I’m Very Grateful When Interviewees Don’t Show Up

In general, when I’m juggling a full schedule, a cancelled appointment feels like time was miraculously added to my day. Some of my most productive hours begin five minutes after someone doesn’t show up and I start banging work out on the keyboard instead.

I’ve found that people are the most difficult (and most rewarding) aspect of operating a company. If you have a small business of your own, you can surely relate.

A mentor once told me “hire slow, fire fast”. Operating a fast-growing courier company, this was difficult to always do. Often, we needed riders yesterday. But, the only thing worse than not having a worker you need, is sinking resources in bringing on the wrong person. Moreso if they cause additional, sometimes costly, problems along the way.

Even in times of desperation, filters between someone as an applicant and a team member have been priceless. At Food Pedaler we have a thorough application, and there are three deal breakers in our form that automatically generate an email with helpful tips for reapplying in the future. If they pass, they receive an email with times to meet, learn about our company, and interview. Most of the time we have enough information from their application, so the interview is simply a opportunity to answer their questions, and get a feel for their personality.

Even after going through this entire process for several years with many people, the brightest-shining prospects will still surprise me. I have learned to give thanks for any red flags early on. What better time than before we even meet? If someone applies, picks a time to interview, and doesn’t show up, I give thanks and get busy on what I need to do for the rest of the day (like right now…)