Recruiter says it's unprofessional of candidates to cancel interviews, people say it works both ways

Job-seeking can be difficult and frustrating, especially dealing with let downs. Companies that are hiring tend to emphasize their positives and downplay their negatives, and it’s up to you to determine whether an organization is one you want to be part of. Usually, when people get a job offer, they don't take other interviews, but a post shared by Reddit user u/huckinfell2019 on the popular subreddit r/antiwork claims that canceling an interview if you get another job offer is rude and unprofessional. This has sparked debate on the forum, with many users saying the recruiter doesn't realize that it should work both ways.

The user posted the screenshot of a Linkedin post by a recruiter named Jessica Jarmakani that read, "You're not going to like this, but I'm going to say it anyway because it's true: Cancelling an interview the same day, hours or minutes before it's set to take place because all of a sudden you got another offer is just plain rude. You automatically burn a lot bridges (me, the hiring manager, their team members and colleagues, my industry colleagues, etc.) You will also most likely get blacklisted and not considered again when the tables turn against your favor. If you have an interview scheduled on the same day you receive an offer (or counteroffer), it is in your best interest to show up to the other interview - regardless of your job search status. Trust me on this one!"

Many users asked what it would be like if the recruiter had hired another employee and they canceled the interview, asking if it's double standards to expect a certain etiquette from interviewees when they won't extend it themselves.

A user commented with their own experience of a similar case, saying, "Actually that happened to me last week. A company interviewed another candidate a few hours before my interview and thought she was perfect. They canceled my final interview two minutes before it began - I only noticed the email after I spent 15 mins waiting in the zoom call. Oh, and I never got a proper explanation why that happened until I badgered them days later."

Another user, who runs interviews for their company, added, "I run interviews for my team. I would rather cancel the interview than waste my time knowing they went elsewhere. I had a ton of people push back our interviews by 1 week and then cancel because they got an offer elsewhere. I’d also honestly prefer that but some of those were a bit annoying because they came up with a bunch of fake excuses, one telling me his daughter was in an accident. But they all canceled the interview before it took place so I have no reason to be upset. I’m not a recruiter though so my job doesn’t depend on it like Jessica’s probably. That’s why she’s mad, her job is harder now."

One user expressed that this experience resonates with their opinion of corporate culture, saying, "Right? This is why I hate corporate culture. It's so stupid, shady, and fake. She rather get her time wasted because choosing a better company is rude? What's the point of being nice when she's shown her true colors by mentioning blacklisting which she would've done anyway if you didn't take her shitty job offer. 😠 Everything about recruiters like this makes job searching so much more annoying and depressing."

A user said that they agree with the point made by the Linkedin user, but that they find the tone to be obnoxious. They commented, "I actually don’t think it’s bad advice to go to the interview—assuming there’s at least a theoretical chance you could negotiate a better offer than the one you have—but the tone of this post is obnoxious. This is the first time in decades companies haven’t had the advantage in hiring and they are a bunch of little babies about it."