A lost iPhone and trauma resulting from a nighttime laptop explosion are among the oddest tech-related excuses hiring managers have heard for job candidates missing interviews.
British recruiting company Aspire had asked its recruiters in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore to share the strangest excuses they ever received from job candidates who arrived to their interviews late or missed them entirely.
One email that indicated it had been sent from an iPhone stated, “I couldn’t call to cancel because I’ve lost my iPhone.”
Another candidate claimed to be suffering from malfunctioning hardware-induced trauma. “I can’t make the interview because my laptop exploded in the middle of the night while I was asleep and I am too traumatised.”
A laptop is behind another excuse, too. “I’m unable to do my (interview) presentation as I put my laptop in my girlfriend’s safe overnight, and now we can’t remember the code.”
Another candidate, who arrived at his or her interview half an hour late, said he or she “couldn’t find the place” because Google Maps had been down.
One email sent two hours before an interview explained the candidate, who had eaten mussels while out to dinner the night before, had been stricken with food poisoning. And in case the hiring manager wanted to reschedule, the candidate thoughtfully addressed that in advance: “I am not available tomorrow as I have a mini-break booked for Portugal.”
Other unusual non-tech related excuses included an apricot jam spill on an interview outfit (“I won’t feel as confident in my other clothes”) and “I can’t go to the interview, as it is raining.” That last excuse came for a job interview in London.
Digital sorry image via Shutterstock
