Ask Liz: Who Pays for Interview Travel?

Dear Liz,

I have two interviews coming up, one 65 miles from my home and the
other one 150 miles away. The employers know where I live because my
home address is on my resume. Who pays for my travel expenses (gas and
tolls, and possibly parking)? They invited me for the two interviews
via email and I confirmed via email so I haven't talked to anyone live.

Thanks,

Fedor

------------- REPLY FROM LIZ:---------------------

Dear Fedor,

Every company has its own reimbursement practices, but in general, if
the job is within a reasonable everyday commuting distance you're on
your own for the interview-travel bill, as you would be for the daily
commuting expenses. That definitely covers the job opportunity 65
miles away from your home.

The folks who have the job opening 150 miles away may assume that
you're planning on moving closer to the job if you get it, or that
three-hour commutes don't bother you, or perhaps that you have friends
or family you'd stay with in town if you got the offer. Either way, if
they didn't offer to pay travel expenses and you didn't bring it up
when you RSVP'd, you have for all intents and purposes passed the
point where you could have broached the subject.

Going forward, if you get invited to come to an interview with a
company more than 100 miles away from you, you could bring up the
subject of interview-travel reimbursement when you're invited to come
see them. However, be ready to have your request turned down. Many
employers will take the view "Hey, you came to us - we didn't post the
job in your city" and will consider the interview trip part of your
investment in exploring the opportunity.

As a corporate HR person I would fly candidates in for interviews if
their resumes suggested that they were as strong as or stronger than
the local folks we were considering. For a long drive - three or four
hours - we'd reimburse gas and tolls. For an even longer drive, five
or six hours, we'd put the candidate up at a local hotel for one
night. Keep in mind that the interview-travel conversation is
completely different from and not necessarily correlated with a
conversation about relocation expense.

Best,

Liz