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I got an invitation for an interview at 8:30 A.M. How do you feel a manager would likely react if I asked if an interview after 9:30 AM is possible, since those are (more in line with) my regular work hours?

I'm trying not to provide too much context because that's likely how I would ask it.

I will only add that I'm very interested in the job, believe I have a good shot at it, I have good references, but I would definitely not accept an offer if I was required to start before 9:30 AM, and this time slot is the most stressful part of the interview for me.

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    Even if your normal start time were later in the day, how would you react if your job required you to attend a meeting or conference starting at 8:30?
    – Patricia Shanahan
    Commented Feb 18, 2017 at 0:02
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    "I would definitely not accept an offer if I was required to start before 9:30 AM" - well, you've just removed the majority of jobs from your available pool...
    – HorusKol
    Commented Feb 18, 2017 at 0:23
  • @PatriciaShanahan Then I do my best (as I will the interview). Good question though, puts things in perspective.
    – mtone
    Commented Feb 18, 2017 at 1:31
  • I finally decided to keep the interview at the prescribed time. With additional time due to rush hour traffic and a safety buffer, I had to get up about 2 hours earlier than usual. The fear of poor performance or simply not making it in the few days prior was indeed stressful, but luckily it went well.
    – mtone
    Commented Feb 24, 2017 at 18:34

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Ask to reschedule if you really think it's necessary, but don't say the reason until you have an offer and know more about the company schedule, unless the interviewer themselves bring up benefits near the end--I'm not sure how many interviews you go through, but I generally go through three, a prescreening, a interview with the team, and a final interview with some higher ups where they get into the weeds of things like above.

It's generally not a smart idea to bring up issues like this that early in the interview process, it comes off as fairly presumptuous even if you DO have a good reason, like perhaps needing flexible hours for a school internship, which is a much more common and valid issue to pop up and still inappropriate for pre-interview or interview chatter.

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Unless there is a VERY good reason why you can't make it earlier (something such as having children you are responsible for dropping off at certain times) then I think it's an extremely bad idea to ask to reschedule. Particularly since it's only an hour earlier than your normal start time, are you really saying that you can't go to bed and get up one hour earlier for an interview?

Frankly, if I was the interviewer in that situation your resume would immediately go in the "pass" pile even if you were otherwise a stellar candidate, because someone with rigid and unflexible schedules/routines are far more difficult to work with.

Without knowing more about your situation (why the time is a big deal) it's hard to give advice, but I'd strongly suggest you sit down and evaluate why a start time prior to 9:30 is a big deal... because it really shouldn't be. I'm a night owl myself, I'd much rather be up until 2-3am and sleep until 10~ than be up early.

Yet I still drag myself out of bed at 5:30 every morning for work even on days I stay up too late and don't get "enough" sleep, because that's the schedule I work and I value being a good (and reliable) employee more than my "preferred" sleep schedule. Also, getting off earlier in the day is super convenient...

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