What Is Your Availability To Interview Dates & Times

Email Examples: How To Respond To An Employer Interview Request

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Recruiters and hiring managers often turn to email to request an interview you for a position. How you respond to that email can set you apart from other candidates. In this article, we offer step-by-step instructions on how to confirm an interview appointment by email along with helpful tips and examples to help you write your own.

The Right Voice Phrasing And Tone For Interview Invitation Emails To Candidate

Establishing the right voice in your interview invitation emails is crucial to setting the spirit and attitude of the interview itself. Maintain a voice that is consistent with that of your company, but also keep it light and conversational. If you need reference, check out some of your marketing materials and social media posts. These are good indicators of your companys voice. Even if your companys voice is direct and serious, keep the tone light and complimentary. An invitation to schedule an interview is an opportunity, so you should phrase it as that. An upbeat tone with simple phrasing will help candidates feel welcomed, appreciated and excited to interview!

Interview Question: What Hours Are You Available

What hours are you available? is a common interview question for temporary job, part-time jobs, jobs with flexible schedules, and shift work.

This is a relatively straightforward question, but it’s still important to be strategic with your answer. You don’t want to take yourself out of consideration for the role, but you also don’t want to promise more flexibility with work hours than you can handle.

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Interview Schedule Email Template

Drawing from the information above, heres an example of an interview schedule email including all of the necessary details:

Hi Rachel,

Thanks for applying to XYZ Company.

We reviewed your qualifications for the accountant position and we wish to extend an invitation for an in-person interview at our downtown Houston office.

You will be meeting with , as well as two members of the accounting team. The interview should last approximately one hour and well be using the time to further discuss your background, details about the accountant position, and information about our company.

Let me know what interview time works best for you at the following link:

XYZ Company is located at 45 Washington St. Parking is free and driving directions to our exact location are attached. Be sure to bring your ID to obtain a visitors pass from security. Our office is located on the 12th floor. Upon your arrival, check in with John Smith, our receptionist, at the front desk.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Best,

Third Be Flexible Yet Reasonable

When discussing your availability, be sure to focus on the time you are available and be sure you dont accidentally give wrong information. Express your willingness to commit to a job well done while being honest about any elements of your schedule that are already unchangeable. For example, if you have a commitment on Tuesdays, be clear and indicate that you can work on all other days except for Tuesdays.

Overall, be positive and show flexibility where you can within your schedule and make sure you discuss your availability in a straightforward and honest manner. This will help management create an appropriate schedule for you if you are hired.

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Is This Correct Way Of Replying With Available Dates For An Interview

I trying to reply for an email with my available dates and times for the interview

“I’m available on the dates and times mentioned below. Please let me know if any of them works for you.”

Does this suffice Is there a better/shorter way I can reply?

• 1Yes, no problem. Clear and concise. Don’t try to shroud it in obfuscating mystery by attempting to restructure its elegance.

I think it would be better to mention it as your convenience rather than availability. Here is an example:

It would be convenient for me to have the interview on 5th, 10th or 18th of August. Do please check your calendar and inform me when it could be scheduled.

Here you may mention the dates in any form respective to the proximity.

Replying to a solicitation for a job interview should be done in the context of making such an interview convenient for the prospective employer, not the employee. Further, any reply that narrowed opportunities to only a handful of dates can create the notion that interviewing for this prospective job is something you’ll do if nothing better or more important appears on your schedule. On that basis, I would respectfully disagree with the selected answer and submit the following:

“I will make every effort to accommodate your earliest convenience for an interview. My schedule shows that I have no conflicts on August 16th, 18th, and 19th.”

Ways That Employers Ask What Is Your Availability For Work During An Interview

Here are some of the different ways that an employer could ask about availability during a job interview:

• What is your availability?
• What hours are you available each day?
• Would you be open to part-time work if it could turn into full-time work in the future?
• Are there any days or times during the week you know you cannot work?
• Can you work on weekends?
• Have you worked night shifts before?
• Would you be able to complete overtime work when necessary?
• Are you okay with possibly working early morning hours?
• What are your ideal working hours?
• Are there any dates when you know you cannot work within the next month?

Some employers might discuss the subject of availability to work in a preliminary screening while others might wait until the second interview. Since this question is asked in different ways, anticipating the various forms can help you prepare an effective answer.

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How To Invite A Candidate To Interview

Inviting candidates to interviews over email can be a tricky game. While you may want to send as many invitations out to qualified candidates as possible, that lends to sounding like an impersonal robot. Too much personalization, though, and were talking hours and hours spent on just inviting candidates to interview over email. This doesnt even include the time it takes to actually schedule that interview.The best interview invitation emails have an element of templating and personalization to make candidates feel unique and wanted at your organization.This is the ultimate guide on inviting candidates to interview over email using templates.

What Not To Say

• Don’t be deceptive: Your employer will be frustrated if you say you can work a certain set of hours, and are then unable to. Similarly, you’ll be in a jam if you are scheduled to work hours that aren’t doable because of personal commitments.
• Don’t be negative:If you do have a restricted schedule, try to spin it by keeping your response focused on when you are available, along with dates and times when you’re flexible. That is, instead of saying, “I’m not available Monday through Wednesday,” you can say, “I’m available to work on Thursday through Sunday, and happy to work nights and weekends.”

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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. Lets take a look.

Early mornings: Early mornings are normally a good time because the person is refreshed and probably hasnt 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. Dont respond to an interview request within this time range probability for success will be against you.

What The Interviewer Wants To Know

An employer will ask this question to get a sense of whether you will work with the companys schedule.

If the company needs someone to cover night shifts, or to work a Thursday through Sunday schedule, they’ll want to make certain that the person they hire is available at those times.

Sometimes an employer will ask a more specific question, such as whether you are willing to work nights and/or weekends, or how many hours a week you are available.

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How To Answer Interview Questions About When You Can Start

The best way to answer the question of your earliest start date is by reviewing your situation and being straightforward, without sounding desperate or careless. Answering this question is a little different than any other in your interview because your answer needs to take into consideration your current employee, and that requires some forethought.

Perhaps, youve been unemployed on the job search for a while and need to start working sooner rather than later. Your answer in this circumstance would be very different than it would be in a situation where an employee is leaving a long-time position for this job offer and needs to train their replacement.

Think about your circumstance carefully, and decide on the range of your start date before the interview .

Candidate Response To Request

Your Candidate Availability Request email to the candidate will include a link to their own scheduling window where the candidate can see your message, suggested time, and input their availability.

The suggested times you selected will be indicated on the calendar. The candidate can use the same click and drag functionality to indicate when they are free for an interview. When finished, the candidate will click Submit Availability.

After the candidate sends their availability, the Greenhouse user who initially sent the Candidate Availability Request email will be notified via email that it is time to schedule the interview.

Navigate to the candidate’s On Job tab and you will find your suggested times and those submitted by the candidate. Compare the availabilities to find the most convenient time.

When ready, click Schedule Interview.

From the Schedule Interview dialog box, you will find the candidate’s availability listed in the right-hand panel. For more information on how to schedule a interview, please .

Additionally, after an interview is scheduled you will want to send an Interview Confirmation email to the candidate. To learn more, .

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Sample Email Response With A Sales Pitch

If you want to work in a bit more of a sales pitch for your services, use this approach. Note that you can adjust it for any of above logistics scenarios for interview scheduling.

Ms. Decision Maker,

I am so impressed with DEF Company’s mission statement and reputation in the community. It is important to me to work with a company that is so highly regarded, and I look forward to having an opportunity to contribute as a member of your team. I am excited to have an opportunity to discuss with you just how much of an asset I can be to your organization during our in-person meeting next week.

I look forward to a productive interview.

Regards,

Avoiding The Risk Of Bias

The best interview times can also be an important factor that can influence how an interviewer evaluates job candidates. For instance, interviewers may sometimes apply a review process where they might make positive or negative reviews regarding a candidate’s fit for the job. The bias in this method can occur when interviewers try to balance out the number of positive versus negative reviews they make about various candidates.

This can happen as the workweek progresses for a variety of reasons, such as performance or mental fatigue, and can lead to an increase in the number of negative reviews at the end of a workweek of conducting interviews. This can mean that attending an interview earlier in the day can increase your chances of receiving more positive reviews from the interviewer.

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Sample Email Response With Set Times

Use text along these lines if the invitation you received included interview times for you to choose among.

Ms. Interviewer,

Thank you for inviting me to interview for a position as a customer service representative with XYZ Company. I am very excited to be considered for this position, and I look forward to having a chance to meet with you. Per the scheduling options suggested in your email, I would like to schedule an interview with you on Monday, June 15 at 10 a.m. CST. It is my understanding that the interview will take place at your corporate office, which is located at 1234 Anydrive in City, State. Please confirm if this time is convenient for you, and that I have the correct location.

I look forward to meeting you in person and sharing information on how I can be an asset to XYZ Company.

Regards,

Your Phone Number Here

Respond To An Interview Request 1

Lets 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 , its greatly appreciated!

Id 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,

In the email from the recruiter above, he has asked you to provide a few times that best match your schedule. Lets see how we can word this.

Hi ,

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,

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More About Job Interviews

• Guide to Writing Thank You Notes After an Interview with Sample Thank You Notes

About the author

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a recent Visiting Scholar at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Susan is a two-time layoff graduate who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. Since 1998, Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt.org. Follow Susan on Twitter at and on , .

Avoid Scheduling Interviews Just Before And After Holidays And Weekends

Scheduling your interview right before or after a holiday or long weekend may also be something to avoid. This can be because many professionals find it hard to return to peak productivity and performance after spending time away from work. Similarly, scheduling an interview right before a long break can distract the interviewer’s engagement and cognitive focus from your interview to their weekend plans.

Ultimately, it may not always be possible to schedule your interview for the best time, however, when you consider these steps toward finding the optimal interview arrangement, you can increase the chances of getting hired for the job.

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Email Template: Thank You For Inviting Me To The Interview

The following template can be used for email interview invitations:

Dear Mr./Ms. ,

Thank you for inviting me to the interview for the position at . I appreciate you considering me for the position and I look forward to meeting you soon.

As per your availability, I would like to schedule the interview on , at in the at . Please let me know if the time and interview location works for you.

I am excited to learn more about the opportunities at . Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Being Sloppy In Your Communications

Remember that every communication is an opportunity not only to gather information but to also make a good impression. Not asking for all the information you need in one email or sending an email off with errors such as spelling mistakes or typos will be marks against you before you even get your foot in the door.

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Example Response Emails For Interview Invitation

Once you checked your schedule and are ready to respond to the interview invitation, you can write a short email reply. Heres a template for your response that you can edit and make your own. For this first example, well write a response to the sample interview request above: