After vetting candidates, you’re ready to start the interview process which brings you one step closer to onboarding a new hire to your organization. Organizations must roll out an effective interview invitation process to ensure they get top talent through the door.
The email invitation to interview is a key component of the vetting process. Interview invitation emails take several formats because every organization is different—not to mention the specifics of the position.
Familiarity with a wide breadth of these interview invitation formats empowers your HR department and hiring managers with the know-how to better communicate their intentions and improve your recruitment efforts for better organizational talent. Of course, some key elements still need to be shared, like the date, time, and duration of the interview.
Let’s examine what an interview invitation email is, why it’s important, and templates to know to bolster your hiring process.
What is an interview invitation email and why is it important?
Interview invitation emails are messages an organization’s recruiter sends to qualified job candidates. The hiring process unfolds in several phases. To earn an interview invitation email, an applicant must demonstrate sufficient qualifications for the open job position. Hiring managers assess their resume, CV, cover letter, and other application materials to determine the applicant’s fit for the role.
If the applicant meets all the job position’s listed criteria, the recruiter moves to the next phase: the interview. The first step in this phase is the interview invitation email, where recruiters inform candidates that they’ve progressed to the next stage of the hiring process. How to write an email to schedule an interview with an employer differs from how to write an email to schedule an interview with a candidate, and it’s important to know the nuances of the latter.
Interview invitation emails are important for several reasons. For one, they showcase an organization’s clear, professional communication abilities and reflect well on the company name. Branding during the recruitment process presents beneficial opportunities for organizations.
Additionally, interview invitation emails establish respect for the applicant, which builds improved rapport and candidate experience. Applicants are excited to hear that they’ve progressed to the next stage of the onboarding process and feel more positive about the organization in the coming phases.
How to write an interview invitation email
Invitation interview emails are an important part of the onboarding process, therefore ensuring they are done well is essential. Writing a good interview invitation email is a fairly straightforward process.
Organizations familiar with the hallmarks of a standard interview invitation email reap the most benefits. Hiring managers often consider a few key steps when drafting an interview invitation email template.
1. Use a suitable subject line
The subject line is the part of the email recipients see in their inboxes. The subject line contains a concise statement about the email’s content. Make sure your subject lines don’t exceed 41 characters. When composing the interview invitation email’s subject line, include a brief summary of why you’re contacting the applicant, informing them they’ve progressed to the interview phase.
2. Show appreciation and gratitude for the candidate’s application
After completing the subject line, recruiters must move on to the core of the email: the body text. The body text of the interview invitation email includes several components. However, the interview confirmation email often also considers elements of tone.
With a tone in mind, recruiters compose interview invitation emails that express appreciation for the applicant’s interest in the position and enthusiasm for their progress in the onboarding process.
3. Invite the candidate
The reason for an interview invitation is to invite your candidate to the start the interviewing process. After expressing congratulations to the email recipient, recruiters can then get straight to the point and inform the candidate they have been selected to interview for the open position.
4. Share all the relevant interview details
To maintain a professional, communicative, and welcoming tone, recruiters include all pertinent details about the interview to which the candidate has been invited. The specifics of this information depend on the circumstances of the job title, the candidate, the job interview, and the onboarding process.
For instance, the interview may be conducted in a physical location or over digital formats. Let candidates know relevant details like date and time, location, interview questions, and any other relevant information.
5. Request RSVP
To wrap up the interview invitation email, recruiters require that the candidate RSVP for the interview. Requesting an RSVP serves several purposes. Hiring managers often plan around the RSVP, creating structural cohesion in onboarding. There are often many candidates invited to the interview process. A confirming interview email ensures the efficient use of recruitment time.
Tips on how to write and send interview emails
Recruiters familiar with interview invitation email best practices write better emails. In turn, improving interview emails ensure that the vetting process functions as smoothly as possible, increasing the likelihood that top talent makes their way to the end of the it. To that end, let’s take a closer look at several tips on writing and sending interview emails.
Provide different date and time options
Building adaptability into the interview process creates a more dynamic, more efficient interview scheduling. By giving candidates date and interview time slot options along with contact information, recruiters make better use of their time by allowing candidates to participate in the scheduling process.
Furthermore, flexibility in the scheduling process benefits candidates, as they often tailor the needs of their schedule to their job interview.
Consider including interviewer details
Consider including details about who conducts the job interview in the invitation email. The inclusion of interview details serves several purposes. Informing candidates about their interviewer establishes a level of trust and comfort that make for a more fruitful interview.
Additionally, the interviewer details communicate additional information about the candidate’s vetting progress. Informing them they are interviewing with a hiring manager as opposed to a recruiter indicates they’ve progressed to an important stage.
Tailor your invitation to each candidate
Interview invitation emails present the opportunity for personalization that build rapport in the process. Applicants submit information about themselves that recruiters leverage to deepen their relationship. For instance, recruiters sometimes cite specific qualifications from their job application that proved decisive in their decision to move on to the interview.
Furthermore, if the candidate has already participated in the earlier interviews in the hiring process, recruiters tailor invitations to interview at higher stages with highly specific information that encourages a candidate to join the organization soon.
8 interview invitation templates to stand out
There are many details to consider when drafting an interview invitation email. Interviews occur throughout several stages of the hiring process. What’s more, interviews are sometimes influenced by the specifics of the open position, the candidate, and several other factors.
For that reason, there are many interview invitation email samples organizations leverage to draft an interview invitation email that best fits the needs of the situation. Check out the interview email templates below.
1. Sourcing email
Sourcing emails function like recruitment cold calls. This email is intended to set up interviews with qualified candidates who have not actively applied for an open position. For this reason, sourcing emails must explain why the organization is reaching out and why the recipient is a good fit for the role—you’re sending them an interview request email straight away.
2. Referral email
Referral emails refer to interview emails sent to candidates who have been referred to the organization through qualified channels, like peer organizations or professional networks. Referral candidates are referred by a third party.
Therefore, referral emails often include information about whom referred the candidate to the organization, why the organization is reaching out, and why the candidate is a good fit for the position.
3. Video interview email
A video interview email is an invitation to interview over a video format. Because this interview format leverages technological capabilities, recruiters want to include instructional information. Let candidates know how to access the video, the tech they’ll need, like apps or video-sharing software, and other relevant details to the virtual interview.
4. Phone interview email
Phone interview emails inform candidates that they have been invited to conduct an interview over the phone. In these emails, recruiters alert the candidate about specific information related to the pending phone call.
For instance, recruiters provide the phone number candidates expect to see when the phone call is made. In doing so, candidates confidently pick up the phone with confirmation they are speaking to a qualified representative of the organization.
5. In-person interview email
An in-person interview email invites candidates to participate in an interview in a physical location with recruiters. There are several details to include in an in-person interview email. Recruiters first inform candidates where the interview is and directions on how to get there.
Directions range from how to travel to the office address and the specific location of the interview within a building. Additionally, consider informing the candidate about which representatives they’re meeting.
6. Past candidate interview
Just because a candidate doesn’t advance in hiring doesn’t mean recruiters cut contact with them. Past candidate interview emails are distinguished by recipients being former candidates who have applied to the organization.
For that reason, these specific emails acknowledge the candidate’s past participation in the hiring process and inform them that they now qualify for a new opening with the organization.
7. Second interview invitation email
After a preliminary interview, qualified candidates advance to the next stage and additional follow-up interviews. Second interview emails inform the candidate that they will move on to the next round of evaluation.
8. Group interview email
Group interview emails inform candidates that they are invited to participate in a group interview. Group interviews leverage time and space to conduct interviews with several candidates at the same time. These emails clarify to candidates that they are sharing the interview space with other candidates.
A final word
Interview invite emails are an opportunity to showcase an organization’s professionalism. Effective interview emails set the professional tone that candidates that sign on with the organization then expect going forward. These emails represent the core values of the organization and reflect your company culture. Don’t take them lightly!
By leveraging these existing templates, organizations rely on proven interview email formats without expending time and resources.
