Recently, we encountered two candidate cases that were both unfortunate — Lost job opportunities.
Case 1: “Shanghai Pudong? That’s Too Far.”
The first case involved a Brazilian automotive parts company expanding its business in China. The company identified a promising candidate based in Jiangsu and invited the candidate to attend a face-to-face interview at its Shanghai Pudong office. The response was unexpected: “It’s too far.”
The candidate eventually decided not to attend.
From the candidate’s perspective, this may have seemed reasonable. Travelling to another city takes time. There is transportation to arrange, and of course, there is no guarantee that an interview will result in an offer.
Case 2: “Why Can’t We Just Do a Video Interview?”
The second case was even more unfortunate. A candidate had successfully completed several interview rounds with a fast-growing technology company and reached the final stage. At this point, the company wanted to meet the candidate face-to-face. Because the interviewers were located outside the candidate’s home country, the company proposed flying the candidate to a nearby country for the final meeting. This was not an early-stage screening interview.
It was the final round. As a positive signal, the candidate repeatedly postponed the meeting. And eventually, a question:
“Why does it have to be face-to-face? Aren’t video interviews enough nowadays?” Technically, yes. Many interviews can be conducted perfectly well online. But that was not really the point. The employer had already completed the online evaluation. What they wanted now was something different: a final confirmation of chemistry, commitment, communication and mutual confidence before making an important hiring decision.
Every additional postponement gradually changed the conversation.
The question was no longer:
“Is this candidate capable?”
It became: “How interested is this candidate, really?”
Eventually, the hiring team lost patience and moved forward.
A candidate who had been extremely close to an offer lost the opportunity at the last mile.
There is no position in the world for which only one human being is qualified. Even presidents get replaced. Although, admittedly, finding a replacement for Elon Musk might still be beyond my current recruitment capability. But jokes aside, the principle matters.
A strong career is not built only on being talented.
So, Would You Go? If a company you genuinely wanted to join invited you to another city for an interview, would you go?
The successful hiring is rarely determined by qualifications alone.
Capability opens the door. Attitude, responsiveness and commitment often determine who actually walks through it.
