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I have got an interview invitation from a company earlier today. They asked me for a few preferred dates for the interview. Since I wanted to have more time to prepare for it, I replied that I would be available either next Tuesday or Wednesday. Then I received another reply saying that they have scheduled my interview on Monday.

Should I just confirm it, or ask for a reschedule?

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    Do you need the extra day to prep?
    – Andrew Berry
    Commented Feb 17, 2017 at 7:56
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    I'd consider this a minor strike against the interviewers - you specified your availability and they've ignored it. But, like Joe says, if you can actually attend the Monday, it's probably not worth getting into a fuss trying to change it.
    – HorusKol
    Commented Feb 18, 2017 at 0:25
  • What @HorusKol said is something to bear in mind but keep in mind the employer and the interviewer might not be the same person, and it all might of been done via a 3rd party (agency?) anyway, so the message can be lost along the way. They clearly want to interview you as soon as possible (Maximum of one week ahead if it's a monday you got the original reply). This is faster than most interviews I've arranged.
    – djsmiley2kStaysInside
    Commented Feb 18, 2017 at 22:25

2 Answers 2

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Call them and ask if the interview can be scheduled on Tuesday or Wednesday, and say that you would find it difficult to make it on Monday, without going into the reasons. You certainly should not say "I need more time to prepare", that makes it sound like you do not have enough confidence in your skills.

It could have been a scheduling mistake on their end. For example, the person who scheduled the meeting may not have read your mail, or typed in the date manually based on a misunderstanding of the day of week, or simply clicked a wrong box in the calendar popup, etc.

If you find out that the Monday interview was indeed intentional (because one of the key members of the interview panel was unavailable starting Tuesday, etc.), then well, you know what to do: either attend the interview on Monday or let go of the opportunity.

Do not make any mention of the mail you had sent. ("As mentioned in my email, I asked for the interview on Tuesday or Wednesday, but I have received an invite for Monday.") Even if it is not your intention, it sounds like accusing the other party of not reading their email properly, which is not a great way to start an interview process. Just focus on what you want now, don't worry about what happened in the past.

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Only you can truly answer this question, as it depends on how flexible you are. The question to ask yourself is:

Would going to the interview on Monday cause any detrimental effect to your current schedule and/or your prospectus at getting the job?

If the answer is no, then go and have fun at the interview. If the answer is yes, ask them to reschedule using Masked Man's excellent answer.

However, the company in question may refuse to reschedule and at that point you'll have to ask the question, how important is this possible job to you and are you willing to reschedule things to make the interview on Monday possible (E.g. Cancel weekend plans so you have more time to prep)?

Again, these are only questions you will know the answer to.

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