Good morning fellow travelers,

I'm an avid reader of the forum but do not feel I have the experience to contribute much. Now that that I face a new challenge I need some advice.

I received a job offer out of the blue from a head hunter working for a large american company. They want to develop a their market in the African Sub-Saharan region, where I have extensive knowledge an expertise.

The job title is Sales Manager. I would be working from home, on the east cost, and traveling 55% of my time to Africa.

My question is the following:

What kind of travel standing should I expect or request from my employer? (ie: flight class, hotel class, per diem, ect.)

Since this job as such a significant aspect of travel, I'm a little lost on what to expect. I do not need to take the job as I'm currently employed and happy, but the job description sound great and want to make sure I get a fair deal.

Thank you all for your help!

what does the headhunter say?

It can vary widely (see the active thread on this board about strange travel policies). There's no one standard out there...some firms are looser about booking business class flights on long-haul trips, some do flat per diems instead of receipts, some have tight negotiations with specific hotel chains, etc.

For a gig where you're on the road 55% of the time, especially international, it's completely fair game to simply ask the headhunter to get a copy of company's actual travel policies. If you are looking for an answer to a specific question that isn't in the policy, just ask it.

The only caveat is that with most firms, you'll probably have an easier time negotiating your starting salary than negotiating a permanent exception to their policy. In other words, if the travel policy stinks but the gig still sounds cool, I'd just build that information into your salary/bonus request as opposed to trying to become the only sales guy in the entire firm allowed to fly biz, stay in unusually luxurious hotels, or have unlimited meal expenses. The hiring manager probably can't cut that kind of deal anyway at a large firm.

Depending on exactly where you will be expected to travel, you might want to ask about security escort arrangements. E.g. a friend of mine often travels to places your average tourist would not in parts of Africa, and an armed security detail, and a secure (not sure if it is bullet proof, but could well be) vehicle with a driver trained to avoid ambush etc. is a standard part of his 'must haves' in his package. His company also has a contract with a private company that is on standby should they need hostage negotiations. Personally, I think he is bonkers, but he also knows how to take care of himsefl (ex-army), so figure he has a good grasp on what is reasonable for an employer to provide in those areas.

My father has a standard clause in his contract that specifies he will not travel on certain airlines within Africa (I can't recall the term, but it is basically the notoriously unsafe airlines that aren't allowed in international airspace) and as such if he has to fly A to (Middle East for example) to B, rather than directly A-B, the client will pay for it.

My advice is to be suspicious of unsolicited offers, and really really really do your homework about the company if you get such an offer. They could be legit, but many times they are either a scam or a warm body seeker (insurance sales and for that matter any sales jobs come to mind).

If you are required at any time to put up your own money, drop the whole thing.

But for the sake of argument, let's say the company IS legitimate. There is nothing wrong with specifically asking about their travel policy. A reasonable policy is that F or C is permitted for any trip over X hours, usually 8 or more. They may require that all bookings are made by their own travel secretary/department or they may let YOU do it within a given budget. They may require YOU to pay and then offer reimbursement, or they may issue you a company CC.

My own personal choice is that I avoid companies who require reimbursement or use of my own CC..it adds a layer of PITA that I would rather not deal with. Many FT'ers in such organizations complain that the reimbursement is slower than the CC cycle and they have to pay out of pocket while waiting for the reimbursement check. Others have issues with having paid only to have the company deny the reimbursement on some obscure policy grounds. Don't put your own credit record at risk. There was one poster on here who was in the hole for 5k to his own Amex while his employer dragged their feet, and his credit was impacted. I only work for companies that offer an inhouse corp. CC, and have turned offers down based on this.

Many thanks to all of you these are all insightful comments. Here are few answers/comment to the previous posts:

1- I will send an email to the head hunter to get the details of the company travel policies and see how it looks.

2- I did look over the tread on weird company policies and that was one of the reason I created that tread as I was hopping these exceptions were indeed only exceptions and that they were a more standard solution.

3- Security was something I did not consider and should inquire about. I always use a driver service there but never bother going that step further and get real protection. I will inquire.

4- Black listed airlines is also a great idea. If you can access your dad list or any other it would appreciated.

5- Its a real offer, I already talk to general manager who I met several years ago at a conference. Its a legitimate company and I'm 100% confident of the legitimacy of the job.

6- I'm glad you brought up the payment situation. I always prefer to be in charge at 100% of my travel using my own credit card as it gave me more flexibility, but then again I was never left with a 5k credit card bill...