How to accept an interview for a job position

The key thing to do when accepting an interview for a job position is to follow any instructions given in the job interview invitation.

If you were instructed to email confirmation, follow this advice.

If you were requested to telephone the organisation to confirm, do so. Failure to follow advice could indicate that you do not read things carefully or that you are unable to carry out simple instructions.

If the job interview is with a particularly prestigious, “blue-chip” organisation and the invitation came via a formal letter, reply by letter, unless otherwise indicated.

A short, simple message such as: “I am pleased to confirm my attendance for interview on the…” -- followed by the date and time of the interview -- will suffice.

Follow the advice of letter writing aficionado Peter Breen and include today’s date, your address and the recipient’s address. Ensure your spelling is error free. Sign and print your name.

Telephone the organisation that has offered you an interview for a job position. With a medium to large sized organisation, the telephone will probably be answered by a receptionist, or equivalent.

If the organisation is small, you might get through to the person who offered you the interview.

Say who you are and explain that you would like to confirm attendance for interview.

Verify the date and time details. Keep the call short, to-the-point and professional.

The traditional formality of some organisations is gradually giving way to more informal practices, according to Dr Shu-Ling Lu and Professor Martin Sexton. Whereas in former times, a signed letter or at least an email would be expected to confirm attendance at an interview, nowadays a text may suffice, in some cases.

Refrain from using SMS language as this might give the wrong impression. Play safe and use correct English.

If you know the person who has offered you a job interview, perhaps because you already work in the same organisation, a simple confirmation by word of mouth, person to person, might be acceptable.

Some organisations might require you to visit their website, enter a one-time password and confirm via their internal message system. Sending a message via your own email account is also permissible. If in doubt, confirm in two different ways. Thoroughness is a quality most employing organisations value.