When is the best time to book an interview in?

Okay, so we Googled ‘When is the best time to book an interview in?’ and the answer is Tuesday.

Article done.

In all seriousness, let’s explore this a little further. We have had plenty of interviews that took place on a Tuesday that resulted in rejections, so it clearly cannot be that straight forward. There is more to selecting an interview time slot than some people might think, and based on the conversations we have had with hiring managers, this article might give you a little subtle boost in your applications.

We will cover a number of tips in this article, but we do want to point out that doing these won’t ensure you have the job, you still need to perform but it might boost your chances for sure.

Avoid Mondays and Fridays (if you can)

If you can try and avoid interviewing on a Monday or Friday, both for different reasons:

Monday – A full inbox and a week of tasks await your interviewer; they might be tired from the weekend and mentally not ready to evaluate your skills.

Friday – The weekend is fast approaching; your interviewer might be experiencing fatigue from work and could have mentally checked out already.

Late Morning is most optimal

We have found that late mornings (10am – 11am) is the most optimal time for interviews. Interviewers have ticked a few things off their daily plan, they will have likely had their team meetings and most importantly grabbed a coffee!

They are still alert for the day ahead but very much into work mode and ready to evaluate your skills.

Avoid just before or just after lunch

Just before lunch, or just after lunch tend to not work in your favour. Food, we think that says enough.

Of course, if you are going for a lunch meeting, then you have no choice in the matter (just remember to not order the spaghetti bolognese!).

Try not to be the first

Being the first interviewer of the day or the process will set a benchmark for all remaining interviews. This could lead to contrast bias, which will result in you never having the really impact you intended as you can never surpass the benchmark that you set.

This doesn’t always happen, especially now with a lot more bias training happening but it still does and is something to be mindful of.

Try not to be last

You might be thinking that going last could work best in your favour then, the last person to make an impact usually stands out in their mind the most, right?

We are afraid this doesn’t always happen either.

The longer a process is running, the higher chance of decision fatigue. Decision fatigue is when the quality of decision-making decreases after a series of choices (other applicants interviewing) or as the role stays open (time).

If you can aim for mid-week, late morning when you next have an interview request. The time will play best in your favour and if you are prepared as you should be for your interview, it might do enough to secure you the position.

Let us know how you get on, or if you believe someone else could benefit from reading this article feel free to share it with them. Best of luck in your next interview. 

Peritus Partners is a next generation recruitment team that focuses on blending education, business and community together. Interested to see how we can help find the best talent for your team or interested in finding a new job? Reach out today 😎