Interview reschedule email template (recruiter)

An interview reschedule email sent from the company side has one risk built into it: the candidate reads the change as a signal that they matter less than whatever displaced them. The way to avoid that is to tell them early, say sorry once without a paragraph of excuse, confirm that nothing about their standing has changed, and hand them the choice of the new time rather than proposing one. Both emails below do that, and both let the candidate pick the replacement slot themselves, which is the fastest way back onto the calendar.

The templates

Subject Moving your interview · sorry for the change

Hi [Candidate first name],

I have to move your interview for [Role], which was set for [Date and time]. Something came up on our side, and I would rather tell you now than have you clear the afternoon for nothing. I am sorry for the change.

Everything else stays the same: about [Duration] with [Interviewer name], and you are still very much in the process.

Use the same link to pick another time that suits you: [Booking link]. If this week is difficult, tell me and I will make something work.

[Your name] [Company]

Subject A change to your interview on [Date and time]

Hi [Candidate first name],

A change to your interview for [Role] on [Date and time]. [Interviewer name] can no longer make it, so another member of the same team will take the conversation instead. I will send you their name and role today.

Nothing else changes: about [Duration], the same questions, and the same next step afterwards.

If you would rather wait for your original interviewer, use the same link to pick a later slot: [Booking link]. Either way, reply here and I will confirm.

[Your name] [Company]

When to send it

• The moment you know, even if that is late in the evening before. A candidate who finds out at eight is far better off than one who finds out at nine.
• When the interviewer calls in sick, rather than substituting someone without telling the candidate first.
• When a panel loses one of its members and the conversation would no longer be a fair test.
• When you have to move a final round, where the candidate has almost certainly booked time off for it.

What to change

• The reason, in half a sentence. Candidates are forgiving about a conflict and unforgiving about a paragraph of explanation that reads like a cover story.
• The reassurance line. It matters most for a final round, and it should be plain rather than effusive.
• The new time. Offering a link beats offering a slot, because you are the one who broke the arrangement and the candidate should not have to fit around you twice. In Bestpeople the candidate's original link still works: the candidate cancels the old slot and picks a new one from the same link.
• The apology. Once is right. Three times reads as guilt and makes the candidate wonder what else is unstable.