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So I have been in the process of interviewing at a company in town. I have some experience with jobs of this nature and I apparently passed their assessment test with flying colors, and a formal online interview was scheduled for today.

I got a call today saying they would like to postpone the interview until Tuesday or Wednesday. I also asked them to send me the job application to complete it today, they replied that there was "no application needed".

My initial thoughts are that it is bad news. I have never had an online interview postponed. My girlfriend says that if they had found somebody else they would probably have canceled the interview.

What are some thoughts on this? Bad news like I dread, or just suddenly overwhelmed at the HR or the hiring committee? Personally to me I'm afraid they hired somebody, and are foreseeing another similar position come up, or they already hired somebody and don't want to just cancel it, though I have no idea why.

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    There's no possible way for us to know what their motivation might be. Just keep applying and hope for the best.
    – AndreiROM
    Apr 25, 2016 at 13:19
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    It happens. I just experienced an interview postponed a week - a day at a time! - at a very large and reputable company because "network issues prevented everyone from syncing up on a date via their calendars". Sounded very suspicious (!) but in fact I eventually had the interview and got the contract and started work. (Start date was also delayed because "network issues prevented HR from onboarding me". It was a bad couple of weeks for them!)
    – davidbak
    Apr 25, 2016 at 17:35
  • If the interview was postponed because "one of the interviewers is travelling today", there is a high chance the traveller would never return. I have had 17 such instances (yes, I keep a count) and on each such occasion, I have never heard back from them. I guess "interviewer is travelling today" is a new euphemism for "we are not interested in you".
    – Masked Man
    Apr 26, 2016 at 6:18

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It's neither bad news nor good news. The most likely scenario is that something came up, and one of the people involved in the interview has to be somewhere else at that time. Or they decided that another person should be involved in the interview, and that person has a schedule conflict.

In other words, the change probably has nothing to do with you.

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    Only thing I would add is 'so don't stress over it.'
    – Kilisi ♦
    Apr 25, 2016 at 14:24
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    Yes. There's no practical way to know the reason. You could ask, but you have no way to know if the answer is the truth. Odds are that it has nothing to do with you. Just go to the interview at the new time and go from there. If you have other opportunities in the works, keep working on them. If these people reschedule again, that might be a sign of trouble. I realize you can't control your emotions like setting a know, but there's nothing gained by getting anxiouis over it.
    – Jay
    Apr 25, 2016 at 16:50
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As well as scheduling conflicts, it could quite well be that one of the people who will interview you is ill, especially if it is short-notice. Had it happen a couple of times.

You're in the middle of the application process already, so I doubt an application would be necessary, unless their internal process requires it.

If they've had someone accept the job offer, it'd be a waste of everyone's time to postpone, and they would cancel. If they had an offer out to a potential, still would make more sense to keep the interview on time, as rescheduling generally doesn't look good (and the times I've been rescheduled on, the interviewer has apologised).

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  • Maybe the interviewer went skiing during the weekend, crashed on his way down slope number 13, knocked himself unconscious, got picked up by a helicopter, and is now stuck in a hospital. -- Speaking from experience.
    – kasperd
    Apr 25, 2016 at 20:53
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Them not being able to have the interview at the scheduled time can have a million of internal reasons which have nothing to do with you.

When they wouldn't care about you at all they would just have cancelled it altogether. So it's a minor good sign.

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My initial thoughts are that it is bad news. I have never had an online interview postponed. My girlfriend says that if they had found somebody else they would probably have canceled the interview.

What are some thoughts on this?

I think your girlfriend is right, and that you should listen to her more. If they no longer wanted you, they would not have postponed the interview - they would have just canceled it.

Most likely you will find that there is nothing bad about this delay. Just be more patient.

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    They absolutely would have cancelled it. To everyone involved at the company (except perhaps their recruiter) an interview is at best time spent not doing things they need to do, and at worst a total waste of time. They're not going to string you along when they could just cancel and forget about it. (I'm not sure if that means you should listen to your girlfriend more, though. That's a different issue.)
    – davidbak
    Apr 25, 2016 at 17:37
  • I think you should wine and dine your girlfriend royally at this point, for many reasons: First, she is totally right in that postpone is good, cancel is bad. Second, you need to keep your head up and not seem desperate about this opportunity. Third, getting your mind off the hiring might help you concentrate better when the interview is due. Fourth, if the hiring goes bad you will have a girlfriend to cheer you up and support you in the future as well. Treat her well!
    – diynevala
    Apr 26, 2016 at 7:48
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Keep in mind that the hiring process is a major time commitment (and hassle) for managers who, in addition to having their regular responsibilities, are also short-handed. If they filled the position they likely would have told you that. The more likely scenario is that there was simply a scheduling conflict.

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