Employers complain about ‘no show’ interviewees

The problem of job seekers failing to show up for their job interviews is a big one in Malaysia. JobStreet.com recently ran a survey to better understand employers’ sentiments on “no shows” and why candidates skip confirmed job interviews.
The survey found that employers rank candidates who do not turn up for interviews as their top complaint, followed by lateness, no proper attire, not prepared and no response to interview invitation.
Some 87% of employers said they have encountered “no show” candidates in the past six months.
To address this issue, JobStreet.com along with the Ministry of Education and Talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd (TalentCorp) will be launching the Be My Best @ Interviews pledge campaign on Sept 25.
Jobstreet.com country manager Chook Yuh Yng said, “We uphold our employers’ complaints seriously and we would like to educate job candidates via awareness on the importance of good interview etiquette.”
“By getting them to pledge, we hope they will be committed to be their best at job interviews as the pledge will be made visible both to jobseekers and employers,” she added.
The educational campaign’s key message is, “Be serious—know what you want, be prepared—research and dress appropriately, and be there–must show up for interview and not be late.”
In another survey on job candidates, participants know that the employer can tag them as “no show” if they skip the interview without informing them. They also know that once they are tagged as a “no show”, other employers can see that status.
Yet the top five reasons why candidates skip confirmed interviews are: the realisation that the job is not at their preferred location (35%), the job doesn’t suit them after hearing from the employer (29%), a better offer has come their way (25%), no clear job description on job advertisement (18%), and no salary information (16%).
Among the “no show” candidates by position, employers mentioned that the bulk of offenders were those who applied for junior executive positions and fresh graduates. The survey also found 69% of candidates skipped confirmed interviews once in the past six months. However, after knowing that they could be tagged as “no show” by the employers, 94% said they would not skip interviews without informing the employer in the future.
JobStreet.com is a leading online company presently covering the employment markets in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, and Vietnam. The group currently services over 230,000 corporate customers and over 13 million jobseekers in its database.
For details on Be My Best @ Interviews pledge campaign, visit www.facebook.com/jobstreetmalaysia