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These interviews can also occur when the employer is trying to hire someone as a replacement for an employee they are about to fire without the entire staff knowing the employer is looking for a new employee.
Has anyone had an out of office interview? I have one tomorrow at a Starbucks. I've never heard of that type of interview before but one of my friends who works in HR told me that out of office interviews are becoming more popular.
So if you had one, how did it go? My biggest concern is not knowing exactly who I'm meeting.
I have had a few interviews over lunch. Part of the reason is to see how you interact in a social setting, and to see if you would represent the company well outside of the time you are physically at work. Don't find it surprising if you do nothing but small talk (about topics completely unrelated to the job) for a good chunk of the interview.
I've had one like this, and it was on a Saturday morning and the hiring manager was in my city on a personal vacation. We spent about 3 hours discussing the position, the org charts, who the internal customers would be, what the goals are for the group. It was pretty nice and sure beats the 'sweaty back' while wearing a suit in a windowless conference room.
What do you mean when you say that, "My biggest concern is not knowing exactly who I'm meeting"? Now that sounds rather odd! Good luck!
I can see what the OP is saying. If you go into a coffee shop there's often a lot of people there. How do you know who you're there to meet? When you do a traditional in-office interview you tell reception who you are, why you're there, and/or who you're meeting and then someone comes out for you. It takes away the guesswork. Both times I interviewed at places other than an office (both times at a Starbuck's) I was a little nervous about approaching the wrong person. The first time I had only found a very old and not very clear photo of the person. The second time I felt less concerned because I was able to find a seemingly recent picture.
I had one once because the manager was firing the staff and didn't want them to know they were being replaced. Yes, I was told this on the first interview.
Very common to do this when interviewing for sales reps. The company that I work for doesn't have physical offices in most of the states where they have reps. So if they need to interview someone it is at a coffee shop or in a hotel lobby.
As far as figuring out how to look for your contact I guess I've been lucky. Just tell them to look for a tall guy wearing a white dress shirt and I tell them what color tie I'll be wearing.
Both times I interviewed at places other than an office (both times at a Starbuck's) I was a little nervous about approaching the wrong person. The first time I had only found a very old and not very clear photo of the person. The second time I felt less concerned because I was able to find a seemingly recent picture.
Funny, I never found that a problem. Someone tells you what they look like and you tell them what YOU look like. It does bring to mind the episode of The Office, though, when Michael is meeting his successor (Will Ferrell) in a bar for the first time ...
I'm glad I've never had to interview at a coffee shop. I absolutely can't stand coffee.
Right, because the only thing they sell at a coffee shop is coffee.
Two jobs ago, I interviewed with a manager in a coffee shop. It was a nice chat with no disruptions and a couple weeks later I began working there.
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