(NECRO) people who get flown across the country for job interviews

[pontifex]

I see this every so often where people say Company X is flying me to <state> for an interview.


How often does this happen and wth do you have to offer that makes companies want to do this, especially for people just out of college?

I know I'll never experience this myself in my current situation, just curious about it.

 

[James Bond]

I know it's not nearly as expensive, but I was flown cross-state several times.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Tizyler
I know it's not nearly as expensive, but I was flown cross-state several times.

why though? did you have knowledge of something that very few other people did or what?

 

[clamum]

I was flown down to Madison, WI last summer for a job interview and tour of the company's new campus.

Submitted my resume online, then I got a phone interview that was only about 35 minutes, guy said I sounded like a good candidate and they'd be in touch. Then like a week or two later I get an email asking where my closest airport is and after that got a travel itinerary and whatnot. Definitely surprised me. This was being just out of college (well this was in Sept., I graduated in May).

 

[apac]

Originally posted by: pontifex
I see this every so often where people say Company X is flying me to <state> for an interview.


How often does this happen and wth do you have to offer that makes companies want to do this, especially for people just out of college?

I know I'll never experience this myself in my current situation, just curious about it.

You have good credentials and rock the phone interviews. The company that tried to fly me out was based in San Francisco and I think the competition for software engineers there is probably cut throat.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Supply and demand for quality workers/professionals in that business. I think it shows favorably for that company, as it means they'll make an effort to make you happy. Of course as much is expected on your side when it comes to the work. Also, it's potentially a lot cheaper for them to spend the money and fly out good candidates rather than rely only on phone interviews or limit themselves to a local pool of candidates; who could cost them millions if they screw up.

Where I work now they flew me out from Denver for an interview and tour, paid for my plane ticket, car rental, hotel, etc...

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: clamum
I was flown down to Madison, WI last summer for a job interview and tour of the company's new campus.

Submitted my resume online, then I got a phone interview that was only about 35 minutes, guy said I sounded like a good candidate and they'd be in touch. Then like a week or two later I get an email asking where my closest airport is and after that got a travel itinerary and whatnot. Definitely surprised me. This was being just out of college (well this was in Sept., I graduated in May).

I'll ask the same question that I asked Tizyler, did you have some sort of knowledge that made you in demand for them to do that?

is it just because you were willing to move to another location to work for them?

 

[pyonir]

A good friend of mine was flown from AZ to VA for an interview. Company paid for flight, car, and hotel. They knew they wanted to hire him as the company was a parent company to the current place he was working. he took the job and they paid for everything to move him out there, including covering the closing costs on his new house in VA.

 

[Kadarin]

My company does this fairly often, if we feel we have a candidate who is potentially worth it (after phone interviews, of course).

 

[mugs]

I think willingness to uproot and move across the country would be a key factor. I've never been flown across the country for an interview, but I've also never sent my resume to a company that isn't local.

 

[James Bond]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Tizyler
I know it's not nearly as expensive, but I was flown cross-state several times.

why though? did you have knowledge of something that very few other people did or what?

Because I was a good candidate I guess. I don't have any special knowledge, no.

 

[Wonderful Pork]

I was flown cross country for my interview when I was in college. It turns out that my major & focus were exactly what the company needed, so they flew me out to meet with the exact team/department I was interviewing with.

edit: first class too! after accepting the job, i've never flown first class since.

 

[Garet Jax]

Originally posted by: pontifex
I see this every so often where people say Company X is flying me to <state> for an interview.


How often does this happen and wth do you have to offer that makes companies want to do this, especially for people just out of college?

I know I'll never experience this myself in my current situation, just curious about it.

We generally do it when we are looking for a very specific skill set that we can't find locally or when we encounter a prospect who is exceptional and would be worth landing.

 

[clamum]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: clamum
I was flown down to Madison, WI last summer for a job interview and tour of the company's new campus.

Submitted my resume online, then I got a phone interview that was only about 35 minutes, guy said I sounded like a good candidate and they'd be in touch. Then like a week or two later I get an email asking where my closest airport is and after that got a travel itinerary and whatnot. Definitely surprised me. This was being just out of college (well this was in Sept., I graduated in May).

I'll ask the same question that I asked Tizyler, did you have some sort of knowledge that made you in demand for them to do that?

is it just because you were willing to move to another location to work for them?

Eh, nothing that I thought made me stand out especially (this was for a Software Engineering position). I graduated with a 3.5 GPA, didn't have any experience outside of school. I told him I was working on a website overhaul at the time doing PHP and database work, and they also had a web development group so I would've probably got that position instead of a software developer I'm guessing. Guess I just came off sounding like a good candidate to him.

They also asked about relocation and I said I'd move wherever they wanted me.

 

[nageov3t]

I see this every so often where people say Company X is flying me to <state> for an interview.

whenever anyone says anything on ATOT, I basically just assume that they're full of shit

 

[freegeeks]

A good friend of mine was flown from Brussels to Boston last year for an interview. They offered him a job and they also paid for moving all his stuf. I think the moving thing from Belgium to the USA was over $25000.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: loki8481

I see this every so often where people say Company X is flying me to <state> for an interview.

whenever anyone says anything on ATOT, I basically just assume that they're full of shit

lol, well, there's that too.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

When many of these companies are hiring, I don't think they care about the cost of getting one person interviewed vs another. They simply have a standard process for everyone and the cost for flying each person out doesn't really matter to them, it's just part of the cost of doing business, in this case hiring people.

 

[slsmnaz]

Originally posted by: pyonir
A good friend of mine was flown from AZ to VA for an interview. Company paid for flight, car, and hotel. They knew they wanted to hire him as the company was a parent company to the current place he was working. he took the job and they paid for everything to move him out there, including covering the closing costs on his new house in VA.

do we know each other??? That is exactly what happened to me about 2 yrs ago (even the AZ to VA thing!)

 

[Megatomic]

I've been wined and dined by prospective employers on several occassions. They pay for the interview and relocation, that's the way it works.

 

[Descartes]

I've been flown around a few times. In one odd case, the people actually flew to meet me since I couldn't make the scheduling work to fly to them. I was flabbergasted at the offer, and Ifelt guilty when I didn't accept.

 

[BoberFett]

When hiring a well paid professional, the cost of a plane ticket is one of the smallest expenses a company will incur when compared to salary, benefits, etc. It certainly costs less than hiring the wrong person. If you're really good at what you do and demonstrate that in your resume/portfolio and over the phone, I imagine many companies would have no problem paying your airfare.

A friend of mine is a game developer who used to work on Golden Tee Golf, and before that he worked on some well known PC game franchises. He was recently able to turn that in a job at a company working on a game for the Wii, console development being what he really wanted to do for a living. He got flown in for interviews, they paid moving expenses, etc. because he's damn good at what he does.

 

[UNCjigga]

If the position applied for is at the company's headquarters and they're trying to acquire the best talent nationally, then this is just par for the course. The really crazy perks came back in the dot-com heyday when banks, consulting firms and IT were all competing for MBAs. These companies flew you to NYC/SF for 2-3 days (multiple rounds of interviews) and gave you $100 per diem, AFTER paying for all your meals and even taking you out for drinks.

 

[Patt]

My company has had to fly someone across Canada for an interview ... we would have put forth the $$$ for moving costs too, which would have probably totalled around $30K. Didn't end up choosing the guy in the end anyway.

We're forced to do it because of our remoteness, and the dearth of available local candidates.

EDIT: I may be looking soon, and because of where I live, I'm hoping to arrange some remote interviews that aren't entirely at my own expense

 

[dmw16]

Yeah, what Bober said. I know that to a college student a plane for $500 seems like a lot of money. But the average company probably spends $3000-$5000 to find a good employee. Plus, if the person ends up not working out you've spent a lot in salary, benefits, etc. So spending $500 to get good potential candidate to your business is not big deal. Beyond that, it makes the prospective employee feel valued which is a big thing for recruiting.