Once a candidate has picked a time, an interview confirmation email puts the time, format, people and prep in one message they can find again five minutes before the call. This interview confirmation email template works for video, phone and onsite interviews, and it's free to copy and edit. You'll also find a note for the interview panel, a day-before reminder and a text message version.
Interview confirmation email template
Confirmation to the candidate
Note to the interview panel
When to use it
Send the candidate version as soon as the time is booked, ideally within the hour. Self-scheduling tools create a calendar event, but that event rarely says who the candidate will meet, what the conversation covers or where to park. The confirmation fills those gaps and gives the candidate a thread to reply to if something goes wrong.
Send the panel note the same day, so interviewers block prep time and know their assigned topic. Use the day-before reminder below for anything booked more than three days out, since a lot can change in a week.
How to customize it
- Keep only one format line. Delete the video, phone or onsite options that don't apply so the candidate isn't guessing.
- Write the time zone next to every time. For a remote candidate in another region, add their local time in parentheses.
- Make the "What to expect" line match the real agenda. If the interview includes a live exercise, say how long it runs and what tools are allowed.
- For onsite visits, add the details people forget: building entry, ID checks, the floor, and who will meet them in the lobby.
- Fill in the panel note's focus areas from your interview scorecard, so two interviewers don't ask the same questions.
- Keep the offer to adjust the format. The EEOC treats changes to the application process as a form of reasonable accommodation, and candidates can ask in plain words.
Variations
Day-before reminder
Text message version
Only text candidates who gave you their number and agreed to texts about their application.
Mistakes to avoid
- A confirmation and a calendar invite that show different times. Create the invite first, then copy the time from it.
- Reusing a personal meeting room link that another call may still be using when the candidate joins.
- Leaving out the interviewer names, so the candidate can't prepare and walks in cold.
- Asking why the candidate needs an adjustment. Ask what would help, then arrange it.
- Confirming the candidate and forgetting the panel, which leads to the classic "is anyone joining?" wait in the video room.
Automating this with Carolina
Carolina, the agent inside NTRVSTA, schedules interviews and panels with your calendar (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoom or Calendly) and sends candidate messages and updates by email, SMS or WhatsApp. Once a slot is booked, the confirmation, the reminder and the panel heads-up can go out from the same booking, so the details always match.
You choose a guardrail for each action: suggest, ask first, or auto. You might let confirmations run on auto and keep anything sensitive on ask first. Offers and compensation changes always wait for a person. You can try it on one open role with the free Starter plan.
Questions
How soon should I send an interview confirmation email?
Send it within an hour of the candidate booking, or right after you agree on a time by phone. A fast confirmation tells the candidate the slot is real and gives them time to arrange leave, childcare or travel. Add a reminder the day before if the interview is more than three days away.
Should I ask the candidate to reply and confirm?
It's optional. A booked calendar invite is already a confirmation, so a required reply adds a step for the candidate. Instead, tell them to reply only if something changes. If you need a firm yes, for example for an onsite visit with building security, ask for a one-word reply by a specific day.
What should a video interview confirmation include?
Include the date, time and time zone, the platform, the exact link, the names and titles of the interviewers, a rough agenda and anything the candidate should have ready, such as a laptop or a portfolio link. Add a phone number to call if the link fails, and a way to request a different format.
Want to take scheduling chores off your plate? Book a 20-minute demo and we'll show you Carolina booking and confirming a panel. More copy-ready emails for this stage: the interview invitation, interview scheduling and interview reschedule templates, or the full templates library.
