Hello

This thread might be a place for everyone to share his/her experience on interview.

What supprises me is that employers don't pay for transportation fee of the people they are interviewing. At least two companies I have dealt with never mention this.

Is not paying a tradition here ?

I think it depends on the company, what the role is, how far you have to travel and how keen they are. If you are one of several candidates for a non-management/non-specialised then probably not, no. If they are courting you because you have something pretty unique that they can't source locally, like a specialised technical skillset that few can offer, then you are more likely to get flights/accomodation discussed when arranging the interview. If you live locally and can get a tram there, I doubt you'd see any reimbursement, even if you were going for a director's role.

Perhaps if you work through an agency, they will help you out or negotiate on your behalf with the employer (as they'd get a cut from the employer anyway if you're hired.) Worth a try, they can only say no and you've lost nothing.

you have to ask them to pay for it up front

Hello
Thanks for the replies.
So NL is not like Switzerland, in Switzerland it is quite a standard to get your ticket (even local) reimbursed.
I think reimbursement is reasonable since if one is between the jobs, he would have several interviews and his "jobless" income should not be relied on for that matter.

If they expect you to fly into NL for an interview ... expect them to pay.

However, if it's taking a train across the Randstad or from one side of the city to the other do you really expect reimbursement?

I had a series of interviews for a VERY highly-paid job a year or so ago. I 'invested' in a couple of grands worth of clothing for the interviews ... I wouldn't have demeaned myself asking them to reimburse my travelling costs let alone the clothing bills ...

That said. Unlike most (read "ANY") experiences I ever had in the YUK. In NL, if you land a job here, your to-and-from work travelling expenses will be reimbursed. Now, that said, does that not outweigh the cost of a couple of train tickets to-ing and fro-ing during the post-selection process?

I agree. Even if it is train ride within Holland. You have to clarify upfront. Most companies do have a reimburse policy in place. You have to ask upfront. Most reimburse Economy class within Europe, 2nd Class travel travel and if you flying across from another continent it is business class (atleast banks and big 4 consulting companies).
Within Holland if you travel by car it is 18cent per km. A lot of people do not ask because they do not want to sound bad. But in general there are policies about refunding interview cost within companies

Is this transportation cost to and from work apply to non-managerial level positions?

Now, I want a job, so I go to an interview for ME, and then I"M going to ask them to pay ME for coming to see if I might have a chance of employment for ME!

Isn't there something wrong with this picture? No wait, I forgot I'm in the Netherlands it's all about MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME
MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEEMEM.

For a company, I was using a bus ticket that consists of several slots, each time I enter a bus the drive puts a stamp on that.
Then, how can I be reimbursed on that ? Calculate the percentage of the ticket that is used specifically for the interview ?

Thanks

I think that is coming across as a cheapskate, and may not portray you in a good light.
Do you want the job or not??

I would not expect to be reimbursed unless it is actually specified. I have been to loads of job interviews and the general rule is that you are not reimbursed, unless coming from abroad.
Would you expect to be reimbursed for the new interview clothes you had to fork out for?

For a bus fare, I think it is not worth the trouble
For a train ticket, I have asked and received

Hi,
I only wanted to know the barrier between to-be-reimbursed and not here. In switzerland I was reimbursed for ALL the transportation costs.

@mvn: thanks