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After graduating I had about 15 interviews at different companies. I was prepared for all of them: I knew the way, I knew what message I wanted to convey.

I still ended up getting lost awfully while going to one interview. It was a short, easy way, so I've no idea how this could have happened. I called them to excuse the delay telling them I would be there in 10 min. but then I ended up arriving an hour late, all sweaty and stressed and my phone died in the process, so I couldn't answer their call.

Give him another chance. All of us sometimes behave unprofessionally, no matter how well prepared we are.

Also, keep in mind how often companies behave unprofessionally: disappear after interviews (I'm still waiting for the promised date coordination for a recruitment process that started 3 months ago), are disrespectful, cancel interviews on a very short notice. I'm not saying you behave like that, but many companies do. So also candidates should be cut some slack.

[EDIT] After thinking about it for a while I'm also wondering how you know that it's the same person. Is it such a small field that you remember individuals you had contact to or did you check it somehow? If the latter, you probably shouldn't have access to this data after leaving your previous employer. That's another reason why you shouldn't escalate it to your boss or HR.

Frankly your accusation of being unprofessional is pure conjecture and you don’t have any idea what was going on. Life is life and things happen. Maybe the guy was in a hospital on the operating table when your HR tried to reach him. Worst case, he found out something about your company that you never found out and decided that no contact with that company would be better.

So I suggest that you behave professionally and invite him to the interview, without any prejudice.

About a year ago Skype made some changes that meant that I was unable to log in again. So that this person was not online on Skype as promised could have been Skype's fault.

It's also possible that his internet connection was down that day, or he could have been in an accident preventing him from joining the call as promised.

In each of these cases the candidate should have tried to contact you to explain the situation, but it's possible the candidate was unable to do so in a timely fashion.

So, why did you not hear back? Maybe the candidate contacted the recruiter but the recruiter didn't see a need to let you know.

Maybe the rejection was sent to the candidate before candidate was able to reach out and explain what had happened. In that case it would be quite understandable if the candidate wouldn't bother to respond.

Given that you don't know any of this you shouldn't be as judgmental about the candidate. It sure makes sense for you to let HR know about the past experience. And if you don't think you'd give the candidate a fair evaluation, it's better to have somebody else conduct the interview.

However I think the professional approach would be for you to assume the candidate had a good reason to not show up and conduct the interview in good faith. And then let the people making the final decision know both how the candidate did in the interview and that you had this past experience with the candidate which you don't know the reason for.

I think you should inform this as it is to your manager or whoever has put you in the interview panel and let them decide. Something like

Hey, I am scheduled to interview X next week. Incidentally, I recall his name from my last job where I was suppose to interview him and he was a no-show. He may have his own reasons but I was surprised that he did not inform us about this change then or anytime later. Just wanted to inform you before we interview him again. I am happy to interview him ignoring the previous incident but if you think I should not be in the panel now, I am okay with that too.

Mention the incident, mention your concern by giving the candidate enough benefit of doubt, and mention couple of possible alternatives to handle this. Let the manager decide rest.

I'm disturbed by all these answers. Everyone seems to be supporting the candidate, arguing for giving the guy a chance. Why should an employer do that?

As an interviewer, your responsibility is not to be a nice guy and give a guy a break; it's to protect and promote your employer's interests. If you can do so in good conscience and give a guy a break, that's great, but first and foremost is to maximize your employer's assets and reduce your employer's risks... and hiring an employee is one of the highest-risk activities a company will regularly do.

Between two equally qualified candidates, one whom you have knowledge of previously (potentially) demonstrating thoughtless, disrespectful, and/ or unprofessional behavior, and one who you have no such knowledge of, a responsible interviewer will favor the employee with no historical "demerits". This isn't a trial by jury either; you're not responsible for determining "guilt"... just risk.

Whether or not you interview him is, of course, your choice... but if you feel that it represented a behavior that you would not want to deal with at your current place of work, of course that should be taken into consideration, and if you feel that disqualifies them... then they should be disqualified, because your employer respects your opinion, and has not only hired you, but wants your input on this candidate.

There are lots of candidates out there, and there are lots of positions out there. There are lots of reasons why not everyone gets hired for a job they apply for. Maybe he was having a bad day, maybe a calendar invite got lost in the mail. Maybe it totally wasn't his fault. It's not your responsibility to figure that out. You go with the information you have, and if it hurts his prospects for this position at this company, there's certainly lots of other employers that do not have that information, and may hire him (and likely will be happy with him). You don't need to feel guilty about it, and you don't need to justify it.

Professionalism isn't determined by one incident.

I always try to be highly professional, and both employers and customers have positively remarked on that multiple times, so I'm succeeding. However, over the years, I've once managed to make a complete mess out of airplane travel and once completely missed an appointment at the customer site. Both of these should never happen, and both of these had explanations why they happened anyway and both of these, viewed in isolation, would have given you a completely different view of me than that which many, many other people share.

There is always a possibility for error, accident or bad luck that no amount of professional behaviour can prevent. I've seen a computing center with extremely redundant power supply (UPS, diesel generators, multiple outside power connections, the works) go dark because of a freak accident. Professional simply means doing your best, seriously, by established best practices, following all rules and regulations, applying expert knowledge. It doesn't mean "flawless".

As you - judged by the information given - never followed up on the incident or ever learnt the truth about what happened, judging that persons character due to one data point is statistically and ethically questionable. So don't do it. Do the interview, try your best to ignore what happened before, judge based on his performance during the interview. If you absolutely have to bring the point up, do it at the end of the interview, after the candidate had a chance to present himself without prejudice.

Do the interview and ask about the no-show in a non-hostile way. Try to give it a light-hearted or humorous spin: "I think I recognize your name and resume from recruitment at (startup), did you ever have an interview there?"

Phrase it in a way that gives them a heads-up that you know who they are, but that you do not recall enough detail to hold a grudge. If they are clever they will grab the chance to explain themselves.

Rejecting them entirely on that incident is a bit harsh. The courteous thing to do is to not ruin their chances with your company; e.g. they may not be a perfect fit for this position, but they might be suitable for another department than yours - if you flag them with HR as untrustworthy they will never get that second chance.

Since the incident was one year ago, it's not unlikely that the person doesn't remember all that clearly what happened back then. Therefore I would apply a sort of statute of limitations to that past situation and not bring it up.

I remember being late for a meeting one year ago. Frankly, if I was asked to explain myself today, I wouldn't have much to say in my defence, nor would I find that it's fair to bring the issue up one year down the road.

How old, or more precisely, how long is the interviewee out of the safe haven of childhood/education?

For newbies a year is a heck a long time. If they were unprofessional a year ago there is no proof they will be unprofessional tomorrow. Except you tried it once more.

I would also reccomend not to mention this Skype case in the interview. If you (plural) were to decide and you (singular) spotted unproffesionalism in them, you can play that card and display all your concerns about them.

Companies usually have policies in place that make the information in hiring processes confidential. If you share information about that candidate, you are likely violating your NDA with the company for which you were working a year ago which would be an unprofessional action on your part.

Assuming that you once believed they would be a good fit for the role (or still do) and that they would be worth having, it really depends on two things.

1) Why were they unable to attend interview?
If they had good reason and informed you in advance of the interview, then we must consider:

2) Do you believe they are genuine?
If they informed you in advance with good reason, and delivered the news with honesty, then it might be worth giving them a chance to interview.

After all, we all have to deal with unforseen circumstances occasionally - it would be a shame to miss out on talent if you believe they would be an asset, simply because of unfortunate circumstances.

Hope this helps and all the best with the selection process for the job!

...by sheer luck... what should I be doing?

Go make lemonade.

Continuing to search for jobs after a missed interview takes guts. Perhaps the candidate is the perfect one pursue to a lost customer to represent your company. Redemption, restoration, and reconciliation are greatly needed. Pay it forward, welcome the candidate of "R" virtues, and recognize fate at work in your "luck", not just unmeaningful randomness.

To err is human, to forgive is divine. - Alexander Pope