How to request availability for an interview (+ email templates)

You’ve got 40+ applicants for a role, no recruiter to hand the pile to, and you need to figure out who’s actually worth talking to without spending your whole week on phone screens.

Asking for availability is one of those small, easy-to-rush steps in that process. But it’s not just admin. It’s the candidate’s first real look at how your company operates. Is it organized? Respectful? Or is this going to be a week of confusing back-and-forth emails before anyone even picks up the phone?

Below is a breakdown of how to get the availability email right, plus three templates you can copy and send today: the initial ask, the nudge for candidates who go quiet, and the reschedule.

Why the availability email matters more than it looks

When you ask a candidate for their availability, you’re doing more than locking down a time slot. You’re setting the tone for everything that follows.

First impressions run both ways

Candidates read your scheduling email the same way you’d read theirs. Clear, prompt, and specific reads as organized. Vague and slow reads as chaotic, and they’ll assume that’s what working there is like too.

Efficiency protects the time you don’t have

A concise email cuts the back-and-forth that turns a five-minute task into a three-day thread. The faster this part is done, the sooner you’re back to the part that actually matters: deciding whether this person can do the job.

It’s not just your time on the line. Cronofy’s 2024 Candidate Expectations Report found that 42% of candidates have walked away from a hiring process because scheduling the interview took too long. A slow, vague availability email doesn’t just cost you an afternoon. It costs you the candidate.

It’s a preview of your process

A smooth scheduling exchange tells a candidate your team has its act together. A clunky one plants a doubt before the interview has even started, and that doubt doesn’t go away just because the interview goes well.

Dos and don’ts of the interview availability email

Before the templates, here’s what separates a request that gets a same-day reply from one that sits unread for three days.

Do: send it fast

Once you’ve decided to interview someone, send the email that day. Sitting on it for 48 hours tells the candidate you’re not that interested, even if the opposite is true.

Don’t: be vague

“I’m flexible, let me know when you’re free” feels considerate but does the opposite. It hands the candidate a blank page and guarantees a slower reply. Give them specific times to choose from instead.

Do: offer three to five slots

That’s the range that actually works: enough to give a candidate real flexibility without turning the choice into a chore. Spread the options across two or three days so at least one is likely to fit.

Don’t: pile on options just to seem flexible

More than five slots isn’t generous, it’s a decision problem you handed to the candidate. If you’re coordinating this across several open roles at once with no recruiter to lean on, that’s the moment to consider a one-way interview, where candidates record their answers on their own time instead of you trading emails to find a slot that works for everyone. If you want to keep live interviews but speed up the logistics, interview scheduling tools can automate the calendar part for you.

Do: have a plan for the no-show

Candidates miss calls. Something comes up, or they simply stop responding after agreeing to a time. Decide in advance how many chances you’ll give before you move to the next person on your list, so you’re not making that call in the moment out of guilt or frustration.

Do: name the time zone

If the interview is remote, state the time zone next to every slot, not just once at the top. “10am ET” next to each option removes a whole category of confusion.

Don’t: leave out the format

Phone, video, or in person, tell the candidate which one it is. They should know before the call whether to expect a link or a ringing phone.

Steal these interview availability email templates

Here are three templates: one to send when you first want to schedule, one for candidates who don’t reply to the first one, and one for when a candidate needs to move the time. All three are ready to copy and adjust.

Template 1: the initial ask

Subject line: Let’s schedule your interview - [Position Name] at [Company Name]

Hi [Candidate’s Name],

I hope you’re doing well! We’ve reviewed your application, and we’re excited to move forward with an interview for the [Position Name] role at [Company Name].

To get things rolling, could you let us know your availability for a [interview format, e.g., video chat, phone call, in-person meeting]? Here are a few times that work for us:

[Day, Date] at [Time] [Time Zone] [Day, Date] at [Time] [Time Zone] [Day, Date] at [Time] [Time Zone]

If none of these times fit your schedule, just let me know what works best for you, and we’ll do our best to accommodate. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best,

[Your Full Name] [Your Job Title] [Your Contact Information]

Template 2: the follow-up, if you haven’t heard back

If two or three business days pass with no reply, send one follow-up before you move on to the next candidate. Keep it short. This isn’t the moment to sound annoyed or desperate, it’s a quick nudge with the same information restated for convenience.

Subject line: Following up - interview availability for [Position Name]

Hi [Candidate’s Name],

Just following up on my note from [day sent] about scheduling your interview for the [Position Name] role. I want to make sure it didn’t get buried.

If any of these still work, let me know which one:

[Day, Date] at [Time] [Time Zone] [Day, Date] at [Time] [Time Zone]

And if none of these fit anymore, tell me a couple of times that would, and we’ll find something that works.

Best,

[Your Full Name]

One follow-up is normal. A second unanswered email usually means the candidate has moved on, and that’s fine. If you’d rather skip the guesswork of live scheduling altogether, a one-way interview removes this exact friction: the candidate records their answers whenever it suits them, and there’s no thread to lose track of. (And once they’ve completed one, following up matters just as much, since most candidates don’t expect it.)

Template 3: the reschedule, if a candidate needs a new time

Candidates reschedule for real reasons: a conflict at their current job, a family emergency, a car that won’t start. Say yes without making it a thing, and offer a couple of fresh options right away so the thread doesn’t drag into a second round of back-and-forth.

Subject line: No problem - let’s find a new time for [Position Name]

Hi [Candidate’s Name],

Thanks for letting me know, and no worries at all. Here are a couple of other times that could work:

[Day, Date] at [Time] [Time Zone] [Day, Date] at [Time] [Time Zone]

If none of these fit, just send me a few times on your end and I’ll make it work.

Best,

[Your Full Name]

Quick checklist before you hit send

Run your draft against this before it leaves your outbox:

• Subject line names the role and the company
• 3-5 specific time slots, not “let me know when you’re free”
• Time zone stated next to every slot, not just once
• Interview format named (video, phone, in person)
• A way for the candidate to propose their own time if none fit
• Your name, title, and a way to reach you directly

Frequently asked questions

How many time slots should I actually offer?

Three to five, spread across two or three days. Fewer than three doesn’t give a candidate real flexibility. More than five turns a quick decision into a chore. If the role has a thin candidate pool and you want to meet almost everyone who applies, err toward the flexible end and let them counter-propose.

How long should I wait before following up?

Two to three business days is a reasonable window before a nudge. Candidates are usually juggling other interviews, so silence for a day or two isn’t a signal of disinterest yet.

What if the candidate never responds, even to the follow-up?

Move on. A second unanswered email almost always means they’ve accepted something else or lost interest. Chasing a third time rarely changes the outcome and it costs you time you could spend on the next candidate in the pile. If this keeps happening across a lot of candidates, it’s worth reading up on why candidates ghost employers in the first place.

Should I let candidates suggest their own time instead of offering slots?

Only as a fallback, not the default. Open-ended availability requests create more back-and-forth, not less, because now both sides are guessing at what works. Offer specific slots first, and leave the door open for a candidate to counter if none of them fit.

What if a candidate no-shows or needs to reschedule?

Give one reschedule without friction. Life happens, and a candidate who reschedules once isn’t necessarily a candidate who’ll flake on the job. A second no-show without notice is a different signal, and it’s reasonable to move on at that point.

Where this fits with the rest of your screening process

Getting the availability email right matters, but it’s worth asking a different question first: how many of these emails should you actually be sending? If you’re writing this same message to dozens of people a week with no recruiter to split the load, the bottleneck usually isn’t your email template. It’s that you’re scheduling calls before you know who’s worth one.

That’s the order most of these emails get sent in when you’re screening 100-plus applicants a week: everyone who looks plausible gets a scheduling email, then you spend the call finding out half of them weren’t a fit. Flip the order and the volume problem mostly disappears.

Truffle is a candidate screening platform that combines resume screening, one-way video interviews, and talent assessments, so you can figure out who’s worth a live conversation before you ever open a calendar. Screen the pile first with the mix that fits the role, then send availability emails only to the shortlist. Once you’ve got a date locked in, keep the stages organized with our interview schedule template, and make the conversation count when it happens. Here’s how to conduct an interview that actually tells you something, and if you decide not to move forward, don’t leave them wondering. Here’s how to give feedback without burning bridges.

Keep it simple, keep it clear

Asking for availability isn’t the most exciting part of hiring, but it’s one of the first things a candidate uses to judge you. Offer specific times, name the time zone, say what format the interview will be, and follow up once if you don’t hear back. That’s the whole system.

If you’re doing this often enough that it’s eating real hours out of your week, that’s worth fixing before it becomes a habit. See how one-way video interviews let you hear from every candidate before you write a single scheduling email.