TL;DR:
Offer a short list of specific slots in your first message, with the time zone written out.
Block the time on the calendar at once and send an invitation with a link or address.
Remind people the day before, and leave a gap between interviews.
The usual way to schedule an interview is a chain of messages: "Are you free Tuesday?" "Not Tuesday, how about Thursday?" "Thursday morning?" Each message waits a day for an answer, and a week disappears before anything is booked.
You can cut that chain to one round trip with the calendar and mail apps you already have. This article shows how, using five candidates in one week as the example.
Settle these before you write to anyone
How long each interview is, and whether it is by video call, phone or in person.
Who has to be there, and when each person is free.
The time zone you work in, and where the candidates are, if you know.
A buffer after each interview for notes. Fifteen minutes is a common choice.
Open your calendar and look at the week. Mark the blocks you can truly give, not the ones you hope to give.
Four steps to a booked interview
Create slots: Block specific windows in your own calendar and name them clearly, such as "Interview slot". Space them so a buffer sits between interviews.
Offer a few options: Send the candidate three or four slots in one message, each with a day, a date, a time and a time zone. Ask them to reply with the one they prefer.
Confirm with an invitation: When they answer, send a calendar invitation straight away with the link or address, the length, and who they will meet. Put the same details in a short reply.
Remind: Send a short reminder the day before. Include how to reach you if something goes wrong, and what to bring or prepare, if anything.
Time zones without confusion
Always write the zone next to every time, and write the date as well as the weekday, so no one has to guess. A line such as "Tuesday, November 17, 10:00 a.m. Pacific (1:00 p.m. Eastern)" prevents most mistakes.
Most calendar apps convert an invitation to the receiver's own time zone, but only if the event has the right zone set on your side. Check the zone on the event before you send it. Around the dates when clocks change, which differ by country, double-check the converted time.
Worked example: scheduling five candidates in one week
Say you will interview five people for a role, each for 45 minutes, with a 15 minute buffer. Each interview therefore uses a 60 minute block. You are on Pacific time, and two of the candidates are on Eastern time, which is three hours ahead.
You find that Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are free from 9:00 to 12:00 your time. Each morning holds 3 blocks (9:00, 10:00 and 11:00), so two mornings give 3 + 3 = 6 slots. Five candidates need five, so one slot is spare for a reschedule.
Slot (Pacific) | Same slot (Eastern) |
|---|---|
Tue 9:00 | Tue 12:00 |
Tue 10:00 | Tue 1:00 p.m. |
Tue 11:00 | Tue 2:00 p.m. |
Wed 9:00 | Wed 12:00 |
Wed 10:00 | Wed 1:00 p.m. |
Wed 11:00 | Wed 2:00 p.m. |
Send each Eastern candidate three Eastern times and each Pacific candidate three Pacific times, and keep a list of which slots are offered to whom so you do not offer the same one to two people. Once someone confirms, mark that slot taken in your sheet and send the invitation. The 3-hour gap checks out: 9:00 Pacific plus 3 hours is 12:00 Eastern.
Reminders and what to do when plans change
The day before, send two lines: the time in their zone, and the link or address. If someone cancels, offer the spare slot first and tell the others nothing they do not need to know. If you have to cancel, say so as early as you can and offer new options in the same message.
Mistakes to avoid
Offering times without a zone or a date.
Booking interviews back to back, so a late one makes the next one late.
Sending an invitation with no link or address, or with the wrong person's name on it.
Forgetting the interviewers. Confirm that your colleagues are free before you offer a slot.
A short message you can adapt
Keep the first message brief: say who you are and the role, give the length and format of the interview, list the slots with date, time and zone, and ask them to reply with the one that suits. If none work, invite them to suggest windows. Nothing else is needed.
Add one line saying who they will meet, so the invitation does not come as a surprise. Candidates prepare better when they know the format and the names, and fewer follow-up questions come back.
Doing it faster
Many calendar apps have a feature that lets people pick from your free times. Where yours has one, it can replace the first message, but check how it handles time zones before you rely on it. DuckyHelper, which runs on Mac, Windows and Linux, can also look at your screen and help you find a setting you cannot locate, but the schedule is still yours to confirm.
Frequently asked questions
How many slots should I offer?
Three or four is enough. Too few risks another round of messages, and too many makes the choice harder than it needs to be.
What if a candidate cannot do any of them?
Ask for two or three windows that suit them, and look for a match. Say it is fine to ask, because the request itself is normal.
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