How To Respond To An Interview Request
Great news! You have just received an email or phone call from an interested recruiter wanting to schedule an interview. What do you do now? How should you respond to an interview request?
This is a great situation to be in because the interviewer / prospective company is interested in your resume and want to talk with you. To get started, you are going to see a series of Do’s and Don’ts when confirming the interview appointment followed by a few templates you can use in different situations. Are you ready to learn how to respond to an interview request?
Times To Avoid – Never Send At These Times
There are a few times and days you should avoid, unless suggested by the interviewer, when you respond to an interview request. Let’s take a look.
Early mornings: Early mornings are normally a good time because the person is refreshed and probably hasn’t had to dive into a thousand other things his/her job demands; however, sometimes offering to meet at 7 AM is too early. The interviewer may not have left the house yet or may be stuck in traffic at this time. You want the interviewer to be a 100% focused on you in the interview. Avoid these early hours.
Late nights: Interviewers probably will not want to schedule their last meeting of the day to be a candidate interview. 7 PM is not an ideal time and with good reason: imagine the interviewer had a long, stressful day. Would you want to be interviewed by this person at the end of the day? Think about the probability of it being a great interview. Chances are it would not. Avoid suggesting this time for an interview.
Right Before or After Lunch: Have you ever noticed you get irritable or have a harder time focusing when you are hungry. The same goes for interviewers. Don’t respond to an interview request within this time range; probability for success will be against you.
Friday before or Monday after a 3-day weekend: This is a bad time to schedule an interview because it might be canceled, or something might come up that will push your interview back. It is also a busy time as interviewers and other employees are making up for the missed day of work.
Now For Some Good Times
Mid-Mornings & Afternoons: The sweet spot to go with are mid-mornings and mid-afternoons. You can’t go wrong here. Most people have already had their breakfast, checked their emails, or had lunch. Employees are hard at work at this time, and it is the ideal time to schedule an interview.
Find Out What Time Zone They Are In: This is super important. Whenever you schedule a phone or Skype video conference interview with a company, find out where your interviewer will be calling from so as not to screw up the time of the call. Or, even better, if you are the one suggesting the interview times, suggest the time plus time zone e.g. 3 PM EST.
Reply Promptly and Professionally
When you receive an email from an interested company, make sure to respond promptly and professionally. In other words, don’t wait three days to respond. Try to do it by the end of the day you received the email. Don’t wait and leave the opportunity to chance as interviewers are emailing several other candidates as well!
Use Their Name: Sometimes you do not know what name to use to address the person, so use the name that the person signed the email with. This always works best.
Starting your response: Always thank the interviewer for the invitation and tell him that you are excited to learn more about the opportunity.
Place of interview: Most interviewers will state in the initial contact email where the interview will take place and whether it will be a phone call, video conference, or an in-company interview. If this was not mentioned, make sure you ask when you respond in your email with availability. Most interviews are done by phone in the first round.
Respond To An Interview Request 1
Let’s take a look at common emails you might receive from the recruiter and then ways to answer them.
Hi Philip,
Thanks so much for your recent application & interest in (COMPANY), it’s greatly appreciated!
I’d love to set up a call for us to connect and further discuss some of your previous experience, as well the as the opportunities here.
Please let me know what days/times work best for you this/next week and we can go from there in setting up a time to speak!
Looking forward to hearing back and speaking soon. Have a great day!
Best,
(Name)
In the email from the recruiter above, he has asked you to provide a few times that best match your schedule. Let’s see how we can word this.
Hi (interviewer’s name),
Thanks for reaching out! Please find my availability below:
- Friday, August 17 from 1:00-2:00 PM EST
- Monday, August 20 at 3:00 PM EST
- Tuesday, August 21 at 10:00 AM EST
Please let me know if any of the respective times work for you. Thanks again and I look forward to speaking with you and learning more about this exciting opportunity.
Kind regards,
Philip Chesney
(518) 999 – 0000
Great! Imagine you have just sent your available times. Now you need to wait for a follow up email confirming one of those times or proposing a different time. Let’s look at the response from the recruiter.
Hi Philip,
Thanks for sending your available times. Friday, August 17th at 1 PM EST works best for me. I will give you a call then.
Best,
Name
Respond To An Interview Request 2
This next situation is going to be very similar to the first, the only difference is that you will enter your availability directly on a calendar. Let’s have a look.
Hi Philip,
Thanks for your interest in our Jr Analyst position. We’re excited to move forward in the interview process with you.
Please use the calendar link below to select several blocks of time when you will be available for a 15-20 minute phone interview.
Thank you!
(Name)
Enter your availability now ->
All you have to do is click the link and add a few different times that work for you. You should normally pick at least three different slots/times that work for you in case one of those doesn’t work for the interviewer. Once you have submitted those, the interviewer will get back to you to confirm the interview. Here’s an example.
Hi Philip,
Thanks for submitting your availability for the JR Analyst position!
We’re looking forward to having a phone conversation on Wednesday, October 10th at 10am EST! The entire interview will last about 15-20 minutes.
Thank you,
(NAME)
That interview is now confirmed and make sure to add it to your calendar.
Respond To An Interview Request 3
For our last interview response, the recruiter gives you the specific times to pick from in his/her original email.
Hello Philip,
I am a Recruiter with (COMPANY) and I would like to schedule some time to speak with you, via telephone, to discuss your background and interest in the Associate Manager position.
If you are interested, please respond to this email by selecting one of the available interview times below along with a phone number where I can reach you.
- Friday, August 17 at 2:00 PM EST
- Monday, August 20 at 3:00 PM EST
- Tuesday, August 21 at 10:00 AM EST
- Wednesday, August 22 at 3:00 PM EST
You will be contacted with the confirmation date and time of our discussion.
Best Regards,
(NAME)
And a quick follow up to confirm the time and date.
Hi (interviewer’s name),
Thanks for reaching out! I am very interested in the opportunity and excited to learn more about the position. The best time for me is:
- Friday, August 17 at 2:00 PM EST
Thanks again and I look forward to speaking with you and learning more about this exciting opportunity.
Kind regards,
Philip Chesney
(518) 999 – 0000
Wrap Up
You have now seen the most common situations of how to respond to an interview request. Now it is time to go out, send some resumes to jobs that fit your profile and experience, and get prepared for the interview process.
Have you had a similar experience receiving and responding to an interview request? Share with the community in the comments section below!
For more tips on job search and interview tips, check out the CareerPrep blog and the CareerPrep and EnglishInterviews Youtube Channels.
