When to withdraw from an interview

For those of you that are not golf fans, Tiger Woods had to withdraw from competition yesterday at a golf tournament when he was only nine holes from completing his weekend rounds.  Even if you are not a golf fan, you probably know Tiger and realize that he had to be in pain to do that.  I believe he played seven holes after his back started bothering him because he is such a competitor.  But couldn't go on after his tee shot on the ninth.

Tiger didn't really want to talk about his decision to withdraw immediately after as he remained in considerable pain.  It will certainly be talked about for some time to come and eventually he will provide a little more explanation.  Unlike the heavy media spotlight on a well known athlete like Tiger, oftentimes candidates withdraw from an interview process with hardly anyone noticing.  With that in mind, when is the right time to remove yourself from consideration as a candidate?

There are many answers to this question, but I want to talk about a few of the most common ones we encounter.  The first is when a candidate is interviewing with multiple companies and receives an offer from one of them.  As obvious as this might seem to be the right time to withdraw from other interviews, we see candidates not do it.  Sometimes they want to receive multiple offers if possible.  Other times they simply fail to tell other employers.  In my opinion, however, you should always be up front and honest when you get to that point in the process so that everyone is aware of your availability.

The second time we see withdrawal from an interview is when something unexpected happens.  A large bonus is received.  A promotion with a current employer occurs.  A personal situation changes a candidate's availability to continue an interview.  Communication is key here as you want to be sure you are on top of what you are saying should you want to keep your foot in the door later.  I have seen multiple times where something occurs to delay an interview, only to fire back up again later.  So this withdrawal is one with a possible tail and should be treated differently.

Thirdly we see candidates bow out of an interview when something doesn't go quite right.  This is one that bothers me quite a bit if not handled properly.  This is when a candidate finds out something about a prospective employer from a friend or acquaintance in the industry that has something bad to say about an employer.  I always think that is a slippery slope as it could be hearsay or rumor instead of truth.  Another example is when a candidate meets with five people and one of them doesn't leave the best impression.  That blows up the entire interview for the candidate and the employer is left scratching their head.

Lastly, I see candidates withdraw simply because they get cold feet.  They start their conversation with me ready to walk out on their current employer with a 24-hour notice.  Then they start interviewing, have second thoughts, and simply give up on the interview process.  This is not a good way to withdraw.  If you had reasons for leaving originally, those reasons will likely not go away.  Then when you call me or the employer back in six months when things continue to get worse, it could seem like the proverbial boy crying wolf if you aren't too careful.

I have intentionally outlined a few good and few bad examples of withdrawal to engage in conversation.  Really try to make you think about when the "right" time is ever to withdraw from an interview process.  It is usually a moving target, but the key always comes down to communication.  Being open and honest will create valuable dialogue.  Especially when engaged with a third party recruiter.  At some point you have to trust that your best interests are in mind when given advice.  Perhaps you will re-consider this idea of when to withdraw in the future after reading this blog.

As always, I love to hear reader feedback and real life stories if you have them related to this blog topic!