My son has passed 2 rounds of phone interviews for a job in another state. The one last week was with 9 people and lasted an hour, he said they all asked about 5 questions each. He got called today and they want to meet him, but he has to pay for his air and hotel. Since it’s just next week, this will cost him close to $1,000. I thought the employer paid for travel expenses if they wanted to interview you. I think this is quite a bit to ask a 25 year old to belly up, not knowing if he even has the job.
I’ve never heard of an employer expecting someone to pay after that type of interview. Maybe for the initial interview, sure, but not after an extensive interview with multiple people.
I think people in the business world will give you their opinion. I am not in that world and I think the same as you - that’s a lot of cash!!! I guess I would want to know if this trip is just a formality to offer the job or is he still up against a dozen people? Is he in a higher paying field? Then maybe it’s consider tit for tat.
In my field (engineering), my experience is that private employers pay the expenses, but government employers expect the candidate to fund the trip.
Considering the position will probably pay somewhere between $50 and $65, I think it’s excessive. I wonder if it’s too upfront for him to be honest about the expense he will be incurring and his chances (what @abasket was mentioning).
Seems unusual for jobs (though analogous to interviewing for medical schools). What type of job and industry?
Data analyst, financial services industry.
Many medical schools at least pay for partial travel - often hotel and food and in town travel.
This is a nationwide company, I think it’s cheap. He doesn’t make a lot of money now, only $42k a year, so this hurts. I will be so angry if he’s not offered a job. Even if he does, it’s not a great way to start off.
I certainly could be wrong, but this could be telling of how they may treat employees.
I thought the same. But he’s planning on going, and so far the only company that has answered his application.
I wouldn’t do it. It’s 2019 - if they are too cheap to fly him out, they should offer a video interview. He could well spend all the money and not get the job - the company has nothing to lose in that scenario. If they want to see him in person, they should at least pay for his airfare and hotel.
Depends on the field, my DD didn’t pay for her trip to San Francisco or Denver for interviews, but chemical engineering is in demand. I would definitely bring it up with the employer to see if they will cover anything.
Absolutely not normal in my industry, which is high-tech. I’d laugh and say thanks but no thanks to any prospective employer that tried to pull that trick with me.
Not just because I don’t want to foot the bill, but because it’s a sign of how tight on expenses they are, and how little importance they place on hiring top-notch people.
I agree that it is cheap for such a company. Especially for a candidate with some experience, and who has impressed through two interviews.
I think I would be somewhat skeptical of a company in the financial services industry that expected a candidate to pay his own travel expenses after surviving two rounds of interviews.
Given the field, I wonder if this is actually about his ability to speak up and negotiate, maybe even show some spine. If so, pleading poverty wouldn’t be a strong approach. Nothing wrong with asking if he’s a true contender, if this is a final decision making interview, then saying nicely that, in his experience, it’s been customary that these expenses were arranged and covered for him.
??
OTOH, I don’t know if a Data Analyst is expected to prove himself on that point.
I’d negotiate. My bottom line would be to say that the potential employer should front the money but can take it out of his first month’s wages… (so they pay if they don’t hire him).
What does your son say about the job/company @conmama ? Is he really interested in the position? Is he excited about the job and the potential relocation city? Does he feel positively about the team that interviewed him?
An interview isn’t just for the people doing the hiring. As far as I’m concerned the company is also on the hot spot for how the candidate feels about them.
Did they mention ANYTHING when requesting him to come out that would indicate they might cover any costs? Was it a flat “you’re on your own”??? Is it possible they will reimburse him but he didn’t absorb that info??