One of the struggles of my job is getting everyone's calendars to line up when coordinating interview times. Especially when both the candidate and the client contact are incredibly busy people. I can completely appreciate that from both sides of the equation, but oftentimes people believe they are far busier than they actually are. As far as I know, no one in the history of the world has won an award for being the busiest person in their office, their neighborhood, their zip code, or their family. If such an award does exist, I don't believe it is one you should strive for.
If you find yourself telling a third party search firm or a prospective employer that you are "too busy" for that upcoming interview, consider these few tips for today:
There is a difference between being busy and having "busyness". It is fairly easy to fall into the trap of thinking your day is filled with critical business and personal issues that cannot be shifted. You are inherently telling me as a recruiter, or that possible employer, that what you have going on is simply more important than spending time with them. I get it - you have to protect your current job before you secure another one. But if there is a reason you would even consider an interview in the first place, you have to acknowledge its place of importance in the hierarchy of your calendar.
Everyone else is busy too. I know you don't want to hear this, but it is true. I adjust my calendar all the time to take additional calls from clients and candidates. Oftentimes it pushes back my dinner hour at home with my kids. Or makes me late to Little League practice with my son. Or forces me to work through lunch. But if I don't make those sacrifices some of my calls would be postponed by weeks. And you never know when one of those calls might be the one I really shouldn't have missed. Same goes for an interview that you continue to postpone and put off. Perhaps it isn't about your busy schedule, but about your fear of leaving a current employer, no matter how much you don't like the career path you are on. It is okay to be honest with yourself and work through that obstacle. If you don't do it now, you may regret it for a long time to come.
Being too busy can be a sign of poor time management. Yet another point that you might not want to admit may be true. I remember early in my career when working at a large insurance brokerage that everyone around me seemed so busy. I wasn't nearly so "busy" and wondered if I was doing my job well. Then I got to see how much time was wasted in most people's calendars that may lead to time crunches with a project or a proposal that had a hard deadline. Not being able to manage one's calendar does not necessarily make someone busy. Don't be that person that waits for the "perfect" week to set up an interview. You may miss a window to make a first impression. Or someone else could come along whose calendar is not nearly as busy to take that job you really wanted.
Squeezing in a meeting into a busy schedule shows the importance of the meeting. Think about it for a second. You have an opportunity to make a great first impression with someone if you can make it a point to schedule that interview that has been tough to schedule for some time now. Don't make it a contest to puff out your chest and see who is busier. Instead acknowledge that both parties are busy, but you are willing and able to make time for it because it is important. Even if you aren't sure how truly "important" the meeting will be, you can inherently influence the process and send that very strong message to the prospective employer.
Take a moment now in conclusion and be honest with yourself. Have you ever re-scheduled, postponed, or cancelled an interview purely out of convenience and made an excuse for being too busy? And do you think the prospective employer really bought it? Being busy in and of itself is a very happy problem. Just don't make it the main problem, especially when considering a job change.
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