Asking for an interviews at a convenient time

[CantConcentrateEver]

I'm 23 and have been having grad interviews. I don't live in London but have been happily going up there to attend interviews. Some of them are eg at 9.50am so early; I've booked my train in advance to save money and leave home at 6ish so not terrible.

My parents think I should "stick up for myself" to stop myself being "shat on" by future employers. Ie ask for an interview after peak train travel time to save on travel expenses (which are not reimbursed).

I OTOH think I should just suck it up and that it is what it is.

Who is right?!

I can't believe they aren't reimbursing your travel costs. We always do (global engineering consultancy), I think we get reception to give them the travel expenses form to complete while they are waiting and I always ask in interview.

Yeah my firm reimburses standard class train tickets for interviews.

I'm a recruiter. Perfectly ok to ask if any later slots available but if not, you have to suck it up.

If you're offered a time that you were free for, but would incur a greater cost, I wouldn't see a problem with saying that you could attend, but asking if there was any interviews later in the day. To me, you're showing willingness to commit to the earlier time, but asking a reasonable question, which they might or might not be able to accommodate - certainly nothing to get a black mark over.

Good luck!

don't explain its the early train etc

we have had people (much older than graduates!) ask for later interview slots for this reason and have been happy to accommodate. Have you any idea how much more expensive it is to travel in the morning peak?

Employers usually reimburse travel costs for students, but I guess it depends on the size of the organisation. But if it's a formal graduation scheme interview/assessment centre that does last all day it's probably a bigger organisation and I would expect them to reimburse.

If you need a job, you dance to the company tune.

Totally disagree. Do you actually want to work for a company like this? If you need a candidate to do a job, you need to be nice to them!

As for handling the commute, I've mentioned above - once you have the job you get paid so you can afford the peak train fare. And you might rent in London anyway.

I find some of the comments on here really quite arrogant and pretty silly.

Actually, do you get much warning about the interviews? If so try booking the train online. I always find it cheaper there. I use trainline and find them quite good, rather than turning up at the station on the day.

I think you have to suck it up.

Are you on JSA? If you are you can get travel costs for interviews reimbursed.

Job interviews are a negotiation, if you can't even negotiate a sensible time, you're unlikely to be worth hiring. Of course you should be asking for a reasonable adjustment to the start time to save you money.

If it's the only time the interview panel are available, then unless it's a very desirable opportunity for other reasons, then it's possibly not worth going anyway as they don't take recruitment that seriously. But still, asking is entirely appropriate.

Completely ok to ask nicely if you could have a later slot allowing you to take an off-peak train. At worst, they won't be able to accomodate. (Make sure you make it clear to mention off-peak, not give the impression that early starts are not welcome!)

Some companies/ recruiters do try to take this into account (we book the first slots for local students, and try to give time for others to come), but it's difficult. Most of the times, they ones I have seen are staying overnight with some friends anyway.

It's a shame not all companies don't refund travel expenses, but not much you can do about that.

Hmm. I don't think that you'd necessarily be unreasonable to ask if there was a later slot, but I don't think you should say that it's because you want to save money - that's basically saying that you'd like another candidate to suck up the cost of travelling at peak time instead. Mind you, my organisation does pay travel expenses, so I appreciate it's difficult if you're having to cover the cost yourself.

I do a lot of recruitment, and what I will say is that candidates who are awkward prior to the interview don't get a black mark against their names as such, but they do tend to get remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Arranging interview panels can be very challenging, especially if panel members are all at a fairly senior level. In my organisation, we simply haven't got the flexibility to muck around with schedules, as panel members will have other commitments. We always state the interview dates when we advertise, and if someone says in their application that they are unavailable at a particular time, we will always try to accommodate that, but once the interview invitations are sent out, any flexibility really depends on whether another candidate has dropped out.

Good luck in your job hunt!

When I interview I try to schedule the interviews to accommodate likely travel distances, so interviewee traveling longer distance I'd offer a mid day slot so they could avoid peak travel times. Obviously didn't always work but I do try to take it into account... No harm in asking I'd say!

It probably depends who is booking you in. If it's an HR admin assistant who won't be having a conversation with the decision makers about your request, then why not. Otherwise I just wouldn't risk losing the job over saving a few quid. If there's little in it, they could interpret it negatively.

Frazzled what do you advise about travel expenses?

If it's the only time the interview panel are available, then unless it's a very desirable opportunity for other reasons, then it's possibly not worth going anyway as they don't take recruitment that seriously.

Seriously?

The word 'entitled' is somewhat overused but I can't think of a more appropriate word.

Just how entitled do you have to be to even consider not going to a job interview because you see the limited availability of the interview panel as a sign that they don't take recruitment seriously?

Definitely suck it up. Many grad interviews require all candidates to be there are the same time, for group tasks anyway. You don't have much of a leg to stand on as a brand new grad.

I work in FS and have done a fair amount of recruitment (graduate / non-graduate trainee, experience hires and contractors). I think it's fine to ask if you want to - don't give a long-winded explanation for your travel woes though - just ask if a later slot is available. If not, I think you need to suck it up given where you are in your career.

In the great scheme of entitled / arrogant job-seekers (and I've seen a few), a polite request for an alternative slot on the same day would not even register!

Oh unless it's an assessment centre. They are likely to require everyone to arrive at the same time and it would look a bit odd asking (as if you didn't know what you were attending). That should be quite obvious though from your invitation to interview.

It's worth checking if the difference in peak/off-peak fares is enough to cover a cheap B&B. If you can book a really cheap train there and back by going the previous day, it could be.

If it's the only time the interview panel are available, then unless it's a very desirable opportunity for other reasons, then it's possibly not worth going anyway as they don't take recruitment that seriously.

I agree - that's just ridiculous! As it happens, we take recruitment so seriously that our senior managers play a very active role in the process. Senior managers are busy people with multiple demands on their time. They can't just drop everything to see a candidate who hasn't read the job advert properly.

We plan who we want on the panel before the job is advertised, and mark out our calendars accordingly. Interview dates are published when the job is advertised. If a very strong candidate states in their application that they are unavailable on said date, then we will try very hard to accommodate. If they fail to tell us about any limitations on their availability and expect us to re-organise everything for them anyway, it really isn't a good sign.

It's worth checking if the difference in peak/off-peak fares is enough to cover a cheap B&B. If you can book a really cheap train there and back by going the previous day, it could be.

This, or kipping on a mate's sofa.

When we schedule interviews we look at where the candidates are coming from and give the ones from further away the later slots. We also pay travel expenses. Anyone want to come and work with me??

My DD was going to very challenging graduate interviews last summer.in her chosen field of work. If they had asked her to turn up at 5 in the morning she would have done it. Having said that, it is in a ultra competitive field and jobs are as rare as hens teeth in comparison to super qualified applicants. She would never have considered asking for a different time and one interview was on a Saturday and one on a Sunday!

Some interviews may involve group exercises so everyone arrives at the same time or may involve round robin interviews with different people. If, as a graduate, you are lucky enough to get away with the bare 30 minute interview that can be rejigged then ask. You should know what type of interview it is. I think it is just not the best start to try and change arrangements as it makes you look less keen than other candidates. They should inform you of the schedule for the day and, if the job is paying a good graduate salary, then think twice.

Having said that, my DH's company bends over backwards to accommodate interviewees. Too much so at times as the interviews get spread out and the first candidate interviewed sometimes goes off and gets another job before the final candidate is interviewed. The best person can sometimes be lost to them!

Regarding travel reimbursement - if a company offers it, the interviewee should not have to ask how they get it. The form should be attached to the email or letter inviting the candidate to interview. If HR do not make it clear how to claim expenses then it is no surprise that no-one claims! Basic HR procedure!

I was going to say have you asked to have expenses refunded or just assumed they won't because they haven't offered? Just asking because my friend was horrified that I always asked, but it's quite common for many companies to be happy to refund them if asked but not outright offer.

I even got in touch with one organisation who said on the interview email that they offered travel expenses but only for public transport - I contacted them to say that I was very grateful for the offer but as the interview was early in the am the cheapest train ticket was £130 but I could drive there for about £60. They were more than happy to refund my petrol instead (I was saving them money tbf!), and I got offered the job! As long as you're polite, the worse thing they can do is say no!

I think it's harsh of employers to expect interviewees to spend a fortune on travel, knowing if they're recent grads they're hardly going to be rolling in it anyway. One train ticket can be equivalent of 3 weeks jobseekers allowance! It almost self-selects only candidates with money behind them. If you can't offer expenses, do the interview via skype!

I know you can try and claim it as an expense on jobseekers, but it's such a hoop jumping exercise, and my advisor told me they had to phone up to confirm you attended the interview, which for higher level jobs just seems so unprofessional!

We pay expenses for candidates to travel to interviews up to a set amount. We also try to accommodate requests for later slots, but sometimes it's just not possible. No harm in asking though, as long as you make it clear that you will come to the designated appointment if required.

I was thinking about this situation last night and it occurred to me that if you are in a situation where interviews at peak times are becoming a recurring problem then I'd be focusing on brushing up my interview technique above all else.

There's a divide on this thread about whether it's appropriate to ask to change the time, which roughly translates to a 50/50 chance that you asking may somehow adversely affect your application.

Given, if you've been unsuccessful in several interviews, other candidates have the edge in some respect, I'd not want to even potentially further reduce my chances.