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I'm currently on the road, driving from the west coast to east. I've had 3 great phone interviews (3 different people) during this time for a middle management position. They know I'm on the road & have been very accommodating with their schedules. BTW, I'm driving to PA to see family, the job will be in the midwest & those interviewing me are in the southeast.
I'm not jumping the gun (meaning, assuming I have an offer), but if all goes well, I'd imagine the next step is for me to have a face-to-face interview & it's not really a drivable distance. Since I haven't been in this position before, can I expect to have my airfare/hotel covered by the company for the interview (they're a billion $ company, if that matters)? If they ask when I can fly in, but expenses are not mentioned, is it professional for me to ask about reimbursement for travel expenses... or is it just common practice that if it is covered, they'd state that upfront? If it's a situation where I'd need to inquire, can anyone give me the proper verbiage to use? I don't want to sound unprofessional. Do I say something like, 'I'd love to fly in. Will you be making the travel arrangements?'
Also, if they do offer to pay to fly me in, I'd imagine they'd choose the hotel, which would no doubt be near their office & I'm guessing either a hotel shuttle would drive me or they'd have me take a cab. If the latter, how does that work... does one save receipts & assume taxi & meals are also covered expenses?
It's a wonderful opportunity & I'd cover my own expenses, if need be... but, everyone I mention this to assumes they would pay all of my expenses for an interview trip. Can anyone tell me what is normal procedure?
In the past, when I have interviewed out-of-state, all the travel expenses were covered.
The hotel, the airfare, and the rental car/limo were usually direct-billed to the company so nothing comes out of your pocket.
You might have to pay for meals which I was re-imbursed for.
For large companies and professional positions, having them pay for airfare, hotel and car is the norm.
I usually only request meal reimbursements if I'm rejected, but you can certainly request those as well. Anything not reimbursed by the interviewing company is tax deductible as a job-hunting expense (assuming you are not changing careers).
When the time comes, casually ask if their travel department or administrative assistant will make the arrangements or if you should book on your own. That starts the conversation about reimbursement.
For middle management I suspect that they will pick up the travel expenses. If they invite you to an in-person interview, they will most likely be up front about the subject, but don't be shy about asking if they are not. A simple, direct question such as "how are travel expenses to be handled?" will work.
Different companies handle things in different ways. Some do direct bill for hotel/airfare, some will reimburse, others do a bit of both. I have personally experienced all three. If they pay for hotel and travel, they will reimburse you for customary expenses such as taxi, airport shuttle and meals. Meals may be reimbursed on a per diem basis, but you should certainly keep all receipts. Usually your main contact will tell you the specific details.
In addition to what others have stated, be sure to save receipts if you have to take a cab, in the event they offer to reimburse you for that.
Also, depending on how far you're traveling, they may have you fly out early in the morning, do all the interviewing during the same day with a break for lunch, and fly back at the end of the day.
Are you going through head hunter or do you have a HR person who is in contact with you? These kind of things are usually the ones they like to go over with you before you make any travel plans. So don't worry that discussion will happen. Either they will tell you that you will be reimbursed or in certain cases they do the booking via their travel agent themselves.
I once had a recruiter inform me before submission that the position does require face to face interview and they will not pay travel expenses but the recruiting firm was willing to share those expenses partially with me... It all depends. What I have seen in the past companies usually want you in early and out by the evening so that you dont rent a car or stay at a hotel. But this discussion will happen..
As others have said, they will cover travel + hotel and will usually directly pay for that.
They usually will send you a document with guidelines as well as an expense form for you to use for reimbursement.
As long as you are reasonable in your spending, they won't have a problem with it. Normally they would expect you to take a cab to/from the hotel and airport and office unless it's clearly walking distance. For food, you can get something decent but don't go overboard. They usually will not cover alcohol. They probably won't cover weird food expenses such as 7-11, supermarkets, etc. so just stick to going to a regular restaurant (Chili's, Outback Steakhouse, quick bite at the airport food court, etc.). Don't try to submit a starbucks receipt.
If for whatever reason (visit friends, sightsee, etc.) you want to stay an extra day or fly in a day earlier, etc. that's usually ok too as long as you make it clear that you will book your own lodging for the extra day(s).
Are you going through head hunter or do you have a HR person who is in contact with you?
No recruiter. I found the job on my own, that's why I'm asking... I don't have a liaison to ask.
BTW, I'm at a hotel with wonky WiFi & this is my last night with the 'net... where I'll be staying for 1-2 wks, there's no access, so I just responded with individual comments. Thank you all so much.
No recruiter. I found the job on my own, that's why I'm asking... I don't have a liaison to ask.
BTW, I'm at a hotel with wonky WiFi & this is my last night with the 'net... where I'll be staying for 1-2 wks, there's no access, so I just responded with individual comments. Thank you all so much.
if no recruiter then there has to be a HR person in contact with you. Its highly unlikely that the hiring manager is directly coordinating this with u.
Simply ask "What is company's policy on reimbursing candidates for travel expenses in relation to the interview?" If this interview will only be for one day, I would expect them to cover airfare and cab fare to from/office. If it's a multi-day interview, then they should cover lodging and reasonable meal expenses, depending on the city, if you are in a high-cost locale, $100 per day is not uncommon. Don't be shy to ask for it upfront-sometimes, companies make their own travel arrangements for the candidates which is great, but if you have to pay and then wait to get reimbursed, be prepared to wait, a multi-billion dollar company most likely has policy on creating new vendors in the system (you will be treated as a vendor, not an employee) in this case, which would require you to submit W-9 form and it's not unusual to wait about a month to get the money back.
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