In-person Job Interviews

[Writer]

I'm waiting to hear back if I am a finalist for a job I interviewed for. If I am, I'd have to go and do an in-person interview. My question is, what should I tell my current employer? I would be gone a couple of days for travel and the interview.

 

[BTExpress]

I always tried to arrange those things on what would have been my regular "weekend" days. If I could not do that I would just put in for a couple days vacation. One interview conveniently occurred during a vacation to see family.

 

[thizzellewashington]

Burning vacation days sucks but that would be the easiest way to get the time off. If you ask for the time off and they give it to you it's none of their business what you do.

 

[Writer]

Thank you for the advice. Have never done an in-person interview for a professional job and was surprised when this large paper said they do one for the finalists.

 

[Matt Stephens]

If you fly out, just make sure you take advantage of every minute you're there, primarily looking for places to live. If they'll pay for it, try to get the earliest flight in and latest flight out to maximize your exposure to the city. I once made the mistake of flying in and out of a way-too-big city in the same day even though I was offered to be put up in a hotel. Decided to fly back because I needed to get work done at my other job. Was offered the position, but just couldn't commit to moving my wife somewhere I had no time to scope out housing on my own (and lacked the funds to fly us back there to check it out). Whatever this place will pay for, take advantage of the opportunity.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Try to arrange the interview with the prospective employer on your two days off that you normally get. If you need two specific days off that aren't your normal days off, then use vacation/personal time. If your boss asks you what you're doing, tell him it's a family matter and leave it at that. As thizzelle said, it's none of their damn business what you do in your off time so long as you're not breaking the law or being a public nuisance.

Next, there's this ...

Have never done an in-person interview for a professional job and was surprised when this large paper said they do one of the finalists.

It still baffles me when I read comments like this. What kind of dumb mother ****er hires someone they've never met, discussed their profession, reached an agreement about certain subjects, and shook hands on it? I don't know when or where this **** started, but it's the most unprofessional ****ing practice in the business.

Wherever this job is that is bringing you in for the interview, they clearly have their **** straight. I would assume it's a pretty good job, with good people to work for and with. Good luck!

 

[BTExpress]

I've been taking vacation days for 35+ years, and only once have I had a supervisor inquire IN ADVANCE where I was going --- and that was because I went completely off my usual grid and took two weeks off in February.

 

[Human_Paraquat]

It still baffles me when I read comments like this. What kind of dumb mother ****er hires someone they've never met, discussed their profession, reached an agreement about certain subjects, and shook hands on it? I don't know when or where this **** started, but it's the most unprofessional ****ing practice in the business.

It mostly stems from budget cuts. Smaller (and even mid-sized) papers can’t afford to fly people in or bring in multiple finalists and put them up, so they rely on skype or just phone interviews.

I agree with you, however, that it’s cheap and short-sighted. Companies should see that face-to-face time as an investment in their product rather than a luxury.

 

[MTM]

I've been taking vacation days for 35+ years, and only once have I had a supervisor inquire IN ADVANCE where I was going --- and that was because I went completely off my usual grid and took two weeks off in February.

I had an editor who would always ask what our plans were when we requested time off so she would know how flexible we were if something came up. I was of the mind it was none on her business. I could spend a week at home watching TV and eating Cheetos, I earned the time and could do what I please. It wasn’t my problem if something broke on my beat or if someone else wanted the same time off.

 

[Writer]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I appreciate it!

 

[Fredrick]

Try to arrange the interview with the prospective employer on your two days off that you normally get. If you need two specific days off that aren't your normal days off, then use vacation/personal time. If your boss asks you what you're doing, tell him it's a family matter and leave it at that. As thizzelle said, it's none of their damn business what you do in your off time so long as you're not breaking the law or being a public nuisance.

Next, there's this ...



It still baffles me when I read comments like this. What kind of dumb mother ****er hires someone they've never met, discussed their profession, reached an agreement about certain subjects, and shook hands on it? I don't know when or where this **** started, but it's the most unprofessional ****ing practice in the business.

Wherever this job is that is bringing you in for the interview, they clearly have their **** straight. I would assume it's a pretty good job, with good people to work for and with. Good luck!

Another reason newspapering is the worst profession in the world. Nobody has time off to even go do a proper interview and managers who hire people without flying them in are rewarded (got to save $$$s so the CEOs get their vacation homes). The few peons who still have jobs are tied to their jobs 24/7 every single day. Sickening.

 

[Fredrick]

I had an editor who would always ask what our plans were when we requested time off so she would know how flexible we were if something came up. I was of the mind it was none on her business. I could spend a week at home watching TV and eating Cheetos, I earned the time and could do what I please. It wasn’t my problem if something broke on my beat or if someone else wanted the same time off.

LOL. "If something came up...." Like every day in this gosh-awful business. You can't even take a vacation without "worrying" about something "coming up" and you being asked to come in. Glad you stood up to them but I'm sure you were thought poorly of by your superiors. You are working 24/7 a day even on your vacation in many shops.

 

[KJIM]

The news industry is by no stretch of the imagination the only business like that, though. Mine certainly is.

 

[Bronco77]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I appreciate it!

I always used regular days off and, if necessary, vacation days. Never had a problem with a job interview situation -- although I did have one supervisor who asked me with two weeks notice if I would consider canceling a vacation that had been scheduled months ago because "we're hurting on the schedule and can't find anyone to do your job." I told him sure, as long as the paper could reimburse me for prepaid travel arrangements. That ended the conversation.

 

[Slacker]

I always used regular days off and, if necessary, vacation days. Never had a problem with a job interview situation -- although I did have one supervisor who asked me with two weeks notice if I would consider canceling a vacation that had been scheduled months ago because "we're hurting on the schedule and can't find anyone to do your job." I told him sure, as long as the paper could reimburse me for prepaid travel arrangements. That ended the conversation.

Ha ha hawwwww ... And I'm guessing that somehow the job got done, right?

Bonus points if it fell to your manager. That's usually why they start moaning about "I can't find anyone ... "

 

[Bronco77]

Ha ha hawwwww ... And I'm guessing that somehow the job got done, right?

Bonus points if it fell to your manager. That's usually why they start moaning about "I can't find anyone ... "

The same supervisor also scheduled a longtime designer (who reported to me at the time) to work the afternoon after having a colonoscopy, despite doctor's orders to take it easy the rest of the day. Designer was outraged and threatened to get a note from his doctor and present it to HR. The schedule was reworked in record time.

 

[Batman]

It mostly stems from budget cuts. Smaller (and even mid-sized) papers can’t afford to fly people in or bring in multiple finalists and put them up, so they rely on skype or just phone interviews.

I agree with you, however, that it’s cheap and short-sighted. Companies should see that face-to-face time as an investment in their product rather than a luxury.

This, and it also makes the hiring process a lot harder by greatly reducing the talent pool you're drawing from.
We had an opening last year and it was hellish trying to find someone because my publisher insisted on bringing them in for a face-to-face interview. Unfortunately, we're a small paper and flying in even three finalists and putting them up for a night or two at a hotel is going to cost a couple thousand dollars that we could really use in other places -- especially when there's no guarantee the person will take the job. We flew in one guy we really liked and offered him the job, but he turned it down. That was $600 down the drain, and it makes you realize you can't afford to do that every time until you find someone. The in-person interview almost needs to be a formality to make sure the person isn't a raving psychopath.

We got several dozen resumés, but after that one guy declined we decided to pivot to finding someone within driving distance. One guy was a good 14-hour drive away, seemed like a capable hand, but he didn't want to drive down and my publisher didn't want to do a Skype interview. So he was out. Another guy from Atlanta flaked out before we even got to scheduling an interview.
So now we're down to in-state candidates, preferably recent college grads, of which there was an astonishing scarcity. The J-school professors were no help at all. It took us four months to fill a vacancy. Meanwhile, I have 30 or 40 resumés in my inbox that are worthless no matter how good they are, because there's no way we're flying someone in from New York when there's a less than 10 percent chance of them taking the job.

 

[HanSenSE]

This, and it also makes the hiring process a lot harder by greatly reducing the talent pool you're drawing from.
We had an opening last year and it was hellish trying to find someone because my publisher insisted on bringing them in for a face-to-face interview. Unfortunately, we're a small paper and flying in even three finalists and putting them up for a night or two at a hotel is going to cost a couple thousand dollars that we could really use in other places -- especially when there's no guarantee the person will take the job. We flew in one guy we really liked and offered him the job, but he turned it down. That was $600 down the drain, and it makes you realize you can't afford to do that every time until you find someone. The in-person interview almost needs to be a formality to make sure the person isn't a raving psychopath.

We got several dozen resumés, but after that one guy declined we decided to pivot to finding someone within driving distance. One guy was a good 14-hour drive away, seemed like a capable hand, but he didn't want to drive down and my publisher didn't want to do a Skype interview. So he was out. Another guy from Atlanta flaked out before we even got to scheduling an interview.
So now we're down to in-state candidates, preferably recent college grads, of which there was an astonishing scarcity. The J-school professors were no help at all. It took us four months to fill a vacancy. Meanwhile, I have 30 or 40 resumés in my inbox that are worthless no matter how good they are, because there's no way we're flying someone in from New York when there's a less than 10 percent chance of them taking the job.

I was hired after a phone interview once. Paper was a bit off the beaten path and didn't really fly anyone in. I had just returned from a workout when they made their first call, so I did the interview with the ME and news editor in gym shorts and socks and I took the offer the next day. First time I met both of them was when I went to town a week after the interview apartment hunting.

 

[Batman]

I was hired after a phone interview once. Paper was a bit off the beaten path and didn't really fly anyone in. I had just returned from a workout when they made their first call, so I did the interview with the ME and news editor in gym shorts and socks and I took the offer the next day. First time I met both of them was when I went to town a week after the interview apartment hunting.

My first (and so far only) job in the business, I interviewed entirely over the phone. I drove 1,000 miles on July 4 weekend to interview at another paper two states away. My mom tracked me down to tell me Paper B wanted to interview me, figuring, "Well, while you're out ..." but it just wasn't going to work to drive a whole extra day to get there. Mom isn't very savvy in the ways of geography. So I talked to the SE at Paper B on the phone and we set up another phone interview for when I got back home.
Long story short, I was offered both jobs, took the one at Paper B because it seemed like a better situation, and moved there two weeks later. I had never been to the town and the first time I met anyone from the paper in person was my first day of work.

 

[thizzellewashington]

The only time I have ever been flown out for an in-person interview with a paper, I ended up being offered the job. Other than that, it's mostly been over the phone or sometimes Skype.