To feel a bit annoyed this is why I got rejected?

[ToeSucker]

I completed 5 rounds of interviews for a company. For the final interview, I had to travel across the country for an in-person meeting.

At this meeting (I met the whole team) there was a coffee break where we popped out to the local coffee shop.

The hiring manager asked me what I wanted. She also asked me what the team members next to me wanted. She paid for everyone's drinks.

Today I received a call from HR saying I was rejected, but mentioning I owe the hiring manager £3.70 for a coffee.

I'm shocked by this. I'm not sure I should be. I should have offered to pay I suppose but you're not in a normal frame of mind during interviews. I'm more annoyed I had to pay almost £240 for the train tickets and got rejected with this seemingly contributing to why.

I would send £3.60 in 5p and 10ps and two black jacks in a padded envelope.

If you had to travel to a location that wouldn’t be your place of work if you got the job then your travel expenses should be covered by them.

And expecting you to pay for your own coffee during an interview is obscene!

It sounds like it was a test, to see if you’d offer to pay. You’ve dodged a bullet in any case and I would strongly consider invoicing them for your travel expenses - unless it’s one of those industries where everyone knows everyone else and this would affect your reputation.

Five rounds of interviews (unless you plan to be the CEO) is a bit abusive. I would leave a review on Glassdoor.

Unless it would cause an issue with your personal safety, please name the company.

The recent laws passed about employment protections should outlaw certain recruitment practices. Not just trial shifts.

Ridiculous behaviour on their part, whether not paying for the coffee was the reason you got rejected or not.

Be grateful, you have dodged a bullet

Ignore that pathetic request. What are they going to do, take you to the small claims court for £3.70?

Why didn’t they pay for your travel to interview? I’ve never had organise or pay for my travel to an interview. Is this a new thing?

As for the coffee comment; I would ignore it.

Whatever happened to hospitality!

How rude!

Are you able to claim expenses for the train? If not is email back and say to knock it off the X amount you are out of pocket.

Cheeky fuckers send them a bill for your train tickets

Because their obviously a shitty company I think op had a lucky escape

Five rounds seems pretty normal nowadays from my DCs experience. CVs , application forms, tasks, one way video interviews, personality tests, first few rounds tend to be AI so not necessarily inefficient for the company but time-consuming for applicants. Can’t believe someone didn’t just suck up the few pounds for coffee given they’d rejected you, even if they couldn’t claim on expenses.
but it’s a tough job market and reputation matters so I wouldn’t go too nuclear. I’d pay and maybe say you’d love to take the person out for coffee if any other relevant roles come up and you are invited for interview again (ie shame them with kindness) and if you need a job it might make you memorable.

Please tell me that if you had to prepare a presentation on some part of the industry / job, you put your name in a watermark all over it.

Just ignore the request

Is something missing, does it say you were rejected as you owed the money, or was it you also owe the money,

either way thays petty as fuck and they should have reimbursed rhe travel.

Bollocks to this. Companies are only getting away with 5 or more interviews because people are playing along. The OP says she attended 5 interviews, so not AI guff, on top of which there would have been an application, CV etc.

After the third interview I'd have been tempted to ask the purpose of any further interviews and withdrawn if they were not going to cover travel expenses as a minimum (and if the post was senior enough to warrant 5 interviews, compensation for the time lost in taking annual leave in order to travel to multiple interviews).

Good companies should cover reasonable travel expenses for interviewees.

I don't often say this, but I would absolutely name and shame the company on social media.

Expenses such as this are tax deductable business expenses for the company of they are part of the usual interview procedure. It would not have ocurred to me to offer the payment.

Exactly what I was going to say!

The absolute shame and pettiness of asking for the 3 quid. Putting folks through 5 rounds of interviews, which isn’t the norm , the pp is wrong, making them pay their own expenses and then asking them to send 3 quid for the coffee. The shame of it.

Sorry I can't believe this.

Nobody asks for £3 back from someone after an interview in that situation. It's just not believable.

Came here to say this

Omg this wasn't a medical devices company was it?

5 interviews?! Sod that for a game of soldiers. There's not a job out there that I'd jump thru so many hoops for. I wouldn't be prepared to do more than 2 interviews at the most.

I’d love to know which company.

I’m embarrassed on their behalf. Who doesn’t buy their interviewee a coffee?

I’m cringing on behalf of the HR person who had to relay that message.