Clients Not showing up for telephone interviews....Is that a thing now?

[northernladuk]

If the client is so incompetent they can't arrange a simple telephone interview and at least contact you or the agent if they can't make it to reschedule, imagine the state of their projects.

So see it as a potential blessing you found out before signing up and getting dragged into their tulip show.

If they do eventually try to reschedule, consider telling the agent you want a higher rate on project risk grounds (i.e. danger money) if this is a sign of things to come with the client.

What a pile of complete tosh.

[pauldee]

Happened to me once. I arranged a telephone interview for my lunch break, and the client never called me. Half way through the afternoon I got a call from the agent saying the client was ready for me now and could I take it. The agent was livid that I couldn't just duck out of work for half an hour to take the call, as apparently was the client. Never heard from them again.

[Hobosapien]

Happened to me once. I arranged a telephone interview for my lunch break, and the client never called me. Half way through the afternoon I got a call from the agent saying the client was ready for me now and could I take it. The agent was livid that I couldn't just duck out of work for half an hour to take the call, as apparently was the client. Never heard from them again.

In a buyers market they think they can get away with such inconsiderate behaviour. Whatever the market if you have a decent enough warchest you don't need to put up with it and can just walk away.

One of the benefits of being a contractor is you play to your rules if you can afford that luxury. Those pandering to clients and agents, as if an employee in fear of their job, are maybe not cut out to be a contractor.

If for whatever reason you haven't the flexibility to accommodate poor client/agency time management, let them know the situation when arranging the telephone interview (i.e. only available between an agreed specified time) so they have no right to get upset if they fail to meet their end of the arrangement.

[northernladuk]

In a buyers market they think they can get away with such inconsiderate behaviour. Whatever the market if you have a decent enough warchest you don't need to put up with it and can just walk away.

One of the benefits of being a contractor is you play to your rules if you can afford that luxury. Those pandering to clients and agents, as if an employee in fear of their job, are maybe not cut out to be a contractor.

If for whatever reason you haven't the flexibility to accommodate poor client/agency time management, let them know the situation when arranging the telephone interview (i.e. only available between an agreed specified time) so they have no right to get upset if they fail to meet their end of the arrangement.

More tosh.

[Hobosapien]

More tosh.

Care to explain why you think so?

If not you're at risk of coming across as an agent in disguise.

[northernladuk]

Care to explain why you think so?

If not you're at risk of coming across as an agent in disguise.

The guy has missed a call which is low down on his agenda. There could be a hundred reasons he's missed it. How many times do people miss meetings or teleconferences because something else has run over or something more urgent has cropped up? It happens once and that person is unprofessional and the company is a pile of crap? Complete rubbish.

They rang her back later and apologised for christs sake.

It's unfortunate at the very worst. If they have a gig you want and you've got to put up with these situations once in awhile. They really hold the purse strings so sometimes you are at their mercy.

There is a line when it goes to far but missing one telephone interview? Honestly.

[Hobosapien]

The OP edited their original post to say this had happened 3 times so more than one client being shoddy. i.e. It isn't behaviour that should be tolerated or 'they' get the impression such inconsideration is normal.

Of course individual circumstances mean everyone approaches such things from their own perspective. Mine is that I have a big enough warchest to not have to put up with inconsiderate or unreliable clients/agents, while there are other opportunities available or likely to come along soon.

If the client (likely via the agent) offers an apology and reschedules as soon as they realise they've cocked up then fair enough, but those going quiet and later maybe expecting similar accommodation would be taking the contractor for a bit of a mug.

Moral of the story, the bigger the warchest the less you have to put up with poor clients or agents, till eventually the warchest is big enough you can retire.

[flavios]

The guy has missed a call which is low down on his agenda. There could be a hundred reasons he's missed it. How many times do people miss meetings or teleconferences because something else has run over or something more urgent has cropped up? It happens once and that person is unprofessional and the company is a pile of crap? Complete rubbish.

They rang her back later and apologised for christs sake.

It's unfortunate at the very worst. If they have a gig you want and you've got to put up with these situations once in awhile. They really hold the purse strings so sometimes you are at their mercy.

There is a line when it goes too far but missing one telephone interview? Honestly.

It is a matter of fairness; if this happened on the other side probably the firm would have thought the contractor was unprofessional and not motivated to secure the gig.

Even if you are late for the interview 10mins or wearing jeans ...I heard so many stories about how cherry picking are companies nowadays which makes me think they are just looking at the classic one-way flexibility perms style behavior.

You are a contractor, a company on your own, so then you have to preserve the same meter of consideration as the other end is expecting to meet the concept of 'professionalism' and 'efficiency'.

my two cents...

[northernladuk]

It's not about fairness. One person has something, the other person wants it. It's not a level playing field.

The gig is all important to you, it just isn't to the client. He's got a job to do and if all hell has broken lose at work that will be his focus.

Crap happens. Kicking off about one missed phone call for unkown reasons is hardly a measured approach to a simple situation that happens to us all at some point.

[Hobosapien]

...

my two cents...

Well put.

One would expect the client to normally be organised enough someone realises the interview cannot take place and inform the agent/contractor in advance, so the later that is picked up (if at all) the louder the alarm bell rings. You can learn a lot about the client prior and during an interview, and are under no obligation to continue pursuing a contract with them until that contract has been agreed and 'signed'.