For a phone interview, who calls who?

If it's a video interview (Zoom or some in-house company portal). The HR will typically ensure that the job candidate has access to these before setting up an appointment for the interview.

In the case where the employer fails to contact a candidate at the scheduled phone interview time or does not appear in the video chat room, then the first thing you want to do is email your interviewer 5 minutes after your designated start time. A quick no-blame message will maintain your positive rapport, and ideally allow you to start the interview (albeit a little late) or reschedule as promptly as possible.

An example email may look like:

Just checking in to make sure you're still available for our 2pm ET interview today. I hope everything is okay on your end and if you need to reschedule, just let me know a few alternative windows that work for you this week.

Next, assess whether this behavior is an outlier or indiviative of an organization worth avoiding. While you want to give your interviewer the benefit of the doubt, it's important to observe whether their behavior indicates something problematic about the team and/or company.

Consider reflecting upon the following questions in the potential employer such as:

• Did other people from the company miss or reschedule conversations with you?

• Have they been responsive to your emails and requests?

• How have your other interactions with team members made you feel?

• Have you noticed any other signs of a culture that overworks or undervalues its employees?

• At the end of the day, you want to discern whether this was a one-off experience, a recruiting issue (which won't affect you once you join the company), or a red flag about the individuals you would actually be working with on a day-to-day basis.