Interview Accidentally Scheduled For 3am Due To Timezone Confusion Disaster
Remote work is great until you have to coordinate meetings across time zones. Then it's a special kind of hell involving mental math, calendar confusion, and inevitable disasters.
Like the recruiter who scheduled an interview for 3pm PST with a candidate in London, forgetting that would be 11pm GMT for the candidate—who then completely misread it and showed up for the interview at 3am PST because they thought "3pm" meant their local time.
Nobody won. Everybody suffered. It was magnificent chaos.
The Setup
A tech company in San Francisco was recruiting for a remote role. The candidate was based in London—8 hours ahead of Pacific Time.
The recruiter sent a calendar invite: "Interview with Hiring Manager - Thursday, 3pm PST".
What the recruiter didn't account for: the candidate completely misread the timezone.
The candidate saw "3pm" and assumed it meant 3pm London time. They accepted the calendar invite without noticing "PST" at the end.
3pm London time is 7am PST. Eight hours off.
The 11pm No-Show
Thursday night, 11pm GMT (3pm PST), the hiring manager joins the Zoom link. The candidate doesn't show up.
The hiring manager waits 15 minutes. Still nobody.
They message the recruiter: "Candidate didn't show up to the interview".
No response—because the candidate is asleep. It's 11pm in London and they have an "interview" scheduled for what they think is 3pm the next day.
The 3am Surprise
Friday morning, 3am PST (11am London time), the candidate opens their laptop, grabs coffee, and joins the Zoom link at what they believe is the scheduled interview time.
Nobody is there.
The candidate waits. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes.
The recruiter is asleep. It's 3am Pacific Time.
The candidate starts wondering if they've been ghosted. They check the calendar invite again.
"Thursday, 3pm PST"
The candidate Googles "PST to GMT". Oh no.
3pm PST is 11pm GMT, not 3pm GMT. They were supposed to join yesterday at 11pm their time.
But then why did the calendar invite show "Friday 11am" on their calendar?
Calendar apps auto-convert times to local timezones when displaying events. The recruiter sent "Thursday 3pm PST," which the candidate's calendar correctly showed as "Friday 11am GMT". The candidate saw "11am" and thought that meant the interview was at 3pm their time because they read "3pm" in the original message.
This is how timezone disasters happen.
The Apology Cascade
The candidate sends a mortified email at 3:15am PST:
"I am so sorry—I completely misunderstood the timezone and joined at the wrong time. I thought '3pm' referred to my local time and didn't realize the calendar had already converted it. I missed yesterday's interview and now I've woken you up at 3am. I understand if you want to withdraw my candidacy."
The recruiter wakes up to chaos: emails from the hiring manager asking why the candidate no-showed, a LinkedIn message from the candidate at 3am apologizing, and a dawning realization that this is entirely preventable.
The recruiter schedules a makeup interview and sends explicit timezone details:
"No problem—these things happen with international scheduling. Let's reschedule for Tuesday, 9am Pacific Time (5pm London time). I've included a timezone converter link below to confirm timing."
The Hiring Manager's Take
The hiring manager, when told what happened, laughed and said: "At least they showed up—just eight hours early. That's dedication."
The candidate did eventually get the job. The rescheduled interview went well, and the hiring manager appreciated the candidate's mortified apology and ownership of the confusion.
The candidate's first Slack message after starting: "I promise I understand timezones now."
How This Happens (And Keeps Happening)
Timezone confusion is one of the most common remote recruiting failures:
Ambiguous timezone abbreviations: "PST" vs "PDT" (daylight vs standard time). "EST" vs "EDT". Many people use them interchangeably even though they're technically different.
Calendar auto-conversion confusion: Calendar apps convert meeting times to local timezones automatically. Candidates see times in their timezone and assume that's what was meant.
Assuming everyone knows their timezone: Recruiters in New York assume everyone knows EST. Candidates in Sydney assume everyone knows AEST. Neither is true.
Not double-checking with candidates: Sending a calendar invite without explicitly confirming "this means 11pm your time, is that okay?" leads to confusion.
Daylight saving time chaos: Some countries observe it, others don't, and they change on different dates. The time difference between London and San Francisco is 8 hours in winter, 7 hours in summer. Scheduling across DST transitions is a nightmare.
What Recruiters Should Actually Do
Prevent timezone disasters with explicit scheduling practices:
1. Include both timezones in the invite: "Thursday, November 21, 3:00pm Pacific Time (11:00pm GMT)" Makes it crystal clear.
2. Use timezone converter links: Include a link to WorldTimeBuddy or TimeAndDate. "Click here to confirm timing in your timezone".
3. Confirm with the candidate: After sending the invite, message them: "Just confirming—this interview is at 11pm your time. Does that work?"
4. Use scheduling tools: Calendly, SavvyCal, and other tools show available times in the candidate's timezone automatically. Eliminates conversion errors.
5. For international candidates, be extra explicit: "This interview is scheduled for 3pm San Francisco time, which converts to 11pm London time. Please confirm this works for your schedule."
The Wider Problem
Remote work eliminated geographic barriers to hiring. It also created coordination complexity that didn't exist when everyone worked 9-5 in the same office.
Timezone confusion causes interview no-shows, missed meetings, and frustrated hiring teams. It's entirely preventable with clear communication and better tools.
The Comments
When this story was shared on Reddit and LinkedIn, the responses were predictably relatable:
"I once joined an interview at 2am because I confused AM/PM. Not even a timezone issue—just stupidity."
"My favorite is when recruiters say 'EST' in July when they actually mean 'EDT.' Technically wrong but everyone knows what you mean."
"I missed an interview because the recruiter sent 'PST' but it was summer so actually PDT. One hour off ruined everything."
"Calendar apps are the problem. They auto-convert without making it obvious they did so."
"As a recruiter, I now put timezones in ALL CAPS in every invite after a similar disaster."
"The candidate showing up at 3am shows commitment. I'd hire them just for that."
The Bottom Line
Timezone confusion is avoidable. Include both timezones in invites, use converter links, confirm with candidates, and use scheduling tools that handle conversions automatically.
Timezone math is hard. Communication is easy. Do the second one.
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