EuropeanPete

That is a pretty good story I agree that it does happen, but I doubt you see it very often for permanent roles. I managed to get a 9 month contracting gig based on a 30min phone call from Thailand though, which I'm quite proud of.

darthbimmer

I've worked in the tech industry for 20 years and have been a hiring manager for several years. In my experience it is unusual for a company to hire a professional level employee without an in-person interview. Typically it will come after you've been through a few phone/Skype interviews. In some cases the company will have one or two managers meet you in your home area instead of flying you out to HQ; it depends on staff travel schedules.

Relocation packages are common amongst larger, well established companies. There they're a matter of company policy; you'll be offered a standard benefit based on the level you're hired in it. Small companies in startup mode generally don't budget for relo unless they're flush with cash and are hiring aggressively. Though anytime a company wants you badly, you have some ability to negotiate relocation money as part of your total compensation offer.

I wish you best of luck in your interviews.

MaxBuck

People "seldom have multiple offers?" Hah. Every time I've been in a job search I've had at least five offers before accepting a position.

Every employee is potentially special. Their specialness can be blunted by sociopaths in the company. Especially if those sociopaths reside in HR (and fortunately, in my experience, that's rare).

This doesn't mean that prospective or actual employees should feel entitled, but avoiding negotiations because you're afraid the hiring executive has the same crappy attitude as SeriouslyLost appears to have would be foolish IMO. Everything should be open to negotiation unless the employer states otherwise.

Finally, an employer who withdraws an offer to a candidate because that candidate has other offers outstanding and is straightforward about it? They're going to be hiring the bottom-dwellers, and they'll deserve them.

Tide_from_PAE

As others have mentioned, it really depends on the company and the type of position. Even within the same industry, travel policies differ.

My advice is to apply to a variety of companies and positions and see which hiring managers seem the most interested in your candidacy. If they don't offer assistance in getting you to an in-person interview, simply mention that the cost of flying out for a 1-6 hour interview doesn't work for your budget right now. If you're a really desirable candidate, they'll find other ways to interview you.

I did recently get a full time, permanent job offer after 2 hours of phone interviews, but that was a rare situation. No relocation was offered and the company didn't provide much information about moving to the area.

Having flown to many job interviews since my college graduation, I've seen the following policies:

1. Transportation and hotel costs are not reimbursed. Candidates might be offered lunch. Bottled water and coffee are almost always offered as a courtesy.
2. Only airfare and hotel are covered. Hotels are only offered if a same day trip is unfeasible. Candidates have to pay for ground transportation between the airport and the hotel/interview location. Taking public transportation and eating fast food and grocery stores, a one day/night trip can cost less than $50, often less than $30.
3. Airfare and hotel are covered along with ground transportation. Meals are covered up to a specific amount.
4. Airfare, hotel, ground transportation, and meals are covered with no specific limit, though one is expected to be reasonable in terms of total expenses.

With policies 3 and 4, companies may or may not pay for mileage driven to/from the airport or for alcoholic beverages. Rental cars are generally not allowed for liability reasons, though a company might cover the cost if one asks.

Note also that travel polices differ if one already works for the company at another location. Then, interviews are treated more like company travel.

Companies generally allow candidates to select their preferred airlines and flights when the cost is reasonably close to the lowest available. Few companies are going to ask a candidate to make more than one connection each way unless one is flying to/from a smaller airport.

rriopel432

I work for a consulting company where most people work remotely. It's a mix between flying someone to HQ or flying to meet the candidate at their nearest airport. Depends on the schedule and their location. It's easier for our company to reimburse my travel than someone who doesn't work for us yet.

LondonElite

I never understand why vague questions such as the one in the OP (and again a few posts lower) are asked in an internet forum. No one can give a meaningful answer without know significantly more information than is provided. Most (I suspect) are left wondering 'what is the real question'.

Wouldn't it be better to just direct the question to the company? Or is this one of these (forgive me if I'm wrong) 'what jobs allow me to fly international business class a lot'?

cbn42

The shortage of skilled tech workers in Silicon Valley right now is an anomaly in the US labor market. In most other industries, and in most parts of the country, it's a recruiter's market, and acting even the least bit entitled can get a candidate disqualified. The best advice is to do your research and know the market you are in, and determine how much leverage you have.

MaxBuck

There's a difference between acting entitled and doing due diligence on exactly what the offer consists of. I despair if we've reached a point where companies confuse the latter with the former.

zerolife

Probably depend on the company but I would say they will likely fly you in at their dime. Heck even for internships during college, most of the companies I interviewed for flew me in for a final in-person interview. I'm the type of guy who usually takes the first offer I'm happy with but I have a friend who was pretty much flying to Silicon Valley and NYC at a weekly basis all expenses paid and would have easily made Silver possibly Gold.

greggarious

All major tech companies pay to fly you out. For example, I did an interview with IBM Design once. They paid for the plane, hotel, and even organized a dinner and a social event at a comedy show. Very little was actually paid for by me IIRC - they did a per diem to cover the meals that weren't catered, and I just had to email a receipt for my airport parking.

Google, Microsoft etc all do it similarly: first there's a phone screen or two, then they offer to fly you out.

Only caveat is that usually intern interview are done over Skype or something, unless you're local. I got internships at two major tech companies without ever flying out. One gave me a relocation allowance that covered my costs, the second arranged for a flight at the beginning and end of the summer.

greggarious

Also I'd like to add if you are applying for a full time tech position in SF, and they don't wanna pay to fly you out, that would be a huge red flag for me that the company doesn't value it's employees. I might not even accept the interview. They should either offer to pay to fly you, or do the interviews remotely. Telling you to pay to fly out is against industry standards and a strong signal the company is cheap.

Again, this does not apply to internships - they're a little more relaxed about hiring for interns and generally just do a few Skype sessions

Bluebirdie

I haven't heard of a "blanket" policy at any given large tech co in the valley. It's mostly on a case by case basis, as well as considering the supply and demand of your field of specialty.

lin821

IMHO, most likely the real question is this, meaning it doesn't matter if OP would ever get their vague questions answered.

I am always amazed by the effort and enthusiasm our fellow FTers invested when answering those questions, especially when OPs don't even bother to follow up their own line of inquires.

LondonElite

Yes, indeed. That's a major

Remember the guy last year who begged for help to get his family back from Italy when he had bought buddy passes and couldn't get back on standby?

darthbimmer

Threads are not strict ask-and-answer exchanges. They are discussions. Sometimes an interesting discussion grows out of a vague or selfish first post.