Interview cancellation email template
An interview cancellation email from the employer is one of the few messages where being brief is the kind thing to do. The candidate has already given you time, may have booked a morning off, and is now getting news that helps them in no way at all. Say what has happened, say it is not about them where that is true, and give them something to do next if you honestly can. Both emails below are short on purpose. If the interview is only moving, use the reschedule email instead.
The templates
Subject Canceling your interview · [Role] is on hold
Hi [Candidate first name],
I am sorry to write this. We have put [Role] on hold, so I am canceling your interview on [Date and time].
The decision is about our hiring plan for this quarter and has nothing to do with your application, which was strong enough to get you an interview in a field of good ones.
I will keep your details and come back to you first if the role opens again. If you would rather I delete them, say the word and I will.
Thank you for the time you have already given us.
[Your name] [Company]
Subject Your interview with [Company] on [Date and time]
Hi [Candidate first name],
I am writing before your interview rather than after it. We have decided to move forward with another candidate for [Role], so I am canceling [Date and time] rather than letting you prepare for a conversation that cannot go anywhere.
That is a poor outcome for you and I am sorry for it. You reached the interview stage out of a strong field, which is worth saying plainly.
If you are open to it, I will keep your details and write to you directly about the next opening on this team.
[Your name] [Company]
When to send it
- Within an hour of the decision. Every hour after that is an hour a candidate spends preparing for something that is not happening.
- The evening before at the latest, so nobody travels to an office or takes a morning off for nothing.
- When the role is paused, frozen or restructured, rather than leaving the interview in the calendar in the hope it comes back.
- When an internal candidate has been chosen and the external process is closing.
What to change
- The reason. One clause is enough, and vagueness reads worse than a plain fact like a hiring freeze.
- The promise. Only offer to keep someone's details or come back to them if you will actually do it.
- The close. If the candidate had already interviewed once, the rejection email is the better model for the last paragraph.
- The subject line. Put the word canceling in it, so nobody reads the message an hour after the interview should have started.