When is the best time to meet with candidates

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Conducting job interviews is no easy task. It is extremely time-consuming and things only get more complicated when multiple interviewers are involved and the team needs to work out a time slot which fits everyone's schedule.

To ensure the team is ready and focused on the hiring process, getting the timing right on a job interview is crucial to success.

Michael Jones, head of internal recruitment and training for Hays UK&I, advises against having interviews on Monday or Friday. Monday is the day for people to catch up on work - to deal with unfinished business from the previous Friday or reply to emails received over the weekend - it is easy to get distracted with so much on the plate. Friday is also not ideal as people tend to start thinking about plans for the weekend.

According to Jones, Wednesday is the ideal day of the week to meet candidates because the interviewer would have completed his or her ‘beginning of the week to-do list’, and will be yet to move onto their ‘must action before the weekend pile’, the interviewer will be able to totally focus on getting to know the candidate.

When it comes to finding the best time of the day to conduct a job interview, morning is the best, as suggested by Joe Issid in a post on Monster.

It is never ideal to conduct an interview in the middle of the workday, where the interview might be sandwiched between other meetings, it is easy for the interviewer to lose focus and ended up unprepared for the interview. Starting the day off with an interview prevents the interviewer from being distracted by other tasks.

As the day progresses, people's priorities can shift, there is a bigger chance for interviewers to be occupied by other priorities. Fatigue can also set in after lunch. Candidates could come in tired after a harsh day, which affects the outcome of the interview.

All these factors add up to why interviews should be held in the morning.

Moreover, if there is a chance to conduct an interview in the morning, the earlier the better. Candidates will appreciate it if the interview can be conducted before regular work hours begin, this means they may not have to take a day off to attend the interview. For hiring managers they will feel their schedule is not being overrun by interviews.

Performing interview after interview can become quite tiresome, it is important to recognise there are better ways to approach them.

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