An Australian recruiter has shared some of the shocking excuses members of Generation Z have given for not showing up for job interviews.
Roxanne Calder, founder and CEO of recruitment agency EST10, has seen a wider range of reasons for withdrawing from interviews among younger Australians.
One of the most egregious cases was a potential employee who said he couldn’t attend because his pet fish had died.
The job applicant claimed that “flushing it down the toilet… (was) too annoying” and had to withdraw from the interview at the last minute.
Another Generation Z canceled 10 separate interviews through Calder’s company because their grandmother had suddenly died.
Others were unable to attend interviews because it was “too nice and sunny” or because they were “afraid of lightning” during a storm.
He also said that several candidates claim to have been in a car accident, an excuse used by the same applicants to other recruiters.
While the excuses may be comical, they could spell disaster for your future job opportunities, according to Calder.
Recruiters are increasingly “frustrated” with Gen Z pulling out of interviews at the last minute with ridiculous excuses, such as being too upset after their fish died (file image).
He warned they could be worse off during a cost of living crisis, which has dried up the job market across Australia.
Calder said she and other recruiters were increasingly “frustrated” that Gen Z would only text or email to cancel an interview and never call first.
“Usually it’s not because they’re not interested, but because they can’t be bothered, they’ve lost interest and it’s too much effort,” he said. yahoo.
Having spent time reading resumes and screening candidates, the recruiter added that it’s best to just “be honest” and cancel as soon as possible.
Calver believes younger Australians’ sense of apathy is due to fatigue from the Covid pandemic, the economy and the high cost of living.
Founder and CEO of staffing agency EST10, Roxanne Calder (pictured), said it’s always best to call ahead and cancel an interview as soon as possible.
Ms Calder said many candidates claimed to have been in a car accident, after a fellow recruiter shared this text exchange online.
“It’s dangerous because the more people act like this and the more we accept it and think it’s okay, the more it becomes the new standard,” Ms Calver said.
‘That’s the part that worries me. “I don’t think it’s healthy because it infiltrates other things if we think it’s okay.”
Another recruiter, Superior People Recruitment boss Graham Wynn, was similarly shocked when a father in a helicopter tried to attend an interview with his daughter.
She had to tell the mother she couldn’t attend after she had tried to stay to make sure her daughter “said the right thing.”
He said the mother was just getting in the way by trying to help in the interview and was not giving her daughter the skills to advocate for herself.
Others have reported that the act is becoming more common, and that parents are more likely to accompany them to hospitality jobs.
