I have a job interview out of state, I’m not counting my chickens before they hatch, but I’m very hopeful. It’s a counterpart of our company, just in a different region, so I already perform the tasks they do their and know their specific industry. They called me before the job was closed and was impressed I was running an enterprise department by myself while they have a team of 6 (they are larger than we are, but at a company my size should have 2-3 people and a manager specific for that department, my boss had on many occasions said she doesn’t know anything about what I do). We are in the process of scheduling a time for me to come down for an interview, and I will be talking with them on Monday to finalize travel plans. I want to make it as easy and cheap for them. The hiring manager sent me an email that she would be unavailable Friday as she had interviews all day, but also went out of the way to tell me that they weren’t for the position that I applied. So my confidence is somewhat high at this point.
I have friends that live in the same city (I’m not looking to make this a vacation) who I can stay with after the interview. The interview is on a Thursday, so I would need to take three vacation days to go down for it. My question is:
Is it ok to ask to stay through the weekend and fly out Sunday instead of Friday so I can scout out the area? I would like to look at a few apartments and see what area I would like to live in, so I can arrange something if I’m offered the job without flying down again. I would like to use my last week of vacation to get moved in and to travel down with my car if I get the job so I don’t have a gap in pay.
The cost to fly back on Sunday is also considerably cheaper than to do so on Friday. I don’t want to sound presumptuous and act like I have the job and turn them off. At the same time, since I’m already there I can save vacation by having an apartment already picked out (it will likely be in one of those big complexes so if I’ve seen one I’ve seen them all and can sign a lease agreement and send it back).
The industry is laid back and tends to have very high job security and satisfaction.
Edit: I should note that the company would be paying for my lodging Wednesday and Thursday night. Friday and Saturday would be spent at a friends apartment who have limited space, if I were to stay through the weekend as I proposed.