Interviews get moved all the time: an interviewer gets sick, a candidate's boss calls a meeting, someone joins the wrong link. How you handle the change tells the candidate a lot about working for you. This page gives you free reschedule interview email templates to copy and edit for the three common cases, plus a same-day text, so you can move the time and keep the candidate's interest.
Reschedule interview email templates
When your team needs to move the interview
When the candidate asks to reschedule
After a missed interview
When to use it
Use the first email the moment you know your side can't make it. Every hour of notice helps. Use the second when a candidate writes in asking for a new time; reply the same day, because a quick, easy answer keeps the momentum going. Use the third after a no-show, once you've waited about 10 minutes on the call.
If an interview has already been moved twice by your side, don't send a template. Have the hiring manager call or write a personal note, because the candidate is now judging whether the team is organized enough to join.
How to customize it
- Restate the original slot in full. Date, time and time zone in the first line make it clear which interview you mean, especially if they have several going.
- Offer new times in the same message. "When works for you?" adds a day. Two or three concrete options settle it in one reply.
- Keep the same interviewer. Switching people without saying so looks like the role or the team is in flux.
- Delete the old calendar invite. Cancel it yourself, then send the new one, so nobody joins a dead link.
- Treat a format change as normal. If the candidate asks to switch from video to phone, or for more time, agree without asking for a reason when you can.
Variations
Same-day text message
Mistakes to avoid
- Rescheduling without an apology. Their time counts as much as your interviewer's. One sentence is enough.
- Giving no new options. A cancellation with no next time looks like a soft rejection.
- Penalizing the candidate for one request. A single reschedule says nothing about how they'll work. Don't flag it in the scorecard.
- Letting the new time slide. If the replacement slot is more than a week out, strong candidates may accept another offer first.
- Treating a no-show as a final answer. One friendly check-in recovers many good candidates who simply had a calendar mix-up.
Sometimes a reschedule request is really an accommodation request, for example a candidate who needs a later time because of a medical appointment or who asks for a different interview format. EEOC guidance says an applicant with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation at any time during the application process, so treat these requests with care and route them to whoever handles accommodations. This is not legal advice.
Automating this with Carolina
Carolina, NTRVSTA's AI Head of Talent, handles candidate messages and updates by email, SMS or WhatsApp, so a change of plans goes out quickly and on the channel the candidate actually reads. Because it schedules interviews and panels with your calendar (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoom or Calendly), it can offer fresh times that are really open and send the new invite once the candidate picks one. You set whether it suggests, asks first or acts on its own for each step.
See plan details, including the free Starter plan for one open role, on pricing. Before you reach this point, the interview scheduling email sets up the first time, and once a new time is agreed, send the interview confirmation email. Our glossary explains how changes like these shape candidate experience, and the templates library has the rest.
Questions
How do you politely reschedule an interview as the employer?
Apologize once, give a short honest reason, and offer two or three new times in the same email so the candidate can answer in one reply. Keep the same interviewer if you can. If you've moved it before, have the hiring manager send a personal note.
How much notice should I give when rescheduling an interview?
As much as possible, and at least 24 hours when you can. Candidates often take time off or arrange childcare to interview. If you must cancel on the day, call or text as well as email, and offer the earliest new slot you have.
What should I do if a candidate misses an interview?
Wait about 10 minutes, then send one friendly email or text asking if they still want to talk and offering a new time. Assume a mix-up first. If there's no reply after one more nudge, close the application kindly and leave the door open.
Want to see how a hiring agent handles a moved interview end to end? Book a 20-minute demo, or try a sample interview yourself.
