How to reschedule a job interview
Ask to move a booked interview, offer two new times and confirm the replacement invite. Includes a short email for a same-day change.
Ghosted editorialPublished 10 min read
On this page
- Ask to move it
- If the interview starts soon
- What a reschedule request has to do
- The more people in the room, the earlier you ask
- Say why in a few words, or not at all
- Offer times they can say yes to
- Four more emails you can copy
- When they’re the ones moving it
- Four things to settle first
- What makes a reschedule go badly
- A checklist before you send
- Until they confirm
- Questions people ask about rescheduling an interview
The email
Ask to move it
SubjectRequest to move our Tuesday interview
Hi Jo,
I’m sorry for the change. I can’t make our Support Engineer interview on Tuesday at 10:00. I’m still interested in the role. Could we move it to Wednesday at 14:00 or Thursday at 11:00? Both are London time.
Thanks, Alex
Four short moves: sorry once, which interview, still interested, two new times with their zone. If you have the email they booked it from, reply in that thread so the history stays together. The subject above is for when you’re starting fresh.
Write to whoever booked it
If a recruiter or coordinator scheduled the interview, ask them, even if you know the interviewer. They hold the calendar, and they’ll tell everyone else.
Short notice
If the interview starts soon
Email now. If the invitation includes a number for schedule changes, use it too:
The email is your record, with the new times in writing. The call makes sure someone knows before the interviewer joins an empty meeting.
SubjectToday’s 10:00 interview: I can’t make it
Hi Jo,
I’m very sorry for the short notice. Something urgent has come up, and I can’t make our Support Engineer interview at 10:00 today. I’m still interested in the role. Could we move it to Thursday at 11:00 or Friday at 14:00? Both are London time.
Alex
Late, not missing?
If you’ll be a few minutes late rather than not there at all, say that instead, before the start time: “Running ten minutes late, still coming. Sorry, Jo.”
Start here
What a reschedule request has to do
Asking to move an interview is ordinary. Interviews move all the time, for interviewers as well as candidates. What employers dread is the candidate who says nothing and doesn’t turn up. What the person scheduling it needs from you is an email they can act on in one go.
Name the interview
The role, the day and the time they booked: “our Support Engineer interview on Tuesday at 10:00”. Someone scheduling many interviews needs to find the right one.
Say you’re still interested
One line. Without it, a change of plan can read like the first step of a withdrawal.
Offer two new times
Specific days and times, with the zone. They can say yes to one in a single reply, instead of starting the back-and-forth again.
An apology belongs in it once, near the top. A reason is up to you; more on that below.
84%
Of the employers in Indeed’s 2019 survey who had been ghosted, 84% had had candidates not show up for interviews. The survey covered over 4,000 job seekers and nearly 900 employers.
Source: Indeed, survey of job seekers and employers on ghosting, 2019
Who’s involved
The more people in the room, the earlier you ask
Moving a call with one person changes one diary. Moving an afternoon with four interviewers changes four, and perhaps a booked room. Match your notice and your new times to the size of what you’re asking them to move.
A call with a recruiter
- One diary to change, usually theirs
- The easiest kind to move
- Two times are plenty
An interview with the hiring manager
- One diary, often a full one
- Offer times across two or three days
- Let the recruiter juggle it, if there is one
A panel or a day of interviews
- Several diaries, sometimes a room
- Ask as early as you possibly can
- Offer wide windows, and ask what suits them
Giving a reason
Say why in a few words, or not at all
You don’t owe them a detailed reason, and a long one starts to sound like an excuse. Whatever you say should be short and true.
No reason
- “I can’t make our interview on Tuesday at 10:00.”
- Enough for most changes made with a few days’ notice
- Nobody will ask
A short reason
- “I’m unwell”, “a family matter”, “a work deadline I can’t move”
- Worth adding at short notice, when the change costs them more
- A few words, then straight on to the new times
Leave out
- A long story, or an apology in every paragraph
- A reason you made up: small inventions are hard to keep straight
- Another company’s interview as the clash
New times
Offer times they can say yes to
The easiest request to accept is one they don’t have to ask anything back about. Two options, on different days, each specific, each with a zone, both soon.
Keep it close
The interviewer has set time aside for this role now. A slot later the same week or early the next keeps you in step with the other candidates; “some time next month” may not.
Two, not ten
Two times on different days give them a real choice. A long list makes them check each one against several diaries.
Hold both free
Until they answer, keep both times clear. Losing one to something else means a second change, which is much harder to ask for.
Use their booking link if there was one
If the first slot came from a booking page, cancel it and rebook there, then tell them in a line. There’s an email for that below.
Other situations
Four more emails you can copy
Each one names the interview, says where you stand and makes the next step easy.
SubjectOur Tuesday interview: could we do it by video?
Hi Jo,
The train strike on Tuesday means I can’t get to your office for our 10:00 interview. Could we do it by video at the same time instead? If you’d rather meet in person, I could come in on Wednesday at 14:00 or Thursday at 11:00, London time.
Thanks, Alex
SubjectRe: their thread
Hi Jo,
I’m sorry, I can’t make Tuesday at 10:00 after all. I’ve cancelled that slot and rebooked through your link for Wednesday at 14:00 London time. I’m still looking forward to talking about the Support Engineer role.
Thanks, Alex
SubjectOur Tuesday interview
Hi Jo,
I’m sorry, I’m unwell and can’t make our Support Engineer interview on Tuesday at 10:00. I’m still interested in the role. Could I send you new times by Friday, once I know when I’ll be better?
Thanks, Alex
SubjectRe: their thread
Hi Jo,
I’m sorry to ask again. I can’t make Wednesday at 14:00 after all. I know this is the second change, and I don’t want to make it harder for you. Could we do Thursday at 11:00 or Friday at 10:00, London time? If neither works, I’ll fit around any time that suits you.
Alex
The other way round
When they’re the ones moving it
Employers move interviews too: an interviewer is ill, a meeting runs over, the team’s week changes. Once is normal, and it says nothing about your chances. Reply quickly, take one of their times, and keep it light.
SubjectRe: their thread
Hi Jo,
No problem at all. Thursday 14 May at 11:00 London time works for me. I’ll look out for the new invite.
Thanks, Alex
If it happens a second or third time, it’s fair to ask whether anything has changed. You’re not complaining; you’re planning the rest of your search.
SubjectRe: their thread
Hi Jo,
Thanks for letting me know. Thursday 14 May at 11:00 London time works for me. Has the timeline for the role changed at all? It would help me plan.
Alex
Before you ask
Four things to settle first
Whether you really can’t make it
Could you take the call from somewhere else, move the other thing instead, or keep the time and change the format? A change you can avoid is one you don’t have to explain.
Whether you still want the job
If the honest answer is no, don’t move it; withdraw. An interview you move and then cancel costs everyone more than one you cancel now.
Which two times you can keep
Check them against work, travel and the rest of your week before you offer them, not after they’ve said yes.
Who needs to hear it
Whoever booked the interview, by email; if an agency recruiter set it up, tell them, and they’ll tell the company. At short notice, the phone number in the invitation too. Not a message to the interviewer on LinkedIn, and not a declined calendar invite on its own.
What goes wrong
What makes a reschedule go badly
Not turning up
The worst change is the one nobody hears about. Even a message minutes before the start is better than an empty meeting.
Sitting on it
You knew on Friday and wrote on Monday morning. The earlier they know, the easier it is to give the slot to someone else.
Declining the invite and nothing else
A declined calendar invite with no message can read as a withdrawal. Send the email first; then deal with the invite.
“Any time next week?”
A vague offer starts a back-and-forth. Two specific times end it.
Over-explaining
Three apologies and a paragraph of reasons make a small change feel big. Once is enough.
Last look
A checklist before you send
After you send
Until they confirm
Until you hear back, treat the new time as a request. Once they confirm, check that the new invite has the right day, time zone and meeting link.
If a working day passes with no answer, nudge in the same thread: “Just checking whether Wednesday at 14:00 or Thursday at 11:00 works for you.” If the original slot is still to come, call before it. Someone who never saw your email is still expecting you then.
Remove the old event from your calendar once the new one is in, so there’s only ever one version of the interview there. If they can’t offer another time at all, you have two honest choices: make the original slot work, or step back.
If you’ve decided to leave the process entirely, use the withdrawal email instead. Replying to a first invitation? See how to reply to an interview invitation.
Questions
Questions people ask about rescheduling an interview
Will rescheduling hurt my chances?
One early, clear request with two new times is a normal part of scheduling. What does harm is not turning up, asking at the last minute when you knew days before, or moving it again and again.
How much notice should I give?
As much as you can: send the email the moment you know. If it’s the same day, email and call the number in the invitation.
Do I have to give a reason?
No. “I can’t make it” is enough with a few days’ notice. At short notice, a short, true reason helps: “I’m unwell.”
Should I email or call?
Email, so there’s a record and the new times are in writing. Call as well if the interview is only hours away.
Should I copy in the interviewer?
Only if they were on the email that booked it. Otherwise write to the person who scheduled it; they’ll pass it on and send the new invite.
What if they can’t offer another time?
Then decide whether you can make the original slot after all. If you can’t, thank them and ask to be kept in mind for future roles.
Can I just rebook through their booking link?
Yes, if they sent one. Cancel the old slot, book a new one, and send a line in their thread so the person who invited you knows.
Moved it? Keep the new time with the job.
Keep the interview’s new time with the job, in their time zone and yours.