I applied for two jobs at the same company and am being interviewed for the one I'd rather not take

Question

I applied for the same job title in, lets just call it Company A, at two different locations.

I applied for location one first, and just came across location two yesterday. Location two is closer to me and is offering more hours so I am more interested in location two, but my interview for location one is next week.

How do I go about telling them that I'd be more interested in the other location?

_{It's within a bank company, so I'm assuming each branch has different managers but the staffing department is who has been in contact with me.}

Answer 1

This is easy. Pick up the phone tomorrow, and contact the HR ('staffing department') person who is handling your recruitment (not the guy who will be your manager if you pass the interview, but the one doing the scheduling). Tell them that you've recently discovered that the company has an office at location two, and as a location you would be more interested in it than location one. Don't say you aren't interested in location one. Then ask her the important questions: does location two do the kind of work you are interested in? Are there any openings there? Is it the same manager responsible for that function in both places? Get details of what kind of work takes place at each location - just because two jobs have the same job title doesn't mean you would be doing exactly the same work there. If there might be openings, ask if you could interview for a position there either at the same time or shortly after the interview you have scheduled?

The questions I've mentioned, and any others you can think of, should give you a much better idea of whether getting recruited to location 2 is reasonable, and whether it is best for you (even if the location is more convenient, the job at location 2 might be worse). Find out from the HR guy if you need to make a separate application for any job there, or whether the one application works for both locations. If you still would prefer to work at location 2, either make a second application or make your interest and preference for location 2 clear.

Then go to the interview for location one, and give it your best shot without reservation. If you are asked, tell any interviewers that geographically location 2 would suit you better, but you would consider a job at either. If you are invited to an interview for a job at location 2, do the same there. Then see what happens.

Answer 2

Based on the premise that the two locations are part of the same company, I wouldn't recommend initiating a conversation to either location regarding your preference toward the more-desirable location, unless and until they actually extend you an offer OR they bring up the subject themselves. It is likely they will see where you live and bring up the topic to you. They may ask you why you elected to interview for an job opening so far from where you live when they have another opening at a more geographically desirable location. You can then tell them you only heard about the opening after accepting the interview at the further location. You can also say that even though the other location is closer, there's no guarantee you will get it, just based on the commute distance, and it was important to you that you honor your existing commitment because your future association with the company is far more important at this time. If the commute was truly a problem, you wouldn't have accepted the first interview.

I would spend your valuable face-to-face-interview time asking direct questions about the company, the duties, the culture, and the expectations. Find out whether or not you even want to work for this company, and determine whether or not you can be successful there. Build a rapport with your interviewers and work to convince them that you are the best person for the job, regardless of where it's located. Once you are inside, if the subject hadn't come up during the interview process, you can feel free to communicate your desire to be relocated to the other site, if you didn't get it going in. It is likely they understand that the shorter distance their employees have to travel to get to the work, the more productive they will be for many reasons. If they don't understand or don't care, depending on your feelings about everything else regarding the company, at least you will have a job while you are looking for another job closer to home.