Will requesting a Skype or phone interview rather than an in person one significantly hurt my chances of getting the job?

Question

I live in Canada but am in the process of moving to NY, USA. My rent in Canada ends in a month, and that's when I will be moving to NY. I recently got a phone interview followed by a Skype interview at a company in NY, which went well. I was then called in for an in-person interview. Because I was so far into the hiring process, I decided to go all the way to NY and rent a hotel there for two days simply to do the interview.

I didn't end up getting that job. I'm back in Canada now, and I just got another in-person interview request from a different NY company.

Will it significantly hurt my chances if I tell them:

"I'm currently in Canada and will be back in US in a month. Is it okay if the first round of interviews is a phone or Skype interview? If we get further into the hiring process, I will have no problem coming in for an in-person interview."

Note: The company is looking for local candidates, so them paying for travel expenses is unfortunately not an option here. On my resume, I put down the NY address which I will be moving to next month.

I want to make it clear that I have no issue renting a hotel and coming for an in-person interview if they are a bit more serious about hiring me (if I get past the first round / technical interview).

With that said, will it significantly hurt my chances of getting the job if I say what I mentioned above?

Answer 1

Will it significantly hurt my chances if I tell them:

"I'm currently in Canada and will be back in US in a month. Is it okay if the first round of interviews is a phone or Skype interview? If we get further into the hiring process, I will have no problem coming in for an in-person interview."

Note: The company is looking for local candidates, so them paying for travel expenses is unfortunately not an option here. On my resume, I put down the NY address which I will be moving to next month.

There's no way to know for sure unless you ask.

As a hiring manager, I always conduct the first round over the phone. So it wouldn't be a problem to me from that point of view.

But you indicate that this company is looking only for local candidates, and while you put a local address on your resume, you actually aren't quite local yet. So from that point of view, asking for a phone/Skype interview because you currently live in Canada could easily be a negative. It's possible that they could conclude you are a non-local, or unlikely as it might be they could even suspect you were being deceptive.

If you want to be very safe, and view this job as a significant opportunity, then go to New York and attend the interview in person. And prepare to do the same for subsequent interviews at this company.

If you are willing to risk it, ask for the concession, or ask if you can do the in-person portion of the interview process next month.

Answer 2

"Will it significantly hurt my chances of getting the job if I say what I mentioned above?"

A job interview is a sales pitch where you sell yourself. If your competition is able to sell themselves in a physical meeting, and you're not, you're adding an unnecessary potential challenge to overcome.

If you sense there are a lot of local candidates (which seems to be the case based on your comments), you have an opportunity to demonstrate how much you want the position by being the only candidate to fly in for the interview.

Also, even though this may not apply in your particular case, if other candidates are flying in to interview, you will appear to not want the job as much as they do if you don't fly in.

In the end, the biggest risk is not getting a job you really want. I think it's worth the investment of time and money if you seriously want to work with this firm for a while.

If I were earnest to make a sale, I'd be anxious to physically get in front of the decision maker as soon as possible.

Answer 3

You set yourself up by putting the NY address. Potential employers are already assuming you are in NY and hence don't need to pay to have you come in for an interview, nor pay relocation.

So at this point you are on your own to pay for travel expenses to travel for the interview unfortunately. You can ask, and I don't think it will hurt to ask for reimbursement for travel to and from the interview, but when you do be sure to offer that you have no problem paying your own way.

Answer 4

Well, first off, at most places I've worked it's been on the company doing the interview to foot the bill for travel expenses.

Beyond that, I think it depends. I've certainly been on teams where we hired people without ever meeting face-to-face (only phone/skype interviews). On the hiring side, it's really something you want to avoid: day-to-day, you will generally be interacting with co-workers in person, so it's much easier to get a sense of what the working interaction will be like in person. I can imagine for some positions this is not the case though - they will want an in-person interview.

From your perspective though, there are benefits in meeting people in person. Mannerisms and non-verbal communication are different in person, you can get a better sense of what the work environment is like (are people relatively calm? does it sound like people are talking about interesting problems? or is there screaming and confusion outside the interview room?). The interview process is a two-way evaluation.

Answer 5

Will it significantly hurt my chances if I tell them:

"I'm currently in Canada and will be back in US in a month. Is it okay if the first round of interviews is a phone or Skype interview? If we get further into the hiring process, I will have no problem coming in for an in-person interview."

If I were the hiring manager, it would not be an issue to conduct the first round of interviews via phone or video call. Nevertheless, none of us posting here know the exact circumstances, which means there remains a risk of their saying "no". Ask yourself whether you would prefer to take the financial hit of flying in multiple times for interview or prefer to risk the company backing out at this stage, then make your decision accordingly.

In future, I would suggest you briefly mention your situation on your cover letter and reiterate the fact you would be happy to fly in as required. As other commenters have mentioned, it could be viewed as dishonest that you are putting an NY address on your resume whilst living abroad. Stating the facts upfront spares you the need to explain anything subsequently.