Interview Rescheduling

[LovesongPoet]

Hi everyone -

I'm in a tough spot right. There was a sudden and unexpected death in my family this weekend, and because it's so complicated, we're not sure if there is going to be a funeral or if I'm going to go, etc... First of all, I was out two days last week for interviews, and I have two interviews this week. Also, obviously, I was a little shaken and didn't catch up on the hw I missed (though I'm going to try to get back up to date on at least one of the classes today).

I don't want to get into what happened or anything with professors/interviewers. Is there a way to tell the professors, i may be in class, but don't call on me (and also, i may be out later this week)? Obviously, i mean, in a professional manner. Also, is there a way to reschedule the interviews? Is it enough just to say "My apologies, but there has been a death in my family, and I cannot meet with you on x, etc..." Even if I don't reschedule, I'm nervous about getting unexpectedly upset in the interview and then telling the interviewer about it. Sigh.

I've never had to write an e-mail like this before. Any tips on protocol would be wonderful.

[cecelia]

Oh I'm so sorry LSP ::hug:: My sophomore year at Smith my grandfather died and I suddenly had to miss several classes. I wrote an email similar to what you were saying (Dear Prof so and so, there has been an unexpected death in my family this week and I will unfortunately miss class on x and x days.) I don't remember if any assignments were involved, but I think you would definitely be able to get extensions on any assignments. If you are not sure if you will be out, just say that you may need to miss a couple classes in the next week(s) but will be sure to get notes from classmates. As for the interviews I think its completely reasonable to say there has been a death in the family and can you please reschedule the interview to such and such time. I agree that you should reschedule just to make sure you are more together emotionally, even if you could technically make the interviews this week. My thoughts are with you hon!!

[dolphins]

I'm sorry your family member died. My grandfather just died two weeks ago. I am in grad school and found my professors to be extremely kind when I had to tell them that I was going to miss class. They were totally fine with me saying I might miss class and was not sure exactly when as I didn't know my plans. I would think yours would be the same way. I have found that as school has gone on (ie high school, to college, to grad school) professors have become all the more accepting around missing classes and expecting students to be responsible to make good decisions. I had no problem with any of my profssors. I think they will be understanding that this is a hard time for you. They have all probably experied loss in their families or other students losing family. My thoughts are with you and your family.

[liiz]

My memory is that, at least at some schools, you can contact admin at your school and inform them of the death, and they will in turn inform your professors. That might make it a little easier by cutting out numerous emails/contacts/discussions about the death.

Are your interviews through your school's career development office? You might consider calling them for advice about how to handle it. Even if they're not facilitating the interviews or job applications, they'll probably have very good advice. I often went to my school's career counselors in situations where I just didn't what the proper "protocol" was. {edited to add:} they may also be familiar with the prospective employers and could provide personalized advice for approaching them.

I'm very sorry for your loss and that you have to deal with this. Remember to take care of yourself!

[LovesongPoet]

Thanks everybody. I can't seem to catch a break lately. I spoke with one of my professors, and a good thing too - he was going to cold call me today. I wound up not rescheduling the interviews because I decided the anticipation of them would hurt worse than the actual interview, and I don't think I'll be any more together in a couple days. I got through the one on the phone today okay, so I think I can pull it out. The classwork... well, I took a pass today, but I'm throwing myself into research tonight to distract and alleviate some of the stress.

Thank you for the sympathy - it is very appreciated.