Job interview over teams - at 6.30pm?

[Spookylooky]

Have a first interview for a part-time, remote role on Weds next week. They asked for my availability before and I gave a number of times I'm free, including all day Weds as an option.

It's a small company and a whole new role so I don't think they are trying to keep the call quiet, and equally they know I am freelance - so it's not like it needs to be scheduled outside of working hours on my side.

This sets off alarm bells for me - when I have hired people in the past I wouldn't have ever expected to interview them outside working hours - but I don't know if I am being oversensitive! Thoughts?

I think I'd be a bit surprised but if I could do it and I was interested in the role it wouldn't put me off. Obviously you will also need to establish expectations around availability / working hours etc. as part of the process and make sure your expectations are aligned.

@FoodAppropriation - appreciate we're all less '9 to 5' these days. But equally, I've never known anyone do a job interview at 6.30pm either 😂

who said anyone is stressed and disorganised?

It's a small company, if it's not HR dealing with interviews and they need to employ more staff (literally what they are doing here!), it's reasonable that the job is the priority sometimes.

6:30 is a not a ridiculous time.

I had it the other way round, candidates stating that their preferred times are earlier or later, outside of business hours basically. Ive had people preferring to be interviewed at 8am, and I had some at 7pm.

It depends how badly you want the candidate. If you have a bunch of similar individuals, you can set up strict interview slots (between 10 and 16 for example), but if you find someone really interesting, you adapt.

It seems weird to me. Personally I work all manner of strange hours to accommodate customers in different time zones and my own personal life, but I'd always assume 9-5 to be the normal hours that a person would be available if they said "all day". Not that I wouldn't make myself available for an interview at 6.30pm if I wanted the job, of course I would, but I'd be keen to understand whether that sits inside their normal core working hours. Especially as that's the start time of the interview not the finish.

I've not said it is, I said that's a factor that would put me off a place. Like when the person interviewing me was very late and seemed very stressed and that they didn't have time to do the interview. The OP can gauge that in the interview and find out the reasons for the timing

Thanks again all! Really useful to have thoughts. I'll just go with it and fingers crossed it all goes well...

It may be that those who are interviewing are then going on leave or something so they want to get it done before. If someone said to me they were free all day on Wednesday, I’d assume 6.30pm was okay. Otherwise they should specify, until 5pm, for example.

Yep this. I’be often been the interviewer and been happy to interview candidates at 7am or 7pm to fit in when they can make it.

I’ve had lots of people who prefer to interview outside of standard office hours. It means they don’t need to take any annual leave (if they can even get any fairly last minute) and it means their current employer isn’t aware of them going for an interview. If you’re freelance, I appreciate this isn’t of great importance to you but for others it’s really helpful to have that flexibility.

Honestly in the currently climate I’d be glad to have an interview anytime of the day.

Well now you do 🤷‍♀️

For most people job hunting with a job… 9-5 would absolutely not work for them. Why? Because presumably they’d be at work.

Speak to them, ask for within working hours. They may have assumed evening is easier for you if you're working.

I have a three stage interview (after two stages already completed) taking place all in one week. I'd jump for joy if they could do any outside of the working day as it's really difficult to accommodate the time in my work diary.

I can’t believe people are questioning whether the OP is right for the role or will cope with an interview because she’s asked one question on a forum about an unusual interview time. Ludicrous 🙄🙄🙄🙄

I would take the same as OP meant it and assume that "all day" meant "all day during business hours". I wouldn't ever schedule an interview after 4 so that we would definitely be done by 5.

Unless the job itself has non-standard hours.

I would assume all day was anytime from 7am till about 10pm. I did have an interview once at 11pm but I hadn't told them I was in Singapore so my fault. Also 7am when I interviewed for a role reporting to New Zealand as that was the least antisocial time for us both. If it doesn't suit you, then decline and rearrange.

okay, i think maybe the feeling that you are experiencing is maybe worry. I get that, as i suppose it is "unusual" to have an interview at 6.30pm

Now IF you can attend the 6.30pm interview, maybe wait for them to go into details on why it was 6.30pm as they may say its been absolute pandemonium and we couldn't have possibly held it any earlier.

Trust me, you'll pick up on the vibe and you will then know if all is well with this company.

Don't rule anything out, because you have to remember its your opportunity to ask them questions and you have to be comfortable.

Honestly, I wouldn't think twice. In fact I think it's sensitive to schedule interviews outside normal working hours as for some people it would be difficult to get time off without drawing attention to the reason.

Me too.

And throw in fact this is a small company and probably everyone flat out during the day…. Seems very reasonable and sensible to me.

Especially as op clarified specific times on other days, but for this day she simply said “free all day”

however it doesn’t sound like a small very busy company would perhaps be suitable for the OP anyway, so maybe see this is your sign OP to cancel and save everyone time?