What should I do if I'm late for an interview?

To properly view this site, javascript must be enabled and Flash version 9 or higher must be installed.
Get the latest Flash player
Karen Chopra
Licensed Professional Counselor
www.ChopraCareers.com  
 

Karen James Chopra, LPC, MCC, NCC, has been counseling career clients since 1999 and has helped hundreds of clients change careers, find new jobs and deal more effectively with workplace challenges.

In addition to her private practice, she has worked for two national corporate outplacement firms: Lee Hecht Harrison and Resource Careers. These are the organizations that help people who have experienced a layoff or downsizing to find new jobs, and their programs are usually considered the gold-standard of job search technique.

Ms Chopra is a regular presenter on career issues, having taught career theory at the graduate level, designed and delivered numerous workshops, and served as a regular guest commentator on WMAL’s career radio show “Your Career Life.”

She is a career-changer herself. Before entering the counseling field, she worked for nearly a decade as a trade negotiator for the United States Government, first at the Department of Commerce and then at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Ms. Chopra holds a number of relevant licenses and certifications: licensed professional counselor (LPC) in the District of Columbia; Master Career Counselor (MCC), a designation of the National Career Development Association (NCDA); and National Certified Counselor (NCC), a designation of the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC).  She belongs to all of the relevant national and local associations involved in career counseling, including the American Counseling Association (ACA),  the National Employment Counselors Association (NECA), the National Career Development Association (NCDA) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Career-Life Planning Network (MAC-LPN).

Her B.A. is from the University of Virginia, and she received a masters of science in foreign service from Georgetown University, and a masters in community counseling from George Washington University.

What should I do if I'm late for an interview?

 

This expert: 238,406 views

This series: 7,625 views

Print

Transcripts

Host: What should I do if I am late for an interview?

Karen James Chopra: If you are late for your interview, you might just have to be willing to kiss the job goodbye. This is one of the few unforgivable things in job interviews. The only reason to be late for an interview are truly acts of God. Floods, earthquakes, snowstorms in Washington DC, shut down the mall for somebody who might be attempting to blow the mall up with a tractor loaded with explosive which actually did shut Washington DC down for three days. So it needs to be something enormous that even the interviewer accepts is a valid excuse for being late, but otherwise you can't be late to an interview. Make sure that you've left ample time for bad traffic, make sure you've left ample time for bad weather, make sure you've left ample time for getting lost. If possible, drive by the interview site before the day of the interview so that you know exactly where you are going, but this is one of those things where if you are late for the interview, apologize profusely, do your best to explain why you were late, but be prepared for it to count very heavily against you.

Other Videos

  • How to Select College Essay Topics When writing your college admissions essay, what topics work best?
  • What do I say in my essays? In this video, David Petersam (President of AdmissionsConsultants) discusses the various steps involved in applying to a top-ranked MBA program. This video is designed for the aspiring applicant as well as those currently undergoing the process; it covers every phase of the application process, from school selection to the interview to being admitted. Included in the series is an overview of terms, what to expect throughout the process, and what to do after you’ve been admitted.
  • Ask For The Sale
  • Basic Time Management Skills In this video, Sean McArdle discusses effective time management skills.
  • How to Keep in Touch at College with Mom & Dad A Boston University student talks about how he stays in touch with his mom and dad - and keeps them at arm's length.
  • What is the difference between pre-qualifying and pre-approval? In this video, mortgage advisor, Jeff Thomas describes how to purchase your first home and the process you must go through to obtain a mortgage. This video is designed for first time homebuyers and also provides valuable information to indivduals who have purchased a home in the past. This video includes an overview of the four parts of a loan file, mortgage jargon, the loan process, house hunting, the types of mortgages available and the 7 steps on how to manage your mortgage correctly.