travelling to interviews
Discussion
Hi all,
Have you ever asked a prospective employer if they can change the interview location.
I have a stable job but have an opportunity for a job on more money and i think the interview is more of a formality but they asked me to go to an interview which would be a 5 hour round trip. So i asked for an alternative location as they operate around the uk. Is this unproffesional or reasonable?
Have you ever asked a prospective employer if they can change the interview location.
I have a stable job but have an opportunity for a job on more money and i think the interview is more of a formality but they asked me to go to an interview which would be a 5 hour round trip. So i asked for an alternative location as they operate around the uk. Is this unproffesional or reasonable?
Fastchas said:
I'm trying not to appear pedantic, but brush up on your spelling skills also.
You failed in that endeavour, but it was well worth the mention. I suspect it has less effect that people like us hope it would, given that he's already been offered an interview.OP: Could you not find an interesting driving route? I wouldn't ask for a change of venue.
Pothole said:
Fastchas said:
I'm trying not to appear pedantic, but brush up on your spelling skills also.
You failed in that endeavour, but it was well worth the mention. I suspect it has less effect that people like us hope it would, given that he's already been offered an interview.OP: Could you not find an interesting driving route? I wouldn't ask for a change of venue.
The business may well have operations around the UK or the world but particular people and functions may not. I did an 8 hour same day round trip for an interview despite the work location for the role being less than an hour away and still didn't get the job! If you want the job just get there and secure it.
dieseluser07 said:
Yeh i understand this.
I am however it appears the only applicant and ive not even applied officially just sent my cv in.
In my industry, sending your CV in is applying for the job...I am however it appears the only applicant and ive not even applied officially just sent my cv in.
If it's an almost dead cert and you want the job then get yourself thee and think of it as an investment. If you don't want it, continue being awkward and see how far you get.
It's reasonable. I've been offered the exes before as long as I had a receipt to send them, but if they can meet you near your location, even better.
It's something I think recruitment agents should take part in, it pisses me off when an agent gets all 'we must interview you before putting you infront of a client, can you come to our office 200 miles away at your own expense of time and money'. Asking them to recompense you when they're satisfied leaves a bit of a hole in the conversation, you can tell they're not geared up for it. Agents are another story though, it's probably time for another rant on the agency thread
It's something I think recruitment agents should take part in, it pisses me off when an agent gets all 'we must interview you before putting you infront of a client, can you come to our office 200 miles away at your own expense of time and money'. Asking them to recompense you when they're satisfied leaves a bit of a hole in the conversation, you can tell they're not geared up for it. Agents are another story though, it's probably time for another rant on the agency thread
As is generally the consensus of the responses, I'd see the time and expense incurred in attending an interview as a speculative investment which may or may not pay off. If a job didn't excite me enough for me to think an interview was worth a day out I wouldn't have applied in the first place.
Just because you’re the only applicant doesn’t make it a caged fight; they can still be unimpressed enough that they look to interview others!
When I was looking to move back to the UK, I was travelling for all of my interviews at my own expense. As such, in 2011, for 2 roles for which I was interviewing:
Role 1:
11 trips for 9 interviews (2 were cancelled whilst I was in transit)
Role 2:
3 trips for 6 interviews (managed to do interviews 4, 5 and 6 back to back; that was a fun afternoon)
Given these were all scheduled at short-ish notice, each flight was £250 - £350, plus rail fares / other travel of ~£40, plus time off (I had to buy another 5 days of holiday).
Was I happy spending this much money on travel? Not really, but I wanted the job and that was just part of the process. It’s not a good feeling when you have spent £350 on a flight, bought a day of holiday and the interview is cancelled once you’re through security at the airport on the way out but it’s life. I had a lovely lunch with a friend, instead…and went to the next interview smiling.
That I was offered both these roles, had terms agreed…and both parties had headcount withdrawn before they could paper the roles; that’s another story…
When I was looking to move back to the UK, I was travelling for all of my interviews at my own expense. As such, in 2011, for 2 roles for which I was interviewing:
Role 1:
11 trips for 9 interviews (2 were cancelled whilst I was in transit)
Role 2:
3 trips for 6 interviews (managed to do interviews 4, 5 and 6 back to back; that was a fun afternoon)
Given these were all scheduled at short-ish notice, each flight was £250 - £350, plus rail fares / other travel of ~£40, plus time off (I had to buy another 5 days of holiday).
Was I happy spending this much money on travel? Not really, but I wanted the job and that was just part of the process. It’s not a good feeling when you have spent £350 on a flight, bought a day of holiday and the interview is cancelled once you’re through security at the airport on the way out but it’s life. I had a lovely lunch with a friend, instead…and went to the next interview smiling.
That I was offered both these roles, had terms agreed…and both parties had headcount withdrawn before they could paper the roles; that’s another story…
I've done 8hr round trips to attend interviews several times and certainly didn't consider asking if we could meet at a location closer to me.
Whilst interviews are a two-way process - making sure you're both right for each other - I wouldn't shoot myself in the foot by asking to change the arrangements and thereby appear awkward as a first impression.
What sort of role is it?
You say they have locations around the country but where is the interviewer based?
If your asking for a change of location would mean them doing the travelling instead of you it wouldn't be a good start.
Whilst interviews are a two-way process - making sure you're both right for each other - I wouldn't shoot myself in the foot by asking to change the arrangements and thereby appear awkward as a first impression.
What sort of role is it?
You say they have locations around the country but where is the interviewer based?
If your asking for a change of location would mean them doing the travelling instead of you it wouldn't be a good start.
PorkInsider said:
If your asking for a change of location would mean them doing the travelling instead of you it wouldn't be a good start.
I dont see why not, if they're travelling on company business they're entitled to the expenses. A candidate would generally be funding it from their own pocket. Unless like a poster above they're happy to throw £x00 at interviewing without any guarantees that they're going to get an offer, it's not reasonable to expect people to spend what can end up being quite a lot of their own money. My last interview was a trip to Sweden, so that's travel to an airport, a plane ticket, a taxi at the other end, a hotel, a taxi back...easily £500+ and there's no way I'd take that on myself
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