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What time of day should you choose to be interviewed?

When scheduling your interview, thinking about the day and time of the interview, and how many people go before you is essential to your success!

What time of day should you choose to be interviewed?

When it comes to interview preparation, practising common interview questions shouldn’t be the only thing on your prep list. You also need to think about when you want to be interviewed as this can impact how successful you are.

Timing is everything. So when scheduling your interviews, be sure to carefully think about both the day and the time of day to maximise your chances of finding a job.

  • What’s the best day of the week to attend an interview?
  • What time of day should you choose for an interview?
  • Is it better to have a morning or afternoon interview?
  • Should you try to be the first interviewee?
  • Tips for scheduling interviews

What’s the best day of the week to attend an interview?

The best days of the week to attend an interview are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. You should do your best to avoid scheduling an interview for a Monday. Let’s be honest – nobody really likes Mondays. In fact, most people dislike Mondays. It’s usually the busiest day of the week, and people’s spirits tend to be low as they mourn the loss of the weekend and dread the week ahead.

So if you want to catch the hiring manager on a day when they’re in high spirits, avoid picking a Monday!

Fridays are also a day to avoid. On Fridays, employees tend to be distracted by thinking about the weekend and are counting down the hours until the shift ends. You want to meet the hiring manager when they’re in full working mode and can give you all their attention.

What time of day should you choose for an interview?

The best time of day to schedule an interview is between 10-11.30am. The morning slot is when the hiring manager is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. But you should be aware that any earlier than 10am may be risky if the hiring manager isn’t a morning person. The earliest part of the working day is usually for people to discuss any problems, team meetings and goal setting, so it’s best to schedule your interview out of this period.

Is it better to have a morning or afternoon interview?

Morning interviews tend to be better than afternoons. In the mornings, hiring managers will be more alert and less drained by the day’s demands. In the afternoon, not only is the hiring manager starting to think about home time, but they might also feel sluggish after lunch or when their morning coffee starts to wear off. 

Should you try to be the first interviewee?

Another consideration is where you position yourself in terms of other candidates. You don’t want to be the first person to be interviewed. The first interviewee is normally the person to set the benchmark, and hiring managers aren’t sure what to expect. But coming in after the first person allows you to ‘make an entrance’ and outperform your competition, all while creating that Wow factor.

At the same time, make sure you’re not too far down the queue or worse: at the end. You want to be interviewed fairly early on when hiring managers aren’t yet exhausted by the process. If you leave it too late and schedule yourself in last, hiring managers are more likely to be more focused on wrapping up the process and getting through the numbers.

Tips for scheduling interviews

  • Avoid rescheduling if you’re automatically assigned a slot
  • Always write an acknowledgement email for the interview call
  • Take the initiative to provide your interview availability
  • Try to find out how many other candidates are in the interview process to help you pick your slot

Don’t forget your prep!

Picking the best interview slot is one part of the battle. But don’t forget you also need to cover the other aspects of interview prep.  


1 Comments

omini

2 years ago

Ok


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