How can I postpone a job interview?

Last-minute family health emergency, very much want to do the interview, need to reschedule. Keep it short and sweet. These things aren't always fair and the above may not work, but it's worth a shot.

Well, if you're 100% sure you're not in shape to do the interview, just contact the recruiter and tell them, "Due to unexpected family emergency, I need to reschedule, would that be possible?" It may not be, and you may have to let this one go. But if it's not an immediate fill, but more of a general "cattle-call" they may be perfectly okay with rescheduling. I would NOT tell them anything about your health, mental or otherwise.

Would you go to the interview if they can't (or won't) reschedule? Because if you play the "Family Health Emergency" card, you can't then show up on Thursday without it looking like you were lying. If it were me, I would just ask if it is possible to reschedule without giving a reason, and if it is not possible, I'd just gut it out and do the best I could on Thursday. The wording of your request is not going to determine if they can or can't (or will or won't) reschedule, so don't stress about that too much.

I'd like to reschedule by 2-3 weeks. PLUS The company is big enough, and the job is general enough, that interviews are in some ways "rolling" although spots do fill up, and on-campus recruiting does follow a schedule which I am currently engaged in. EQUALS: No way. You aren't going to be able to reschedule. They are on a schedule, and will find it easier to say "ok, sure"...and then brush you off later. They don't owe you an interview, they are allowing you to come to one. DO NOT tell them about some mental health issue. Metafilter is nice and liberal and caring. Employers are not. "If he is having problems that won't allow him to show up for an interview, then how can we trust he will be coming in on a regular basis". My advice is to GO THROUGH WITH IT. Wake up in the morning and don't think about anything except the interview and how you're going to go through with it. Thats all. This sucks, and I'm really sorry. But do NOT try to reschedule. Just put everything out of your mind and go through with it. Rescheduling so far in advance while the interview is THIS week sends up a BUNCH of red flags. Don't get flagged. If you need any specific help as to how to handle the interview, memail me. I'm former HR and most of my job was conducting interviews and assessing applicants at a large company. Good luck.

In keeping with Rock Steady's advice, I too would suggest something more along the lines of just asking if you can reschedule without giving any reason at all. Something like "hi, I have an interview scheduled for Tuesday at 10. Is there any flexibility in that date and time? Because I have a scheduling conflict I'm trying to work out, and if it makes no difference to you, it would be great if I we could reschedule it."

Yes, use "unexpected family emergency" and let them know that you are interested in rescheduling. These things happen, and since it seems like they're probably recruiting for next year's "class" of recruits, vs. filling a specific vacancy, the chances are decent that they'll be able to accommodate you.

The campus career office counselors may have some more specific advice for you on this, especially as the job is being recruited on-campus. This will not be the first time they've had a student who needed to reschedule an interview for personal reasons. You can always call their office if you're not up to a personal visit yet. In addition, are you talking to any kind of therapist or counselor about what you're going through, either through your campus health center or elsewhere? It certainly sounds like you have some good techniques for caring for yourself, and that's absolutely great, but it may be helpful to talk through some of it, especially some of your negative feelings about failing the interview. It's also a good opportunity to explore the possibility of medication (or to look at adjusting any medication you're already taking), at least looking at the options and deciding for yourself what would help you best. Feel good!

I don't think you'll be able to reschedule. Speaking as someone who has helped my employer with recruiting and on-campus interview sessions, the company typically has one day in which to use the interview rooms at the campus career center; and this day is scheduled many weeks in advance. Additionally, the interviewer's hands may be tied. My employer does on-campus recruiting every year around this time for internship positions for the following summer. In our most recent recruiting session, we had one candidate say that his classes and exam schedule did not allow him to come to an interview that day. My boss really wanted to accommodate him and reschedule the interview, to the point of "well, Jim (or whatever his name was), we may be able to schedule an interview some other day if you can make it to our office." Then when he tried to set that in motion, it was "nope. You only have that day to interview kids and if they can't make it, too bad." He asked that we keep his interview slot scheduled for him, which we did. He was, predictably, a no-show, for what we considered perfectly legitimate reasons. He didn't get another interview time and missed out. So, since your mental health may not put you in the best frame of mind to do a job interview, it's not preventing you from going, so go anyway and try not to think about what is bothering you. It sucks, and you may not get the job because of the frame of mind you were in at the interview, but it is what it is. If this were not an on-campus interview, I'd suggest using the "unspecified family emergency" and ask to reschedule, saying you can make the interview but would really prefer to reschedule. (On a somewhat-related personal note, I once had a job interview scheduled where the employer paid to fly me from Boston to DC for the interview, with rental car and hotel included. There was a huge snow storm in Boston on the night before/morning of my flight, and my flight was cancelled. I called the recruiter and she was willing to reschedule for a few weeks ahead. Later that day, the airline put me on a flight LATE that evening, which made it so I actually could make my original interview slot at 8:00 the next morning. I called the recruiter back and explained the situation and asked that they keep the original interview time. My flight was significantly delayed and I didn't get to my hotel until 2 AM. I got to the interview on time, but at the outset explained that I didn't get to the hotel until 2 and as a result hadn't gotten enough sleep. I got the job. There are legitimate situations where interviews can be rescheduled, a family emergency would seem to be one.)

Epilogue: sent a brief and friendly email, with a nondescript emergency reason (not lying, but not sharing personal details either). Asked politely to reschedule but said I would go to the original date if necessary. The recruiter very easily and readily rescheduled me a few weeks ahead. On the downside, there may be fewer open jobs by then. On the upside, I would never in a million years have passed this interview if I went this week, so a reduced chance is better than nothing. It can never hurt to ask! Thank you to everyone who gave advice.