01/02/2026
The Five-Minute Mistake That Cost a Company Years of Talent
Back in 2020, I was working in recruitment and we’d lined up an interview for a brilliant engineer. He’d recently moved over from Hong Kong and had only been in the UK for a couple of months. Naturally, he was buzzing about the opportunity—it was a huge deal for him.
He did everything by the book.
The day before, he double-checked the postcode, mapped out his route, and planned to get there at least half an hour early. But on the day, a massive accident on the road threw a spanner in the works. As soon as he realised things were looking tight, he did the right thing and rang our office to let us know.
One of my colleagues asked for his ETA. His sat-nav was still saying he’d make it on the dot, so my colleague told him not to worry—no point flapping and bothering the client if he was still on track. He just asked the candidate to keep us posted.
In the end, despite his best efforts, the traffic won. He walked through the client’s door exactly five minutes late.
That was it. Game over.
The director who was supposed to interview him flat-out refused to see him. He told the candidate that because he was five minutes late, the interview was scrapped and he had to leave immediately. No "how are you?", no listening to what happened, and zero care for the fact that this guy was still finding his feet in a brand-new country.
The candidate called us from the car park, absolutely gutted.
Once we heard what had happened, we made a call then and there: we weren’t going to work with that company again. It wasn't just about one missed interview; it was the fact that their leadership was clearly more interested in being a stickler for rules than being a decent human being.
Flash forward to today, and that same company is still struggling to find engineers. Their roles stay open for months on end, and they can’t seem to get the talent they need to save their lives.
All because, once upon a time, five minutes mattered more than people.
What can we take away from this?
• Common sense beats rigid rules: Policies are fine, but you’ve got to use your head. A bit of empathy goes a long way.
• Communication is everything: The candidate was proactive and took responsibility. That’s exactly the kind of person you want in your team.
• Your reputation is fragile: In niche markets, word gets around fast. If you treat people poorly, don't be surprised when no one wants to work for you.
• Recruitment is a two-way street: It’s a partnership based on mutual respect, not a power trip.
• Flexibility is a strength, not a weakness: Companies that are too stiff usually end up losing out on the best people.
The bottom line? Hiring is about people, not perfection. If you forget the human element, you’ll end up paying for it in the long run.
