Interview scheduling - okay to just give one available slot per week?

Question

Dear all, would love to hear your advice regarding interview scheduling. It's been a challenging issue for me as I'm working full time and had already taken several days off in a short time in order to attend interviews at different firms.

My next round is a case interview with 2 partners (not scheduled yet). Is it okay to tell the HR that I can only do a specific time-frame each week (ex: every Monday morning)? How to communicate this in a polite way?

Answer 1

Hey there,

I disagree with Moritz.

If you are working full-time the firm should usually accommodate your needs, especially if you are already in the 2nd round.

How I would go about it:

1. Communicate openly with HR about the issue and your availabilities.

2. Expect the interviews to be somewhat spaced out, e.g., one partner next Monday, the other in 1 or 2 weeks.

It is not an issue and recruiting usually takes care of these things well, especially since all interviewing has moved to the virtual space.

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 2

Hi there,

I agree with Florian here. They know you're working and should accommodate.

Let them know that you're doing your best to free up time, but that work ultimately comes first. Thank them in advance for their flexibility and say you're happy to try to work around their schedule as well.

Answer 3

This probably wont' work. Unfortunately you can't expect firm partners to adjust to your schedule, especially when suggesting a too specific time slot.

You can, however, communicate to HR that it's not straight forward for you to find a time and you find a solution together. This is not an uncommon problem and a perfectly reasonable point to bring up with HR.

Hope this helps! Best of luck!

Answer 4

Yes, this is totally fine. No need to be apologetic for this. Explain your work commitments & time constraint to them and request nicely to accommodate. Convey your keenness on the firm and interview process. They experience such things all the time with candidates, so this is not a big deal.

All the best.

Answer 5

Try to have more options if possible - but HR will understand that you are working and of course have limitations. Just be clear on the reasons why you are giving out such a limited number of options.

On the other hand, understand that partners work a lot - and may be willing to interview outside the 8am-5pm schedule ;)

Answer 6

Hello!

Don´t worry, as long as you explain it to HR as you did here, they will understand. you are working, and they will be flexible for sure.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 7

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