Three: Directions to the Interview Location

Try to get directions at least a day before your interview, so you don’t get lost and arrive late. And here’s a tip: Always bring some cash to pay for parking. Never ask an employer to validate your parking stub, or reimburse you for parking. Not only is it impolite, you’ll create a negative impression, since it’s considered common courtesy to pay your own expenses for a local interview.

If you’re coming from out of town, then it’s especially important to get directions. Naturally, if the expenses for your interviewing trip are going to be covered by the employer, wait until the interview has concluded (or better yet, the next day) to settle up. Usually, the company will prepay the air fare, or other major expenses, and will reimburse you for the rest, such as your car rental, cab fare, hotel room, and meals. It’s customary that you pick up certain non-essential expenses, such as long distance phone calls from your hotel room, or the bar tab from the lounge in the hotel lobby.

A few years ago, a client company of mine flew a candidate to Los Angeles for an interview. The candidate, unfortunately, was unemployed at the time, and was in pretty dire financial straits. He charged the phone calls he made to his wife back in Wyoming and all his dry cleaning expenses (he only brought one shirt with him for two days of interviewing) to the company. When they got his expense voucher a few days later, they got pretty upset — they never expected to pay for all these add-ons. It was too bad, too, because he was generally well received when he interviewed. I’d hate to think it was these little charges that were responsible for his not getting a job he really wanted.

The best time to arrive for an interview is precisely when you’re scheduled, not early or late. It can irk an employer to be told that the candidate for a 2 o’clock appointment is waiting in the lobby at one thirty-five. The employer will either become distracted knowing there’s someone hanging around waiting to see him, or he’ll scramble to rearrange his schedule to accommodate the candidate, which disrupts the rest of his day. If your appointment is at two, then arrive at two.

If for some reason you’re running late, call ahead to ask if you can reschedule for later the same day, or if not, later in the week. If something unexpected happens that you have no control over, simply explain the situation to the employer when you arrive.

I placed a candidate named Alan recently, who was over an hour late to his first interview. He’d been caught in a monstrous traffic jam and was unable to call ahead; but fortunately, he handled the situation like a real pro. When he arrived, he apologized for being late, and got right down to the business of interviewing. He simply put all the anxiety and frustration behind him, so that he could concentrate on the reason he was there, not the reason he was late.

If you’re ever caught in a situation like Alan was, stay cool, take a deep breath, and remove whatever misfortune befell you from your mind.