Travel expenses

Have an interview in a hot, sunny state, but of course I’d have to fly. I sort of interviewed with them before only I drove and did not get reimbursed. I can’t really afford to do that again (I mean I could swing it, bit I don’t really want to) so should I ask up front if I will be reimbursed or not before I set up the interview?

This question has probably already been asked here somewhere, sorry if it’s a rehash.

Should definitely be something the company covers. If you drove last time, they may not be aware of how far away you are. (Driving in, I’d assume you were local to the immediate area)

I’d bring it up and if they cant cover it. Then set up a Skype interview.

For a second interview? Normally I would say that you should inquire about travel expenses, but in this economy that could be risky, unless of course you currently have a job, in which case they need to step up to recruit you, and footing travel expenses should be part of that.

I was not. It was a haul. Yeah, that’s something I forgot to mention, I was going to bring up the possibility of doing a skype/iMessage interview as an alternative.


Well, it’s not technically a second interview. The guy running this firm was a partner of the firm I interviewed at back in 2007. So it’s been a while. I do currently have a full time “In-house” job - see: “Am I An Entitled Little Twit?”.

Thanks guys.

So this is what I got:

“Sorry we do not cover the travel.
Thanks”

Do I ask again about a skype interview or just move on?

Wouldn’t hurt to ask for the Skype interview. How far away is this firm, what state are they in?

Yeah I guess I’ll ask. They’re about 500mi in FLA.

So I was thinking about sending this.

[Guy Interviewson],

Understandable. I guess you would prefer an in person interview to skype? I am very interested in this position, so how should we proceed? Go ahead and set a date for the interview and then I can book a flight, or can I hunt for a good deal and let you know? If you are open to doing the interview on a Saturday I could get a better ticket price, otherwise I can take a couple days of vaca and the day doesn’t really matter. Let’s try to lock down a date this week!

Thanks,

[powaz]

How bad do you want this job? is the opportunity that much greater then what you have that you are willing to spend that kind of money? Have you at least had a 1st phone interview with them?

Well, like I said, I interviewed with this bro at a different agency back in 07, but no phone interview this time. Not sure there was one last time either. Anyway, it would be a pretty sweet gig, and yes, about 294% better than what I’m doing now. The only things I’m hesitating on are: travel expenses, salary (and last time they offered me $9hr which even right out of school was insulting), and Florida…

OKay then,

Ask to set up a phone conversation, to ensure you and the firm are on the same page and you are both in alignment with expectations, send them your work before hand. this will help to ensure they are serious and that you really like the opportunity before spending money on travel. Heck if it was a 1 hour drive then no worries, but make sure this is a REAL opportunity. Would be a shame for you to spend whats sounds like limited funds to go to a interview to find out that they appreciate you coming in but are not hiring right now…

If they have seen your work and really want you to come in for a face to face make sure of that. And seeing as you said that you would love to work for them, then invest in your future with a understanding you may not get the job.

not sure if you applied to a job opening or just reached out to them and asked for a interview… but to be honest it sounds like you reached out to them and sure they are curious to see if you would be a fit but they are not necessarily the once trying to court you for a job.

I am also assuming that the company may be a smaller one…

I applied to a job posting on coroflot. I sent them what they asked for (an online portfolio). They contacted me less than a week later about an in person interview. Yeah, it’s a smaller firm.

Asked about Skype:


[powaz]

Sorry but skype means nothing. We interview face to face and ask all ID candidates to sketch a task on site.

Thanks

Sincerely,

Human Resources

What would you call that… an “intership”? I think I’ll keep looking.

If they were serious, a Skype interview should suffice for at least a first round interview. I know at my current job we do a lot of skype interviews and ask the candidates to complete a few design challenges. I think it really shows who can clearly communicate their ideas and who can’t.

Pretty blunt response there. Have you had, or have they offered to conduct a phone interview first as chevisw mentioned? In person interviews are of course part of the process, but an initial phone interview for non-local candidates should typically be part of the process as well. If they are unwilling to vet candidates this way that is somewhat of a red flag to me.

A sketch interview over skype or in person? I’m no Spencer Nugent, but I’m not bad with the sketching so I’m not too worried about that, and while I’ve used several Intuos’, I’ve never used a Cintiq. I’m just worried I get down there and they decide I’m not a good fit for whatever reason and I’m out $500+. Or even better, they want to offer me 30K and no insurance. This guy’s burned me once, so I think I’ll pursue a couple other opportunities coming down the pike.



I’ve brought up a remote interview at least twice now and they don’t seem interested in budging from their, apparently meticulously honed, effective and fool-proof protocol. Feels a little weird to me too.


Hey, everyone, thanks for all the responses and advice. Hopefully it will germinate in my subconscious and grow into a giant Oak of confidence and perception for future job-seeking!

You should have opened this thread with that :wink:

That said, I agree, just move on, but always keep in mind that you’re interviewing them as much as they are you. If you don’t like their interview process then chances are you won’t like working there.

Touché! Yeah, well it’s not so much the process, just that I don’t really feel like the gamble. It’s cool, I’ve got a couple other local things developing, so I’ll see how those go. Again, thanks for all the advice!