How can I postpone a job interview?

October 14, 2013 1:29 PM

My mental health took a crash and I need to postpone a job interview I have scheduled this week. How can I do it / how should I word it?

I have a job interview scheduled Thursday for the #2-ish company in my field. They are hiring for jobs starting in summer 2014 and it's very competitive. I am grateful and excited to have the interview. It is a technical interview that requires a lot of practice/preparation and a high level of performance.

A few days ago I had a massive mental health crash. I got a lot of bad news in my personal and professional life in the same day, and I have some history of depression, and it knocked my mental health off kilter to the point where I've been crying constantly and having suicidal thoughts for days. (No I have no plan to do the latter.) I will be able to get my mental health back to normal with a week or two of very concerted effort (daily yoga, low sugar diet, careful sleep, meditation, good habits, fish oil, and other similar things which I know for a fact work for me). However I won't be back to normal by later this week and I have missed 3 days of preparation time because I've been crying most of the day.

I can't go into my interview because I will fail it. I won't embarrass myself, and I am able to show up, but I won't perform at the extremely high level needed to get the job. What I don't need to hear right now is "If you have bad mental health, then you might not perform on the job and they might not want to hire you anyway," so please refrain from any trolling of that sort. I just want to increase my chances in the best way possible while staying within the law and normal ethical bounds.

My question is -- what is the appropriate wording to ask to reschedule an interview for an unexpected health reason? I'd like to reschedule by 2-3 weeks. How much detail is expected/normal/required in this type of request? Is there something I can write that would best improve my chances of my request being granted? I won't lie, but I am willing to say things that are technically true while vague enough to have multiple interpretations. I am willing to mention, or not mention, that my reason is health-related, as appropriate.

FWIW, this is a full time job coming out of grad school, and I have a really stellar academic and work history. It might be a great job for me -- and I could be a really stellar performer for them -- but I do need to deliver at this interview to get the job. The company is big enough, and the job is general enough, that interviews are in some ways "rolling" although spots do fill up, and on-campus recruiting does follow a schedule which I am currently engaged in.

posted by htid to Work & Money (12 answers total)

Last-minute family health emergency, very much want to do the interview, need to reschedule. Keep it short and sweet.

These things aren't always fair and the above may not work, but it's worth a shot.
posted by perissodactyl at 1:36 PM on October 14, 2013 [27 favorites]

Best answer: Well, if you're 100% sure you're not in shape to do the interview, just contact the recruiter and tell them, "Due to unexpected family emergency, I need to reschedule, would that be possible?"

It may not be, and you may have to let this one go. But if it's not an immediate fill, but more of a general "cattle-call" they may be perfectly okay with rescheduling.

I would NOT tell them anything about your health, mental or otherwise.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:37 PM on October 14, 2013 [19 favorites]

Health issues that keep you from professional obligations do not need to be -- nor should be -- elaborated upon to someone you don't already have a working relationship with (and even then there's a lot of discretion to be had.) The more you disclose, the worse your chances are for getting the job.
posted by griphus at 1:38 PM on October 14, 2013

Yes, use "unexpected family emergency" and let them know that you are interested in rescheduling. These things happen, and since it seems like they're probably recruiting for next year's "class" of recruits, vs. filling a specific vacancy, the chances are decent that they'll be able to accommodate you.
posted by lunasol at 1:40 PM on October 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

Would you go to the interview if they can't (or won't) reschedule? Because if you play the "Family Health Emergency" card, you can't then show up on Thursday without it looking like you were lying. If it were me, I would just ask if it is possible to reschedule without giving a reason, and if it is not possible, I'd just gut it out and do the best I could on Thursday. The wording of your request is not going to determine if they can or can't (or will or won't) reschedule, so don't stress about that too much.
posted by Rock Steady at 1:47 PM on October 14, 2013 [14 favorites]

The campus career office counselors may have some more specific advice for you on this, especially as the job is being recruited on-campus. This will not be the first time they've had a student who needed to reschedule an interview for personal reasons. You can always call their office if you're not up to a personal visit yet.

In addition, are you talking to any kind of therapist or counselor about what you're going through, either through your campus health center or elsewhere? It certainly sounds like you have some good techniques for caring for yourself, and that's absolutely great, but it may be helpful to talk through some of it, especially some of your negative feelings about failing the interview. It's also a good opportunity to explore the possibility of medication (or to look at adjusting any medication you're already taking), at least looking at the options and deciding for yourself what would help you best.

Feel good!
posted by zachlipton at 1:51 PM on October 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

In keeping with Rock Steady's advice, I too would suggest something more along the lines of just asking if you can reschedule without giving any reason at all. Something like "hi, I have an interview scheduled for Tuesday at 10. Is there any flexibility in that date and time? Because I have a scheduling conflict I'm trying to work out, and if it makes no difference to you, it would be great if I we could reschedule it."
posted by gjc at 2:54 PM on October 14, 2013 [3 favorites]

You should not expect to go into great detail about why you need to reschedule, regardless of what reason you give (and keep it short and sweet) - but you should also be prepared for inflexibility or your later interview being canceled if they fill their number of spots by that time. I don't say that because I think you should go through with the interview if you feel really unprepared, but it could happen.

Emphasize that you really want the opportunity to speak with folks at Company and you regret that it's not possible at the moment but look forward to it in the near future, give specific time-frames for when you are next available. And keep going with the on-campus recruiting stuff.
posted by sm1tten at 3:12 PM on October 14, 2013

Best answer: I think giving the approximate reason (family emergency) is better than omitting it. Having been a hiring manager previously, I think giving no reason may make the recruiter feel that you're just flaking on the interview process and make them less likely to agree to reschedule. You needn't reveal any details. If you word the request to indicate that you can attend if it is absolutely impossible to reschedule, but would strongly prefer to postpone, you maximize your options.
posted by Smells of Detroit at 7:32 PM on October 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

As an HR guy, I want to point out a few things

*They might not want to reschedule. It might be held against even if they said it wouldn't. They could also be way cool and not be bothered by it, but weigh that against going in anyway.

*DO NOT MENTION MENTAL HEALTH. This isn't just for you - there are many things people are not allowed to ask you in an interview because you could sue them for discrimination if you don't get the job later. Mental health will occasionally fall under ADA. Just, don't open that can of worms if you can avoid it.

*be warm, be friendly, but say as little as possible. Make sure it's not something that sounds reoccuring ("Oh, my grandma's sick all the time") or so dramatic you shouldn't be in ("My whole family was murdered by raccoons")

I'm sorry, this is a shitty situation. Take care of yourself, and do the best you can.
posted by OrangeDrink at 8:45 PM on October 14, 2013

I don't think you'll be able to reschedule. Speaking as someone who has helped my employer with recruiting and on-campus interview sessions, the company typically has one day in which to use the interview rooms at the campus career center; and this day is scheduled many weeks in advance.

Additionally, the interviewer's hands may be tied. My employer does on-campus recruiting every year around this time for internship positions for the following summer. In our most recent recruiting session, we had one candidate say that his classes and exam schedule did not allow him to come to an interview that day. My boss really wanted to accommodate him and reschedule the interview, to the point of "well, Jim (or whatever his name was), we may be able to schedule an interview some other day if you can make it to our office." Then when he tried to set that in motion, it was "nope. You only have that day to interview kids and if they can't make it, too bad."

He asked that we keep his interview slot scheduled for him, which we did. He was, predictably, a no-show, for what we considered perfectly legitimate reasons. He didn't get another interview time and missed out.

So, since your mental health may not put you in the best frame of mind to do a job interview, it's not preventing you from going, so go anyway and try not to think about what is bothering you. It sucks, and you may not get the job because of the frame of mind you were in at the interview, but it is what it is.

If this were not an on-campus interview, I'd suggest using the "unspecified family emergency" and ask to reschedule, saying you can make the interview but would really prefer to reschedule.

(On a somewhat-related personal note, I once had a job interview scheduled where the employer paid to fly me from Boston to DC for the interview, with rental car and hotel included. There was a huge snow storm in Boston on the night before/morning of my flight, and my flight was cancelled. I called the recruiter and she was willing to reschedule for a few weeks ahead. Later that day, the airline put me on a flight LATE that evening, which made it so I actually could make my original interview slot at 8:00 the next morning. I called the recruiter back and explained the situation and asked that they keep the original interview time. My flight was significantly delayed and I didn't get to my hotel until 2 AM. I got to the interview on time, but at the outset explained that I didn't get to the hotel until 2 and as a result hadn't gotten enough sleep. I got the job. There are legitimate situations where interviews can be rescheduled, a family emergency would seem to be one.)
posted by tckma at 10:52 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Epilogue: sent a brief and friendly email, with a nondescript emergency reason (not lying, but not sharing personal details either). Asked politely to reschedule but said I would go to the original date if necessary. The recruiter very easily and readily rescheduled me a few weeks ahead.

On the downside, there may be fewer open jobs by then. On the upside, I would never in a million years have passed this interview if I went this week, so a reduced chance is better than nothing.

It can never hurt to ask!

Thank you to everyone who gave advice.
posted by htid at 2:24 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]