
Ask HN: Would you accept a distant interview with no travel reimbursement? - aerovistae
I&#x27;ve spoken to a couple recruiters today who say it&#x27;s uncommon for companies to reimburse applicants for travel, even if they have to get a flight from another state.<p>It&#x27;s always been my personal policy that if they don&#x27;t pay for travel, I decline the interview. These recruiters are ever so slightly making me wonder if I&#x27;m being entitled, although I don&#x27;t really think I am.<p>What&#x27;s your position on it?
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pizza
If they want to pay you a decent salary, travel reimbursement is within the
single digits percentage range of that. If they are not willing to pay <10%,
what shows you they are willing to pay 100% of a decent salary?

edit: additionally, by displaying that you are willing to foot the bill for
travel, you are showing that you are desperate, which is something they can
further leverage in your negotiations _IF_ they ever even consider you.

~~~
sqs
This is exactly right. You don’t want to signal that you consider this even
remotely acceptable (unless you have no other options—in which case I’d
suggest maybe you’re underselling yourself).

Source: hired dozens of engineers, interviewed hundreds of engineers

~~~
8bitsrule
As Marx put it, "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member."

~~~
pizza
Seems there's a lot of animosity directed towards Groucho on HN..!

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thatoneuser
Those recruiters are actually telling you “this is a company you don’t want to
work for”. I had this happen once after grad school. Guy wanted me to drive 10
hours one way, pay for a hotel (“isn’t there someone you can stay with?” There
wasn’t), and drive back all in my dime. It’s not normal, it’s not reasonable,
and you should just end the conversation right there. It will only get worse.

Let’s go down this hypothetical route where you accept to do something so
ridiculous. You drive a ways or fly in, you get the hotel and you go back, all
in your own dime. You’ve effectively just invested hundreds of dollars into
this _interview_. They might already be planning to fill the position with an
internal candidate, who knows? Maybe they’re just feeling it out. Or maybe
they want you, and maybe they know they have a garbage offer. Well now that
you’re emotionally committed to this on some level because of the money you
spent, you’re more likely to commit more than you otherwise would have. In
poker I think they call it “pot committed” when you have a weak hand but
you’ve already put so much into the pot that you feel compelled to “win back”
what you’ve already lost, so you bet more. Same principle. This is really,
reallt shitty psychological manipulation.

I don’t think I need to say more. If that isn’t enough to convince you then
I’m afraid you might need some coaching for how to stand up for yourself ;)

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chrisseaton
> I've spoken to a couple recruiters today who say it's uncommon for companies
> to reimburse applicants for travel

I mean, that’s just a lie.

Even before you consider whether they do it or not, everyone else in this
industry does so they’re just lying.

If they company won’t do something as simple as cover your travel costs, and
the recruiters are lying to your face, then unless you have no other option I
would block these people and forget they exist.

~~~
tzakrajs
He is right that it is rare that companies will reimburse because typically
there is no reimbursing to do; that is, they book all of the accommodations
similar to how they would for employee travel and relocation assistance.

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mindcrime
_I 've spoken to a couple recruiters today who say it's uncommon for companies
to reimburse applicants for travel, even if they have to get a flight from
another state._

That does not jibe with my experience at all. In fact, I'd go so far as to say
that it's more common for a company that expects you to fly, to buy the ticket
for you up-front.

And as others have said: if a company expects you to pay for your own travel
for a long distance interview, they're just outing themselves as a company
that you _don 't_ want to work for anyway.

Personally, unless in an actual situation of pure desperation, I'd skip on
pursuing any "opportunities" with companies that behave this way.

~~~
sgc
Exactly. If a company won't pay for travel, they are indicating they aim for
the most desperate, thus in general the less capable and less well
established. They do not aim for excellence but tend towards indentureship.

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K2h
Over 10 years ago I had a similar offer - I was one state away (~500 miles)
and the company did not want to pay for travel. They were interested, and I
was interested, and I had other travel taking me to the region, so about a
month later I showed up and we did the interview. Several months later I was
given an offer and accepted - but I had exactly your reaction, "if you
(employer) can't pony up $120 for a plane ticket....". in the end it worked
for me, but I still take that as a major red flag, if the employer will not
pay for travel to interview, then they have not properly vetted and phone
screened you to determine they want to take any time to seriously consider
you.

When I conduct interviews as an employer today - I do assessment on location
because fit ends up being very important. Where a person is coming from, what
social networks they have, interest in the climate and region play huge in
long term retention and it is often much easier to take the time to hire
locally if possible to increase quality of fit in the organization. in many
cases this is not possible - and you have to import as you don't have excess
talent (at your price point) in the region.

~~~
aerovistae
> interest in the climate and region play huge in long term retention

You're a smart guy. In my experience very few people consider this.

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toast0
I don't expect reimbursement, I expect the company to buy the tickets and pay
for the hotel room upfront. Ground transportation and meals are negotiable, I
suppose.

~~~
mcv
I'd be fine paying for the small stuff, but if they're unwilling to pay for a
significant chunk of the costs, that means they're taking no risk at all on
this interview, while you're carrying all the risk. You're fully committed,
they have no commitment at all.

They can afford to invite you on a whim and then not hire you, and it costs
them only the time of the interview, while you're paying the full cost as well
as a full day or more of your time. A more equal division of those costs would
be more reasonable.

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ng12
> I've spoken to a couple recruiters today who say it's uncommon for companies
> to reimburse applicants for travel

I've literally never paid out of pocket to travel more than an hour for an
interview.

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jason_slack
I've been on a few interviews in my life where it required flying from my home
state. The companies always paid for a plane ticket up front. I've even had
interviews that required a few hours of driving and they paid for parking, gas
and even a hotel room once I provided receipts.

Funny enough and sort of messed up, _but_ , I went on a local interview
earlier this year where I drove 30 mins to meet the person for coffee. I paid
for coffee because the company credit card declined and that was his only form
of payment. They offered me a 60 hour a week coding job for $30,000/year
because they felt the work wasn't complicated and didn't require my c++ skills
even thought their current code base was c++. They wanted to make no changes
to the c++ code and start adding functionality using Python as "most college
kids learn Python" and "would be happy to accept such a great job". I
declined. I received a call from the CEO asking me why, they were really
impressed. I said the salary was an insult and it was advertised as a
$90,000/year job. He replied that he only takes $40,000 as a salary and the
$90,000 figure was to attract interest, hoping to find someone who believed in
the companies goals and would work for less money with the future hope of
more. I suddenly had someone knocking at my door...

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marssaxman
I wouldn't accept a distant interview I had to pay for at all, much less one I
wouldn't be reimbursed for. That's the interviewing company's responsibility,
open and shut.

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randombit
I've been flown to interviews at least a half dozen times over the years, mix
of startups and big companies, every time travel (flight+hotel+meals) was
covered as a matter of course. I would absolutely turn down an interview where
they weren't paying for travel, it suggests they are not serious about the
process.

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chrisbennet
No reimbursement, no deal.

In general, I avoid situations where the other party has nothing to lose
when/if they waste your time. Example: Online tests before you even talk to a
manager.

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zerohp
I paid for my own travel for an interview once. I wasn't happy about it but I
thought it would be a good excuse to visit a new city for the weekend. I'll
never do that again.

The cheapskates that wouldn't pay for travel offered me a job but the salary
was so low it wasn't even worth negotiating.

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gorpomon
Even fresh out of college with very little to offer (in a different industry
than tech) I was not asked to do this. It sounds like you're dealing with some
shady recruiters, and that's a shame because there are some good ones out
there. I only got my start in tech because a recruiter advocated for me to get
an entry level gig. That gig was several states away and a series of online
interviews plus several code examples sufficed.

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AnimalMuppet
Here in town, I'll drive, and I won't charge for the gas. Ditto for the next
town over (40 miles).

Plane travel? On _my_ dime? For something where they can decide on a whim not
to hire me? Absolutely not. Forget _that_ noise. Ditto the hotel, and meals
while I'm there.

I've flown out for job interviews a few times. I have _never_ paid. If I had
to, well, no thank you. I'll look for a different job.

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exabrial
No. That's ridiculous. If they want to hire you remotely they can interview
you remotely. Unemployment is at an all time low, so employers are competing
for the best. If they can't afford a an interview I imagine there may be more
issues at hand

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skylark
I've never had to pay for transportation to an interview - even rideshare/cabs
are typically paid for. I would outright reject any company that tried to make
me pay for my own airfare and lodging for an onsite interview.

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kccqzy
That's just lying. I received reimbursement for every single interview I've
had. Some companies might also give you a small stipend for spending or meal
reimbursements while away from home, but at least reimbursing the cost of
traveling should be included. I've also had a company that's literally ten
miles away from where I live willing to reimburse me for Lyft rides to and
from the office.

That said, I've only ever interviewed for companies in the tech industry and
the financial industry. It's possible that companies in other industries are
different.

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CodeWriter23
Remember recruiters work for the employer. That said, do you live in a place
where you are likely to find a job? I ask because there is possibly some
nuance here. In general I would interpret this signal as others here are
saying and agree with their reasoning. Well not 100% as I would think it would
be a stupid company that spends excessively traveling candidates they haven’t
interviewed via video conference first. But say I chose to live in the sticks
several states away, I would not then expect every employer to cover travel
for my interviews.

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contingencies
I had a company try to hire me internationally. This was on the strength of a
close friend's internal reference and persistence over months. I wasn't
looking. After some phone calls with their senior management I finally agreed
to travel to an interview and they agree verbally to pay travel expenses. When
I was half-way there - having put substantial money down to fly
internationally with a family of three - they cancelled the interview and
backed out. No apology. Killed the friendship.

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CM30
Not unless I had plans to go to that area that week and somehow felt like
doing an interview in the middle of my holiday (not likely).

Of course, given I'm in a major capital city where all the jobs in this
country are located (London), the only interview that would require traveling
to a distant location would either be one in a foreign country that required a
visa or be a bad choice to take up anyway. So yeah, unlikely it'd come up.

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segmondy
Nah don't do it. When people were far away, I interviewed them remotely,
multiple phone interviews and video conference. That's enough to hire someone.
If I needed you to see you in person, then I would eat the cost if I'm the one
that approached you, unless you were the one who approached me for a job that
I posted locally.

Those recruiters don't care about you, they only care about their commission.

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tropo
It makes sense if the position was advertised for local candidates only. In
that case, you'll have to do what it takes to be similar to a local.

Otherwise, that's just crazy. For a position that is offered to non-local
candidates, the company should pay for travel and lodging at minimum. Food
would be nice too.

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ohithereyou
No. If a company does not think you are worth paying for travel then they do
not think you are worth it at all.

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beatgammit
I'm happy to pay if I have an offer in hand and it's up to me to decide
whether to finalize the paperwork (e.g. onboarding interview), but not for
something that isn't guaranteed. If they aren't satisfied with a video or
phone interview, they had better pay to have me come out.

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drakonka
No; maybe if I was a junior who was really desperate and could afford the
expense, but not at this stage.

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gnulinux
Self respect. Why spend hundreds of dollars for a company you shouldn't wanna
work in?

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givehimagun
Those recruiters are incorrect - if a company doesn't want to pay for travel,
they will/should do a hirevue/skype interview remotely instead. If they want
you to be there in person, they'll pay for you to be there.

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mesozoic
Nope. I suppose if I really wanted to move to a particular place and they
could group them together with a lot others I'd consider it.

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rajacombinator
No way, those are scumbag lowball recruiters.

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namank
Also, find better recruiters.

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dr_teh
Sounds like a scam.

~~~
developer2
Honestly, it sounds like the "recruiter" may not even be arranging an
interview with an interested company. Perhaps they are trying to get gullible
clients to fly in on their own dime to interview with _the recruiter_? As
other commenters have noted in large numbers, this is not normal operating
procedure for any real company, and thus my intuition is they are not offering
an interview with a real company.

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charlesdm
Nope.

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PaulHoule
No

