview because I (also) entered the incorrect time into my calendar. I was embarrassed, and I worried about what the interviewer would think about me. However I quickly called him and told him honestly what happened; he said that he was glad that I called, because he was confused and a little upset. After apologizing about my mistake, he told me that he understood, and we simply rescheduled the interview. At the interview, we laughed about the earlier misunderstanding! It was a way for us to bond over something silly.

You apologized in your email, which is the polite thing to do. When you meet with the recruiter, bring it up again and let him/her know that it was indeed unintentional. Honesty is the best policy! And who knows, maybe you two can laugh about it later :)