Why candidates miss interviews and what employers can do about it

Most employers have felt it. A promising candidate confirms an interview, the diary is cleared, and nobody arrives. It is frustrating, but it is rarely random. In a market where good candidates hold several conversations at once, the employer who moves slowest or communicates least is usually the one who gets dropped.

The research backs this up. The CIPD, the professional body for HR, has long highlighted candidate experience as a deciding factor in whether people stay in a hiring process, and REC guidance for employers points the same way. Speed, clarity and human contact keep candidates engaged. Silence loses them.

The first fix is pace. The gap between application and interview is where most candidates are lost, and every extra day is another chance for a rival offer or a counter offer from their current employer to land first. If your process needs three stages and two weeks, ask honestly which parts earn their place.

The second fix is contact. A candidate who has spoken to a real person about the role, the team and the site is far more likely to turn up than one holding an automated calendar invite. Confirm the day before, share who they will meet and what to expect, and make it easy to rearrange rather than easy to vanish.

The third fix is to sell as well as assess. Candidates decide about you at the same time you decide about them. The employers we see winning talent treat the interview as a two way conversation and make the opportunity feel worth turning up for.

This is also where a consultancy earns its keep. Every candidate Equation puts forward has been spoken to, briefed on the company and prepared for the conversation, and we stay close to them right up to start date. It is one reason our permanent placements have held a 99.7 percent success rate since 2005. If no shows are costing you time, call 01869 323 444 and we will take that problem off your desk.