Last Updated on January 12, 2024 by Ketan
So, you already have a job interview scheduled today. But you feel like not attending it (for whatever reason)?
Being professional, Inform the hiring company about your unavailability in advance.
Well, you must have some (valid or) good reasons to cancel this interview.
Or, have something to say, that is professionally acceptable.
When you don’t have any, you need agreeable excuses to give.
So, HR won’t find it ridiculous and this won’t hurt your professional image, either.
Good Excuse For Not Attending Job Interview
It often happens that in the last moment… you just don’t want to attend an interview.
Whether you’re currently employed or not, for some reason you start to feel that this job isn’t for you.
Indeed, something seems off there.
In such a case, instead of sharing any awkward clarification, you can try these better excuses or reasons.
1. “My current boss does not want me to leave the company.”
You certainly want to avoid any further discussion.
So, this is the best excuse to inform the hiring manager that your boss found out you’re leaving.
Now, they make your stay with the company and impose some conditions on you.
2. “I’m not feeling well today, so I won’t be there for an interview.”
Such a common excuse from school times and is also still used at the workplace.
If you used this before the corona pandemic, no one would take it seriously.
But, right now, you can use this reason for not attending a job interview, without much thinking.
If you’re not comfortable with this, try this: “I have a dentist’s appointment.”
For early preparation, refer to these the best answers to “What Is Your Biggest Fear?” at interview to sound honest and confident about it.
3. “I’m not able to make it there on time. So can we make it tomorrow?”
Today you don’t feel it’s the right time to go for an interview or you’re busy at a friend’s birthday.
Professionally, this seems not a good reason to share.
In such a case, you can use this excuse when you want to go for an interview but ‘not today.
4. “I got a better offer somewhere else.”
This company has strictly mentioned the pay scale which isn’t enough to meet your expectations.
You don’t want to share this as a reason.
In such a case you can share this good excuse for not attending an interview over email or call.
5. “I’m stuck in bad traffic, and can’t make it on time or today.”
Meetings and interviews are often getting late due to traffic.
You’re running late already and do not want to spoil your first impression by being late to the interview.
So leave a text or call them saying that you’re not available for the interview, the reason is heavy traffic.
READ NEXT: Polite Replies To “I Will Get Back To You”.
6. “I’m facing an internet problem and can’t attend an online interview.”
In remote working, when you know you can’t blame the traffic and transportation, you can use the internet traffic, instead.
Let the hiring company or executive know that today’s interview is canceled, because of network connectivity issues.
Make sure to leave a text or call them instead of via email.
7. “Actually, I got selected for the other job I applied for last week.”
Sometimes, you’ve to break one commitment to keep the other one.
With the hiring manager’s behavior so far, you know they won’t cancel the interview this way.
Or, they’re ready to welcome you aboard, but you’re not interested in joining.
In such cases, you can share this smart excuse for not attending a job interview, so they won’t bother you again.
8. “Someone has stolen my car. So, it’s not possible today.”
That’s enough to say that in such conditions no one can attend a job interview.
If you want some time to consider this job offer, this one is a handy excuse to cancel the interview.
9. “I don’t think I’m fit for this position or role.”
If you get to know that this company has strict work hours or a bad reputation, and you don’t want to work with them.
Instead of speaking the truth, you can tell them that you’re not comfortable with this job or role they’re hiring for.
READ NEXT: Good Responses To Welcome Messages At New Job
10. “I was told that my future boss here isn’t a good leader.”
You were excited about this interview, but at the last moment, you found that your previous boss will be your boss in this job as well.
Or this new boss is even worse.
When you stay honest and say this hopefully, hiring executives may accept this as a valid excuse, because they already know about it.
11. “This is my ex’s company. I just came to know about that.”
You want to work for a company both professionally and positively.
With a broken heart, you might not be able to focus on your work.
So, you’re not going for an interview at this company, either. There’s a danger.
On asking, you can give some interesting answers to “What do you do after work?” in the interview.
12. “I got a lot of negative feedback about your company.”
Such an honest reason and direct excuse you can give for not attending a job interview.
No matter what your plan is, when this company has a bad impression already, you can take advantage of this situation.
13. “I’m still out of town and not coming back for another week.”
You find something unreasonable in these job descriptions that scares you.
You don’t want to tell them this directly.
So here’s a good excuse to give because you don’t want to cancel the interview for now but for a few days at least.
14. “The job location is far from my place.”
Well, you want to find a job that offers work from home. But this isn’t.
You don’t want to appear unprofessional or indifferent.
So, you can share this excuse instead, but make sure your home is far enough.
And, not within walking distance.
READ NEXT: Effective Ways To Respond To Late Mail Replies
15 “My family isn’t allowing me to work there.”
Your family has its own business, but you want to start your journey your way. So you applied.
But, the family is now taking you seriously, and not allowing you to work for anyone.
Well, this excuse is an effective one, when this company’s offering is not sufficient for you.
16. “My present company promoted me and gave me a better salary than this.”
You’re such a lucky person if that’s true.
But, if you use this as an excuse for not attending a job interview, that means you feel your present company is far better than the one you’re going to for an interview.
17. “I’m joining a new company today.”
Even more positive and good excuses to share when you don’t want to attend the job interview.
If this company has taken more time to let you know about your interview process and all, this is a better reason to share.
It’s because you’ve got a reasonable offer somewhere.
18. “I won a lottery. So, I don’t need a job anymore.”
Well, we shared this just for fun. Don’t take it seriously.
Of course, we don’t want you to share this with the hiring company to cancel the interview.
This is just too unprofessional and disrespectful.
READ NEXT: Alternative Ways To Say “I Give My Best, Boss”
Conclusion
‘I forgot that the interview is today.’ or ‘I will come late..’ are the common excuses to cancel an interview.
You want reasons that are believable and professional. Just like we’ve shared here.
If you want to reschedule the interview or don’t want to go for it at all, you should inform the company or its HR in advance.
Anytime you feel you have no good reasons to share, you can use one of the relevant and good excuses for not attending a job interview from this list.
These are all smart ones.
So, we can hope that the interviewing company won’t notice that you’re just giving excuses.
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