Flying In for an Interview

Sometimes as a candidate may have to fly into another city for an in-person interview. Here are some tips to deal with such situations.

• Make sure the job is attractive before you commit up to two days of your time to travel and interview in a distant city.


• If you are travelling from the West Coast to the East Coast, try to take a flight leaving no later than noon. That flight will land around 9 pm with the time zone change. Chances are that with a baggage claim, car rental, drive to the hotel, and check-in, you won’t be at your hotel room and unpacked until 11 pm. That’s about the latest you want to go to bed to be fresh the next morning.


• If you are travelling from the east coast to the west coast, you should be able to take a flight as late as 6 pm and get to your west coast hotel by 11. However, late afternoon & early evening flights tend to be busy and heavily booked, so you might want to take an earlier flight.


• Make sure you have a clear understanding with the company as to whether you should rent a car or take a cab from the airport. If they expect you to take a cab, the bean counters may not reimburse you for a rental car (yes, I’ve seen it happen).


• If you arrive early in the target city and have a rental car, make a test run from the hotel to the target company so the drive will be familiar the next morning.


• Don’t skip breakfast the morning of the interview. It will be the most important meal of your day.


• Make sure your schedule allows at least 3 hours after the completion of your interview before the return flight. Interviews often get delayed or run long, and traffic can slow you down returning to the airport. Not to mention the time spent returning your rental car, if you have one.


• You’ll be told this by the hiring company of course, but keep track of all receipts so you can be reimbursed for them later.


• Depending on the company, it may take 30-60 days for you to be reimbursed for miscellaneous expense you submit after your interview trip.