If you interview for a job in another state and the interview process includes an on-site in-person interview, who should pay for the travel expenses, the person who is being interviewed or the company who is hiring?

In today’s story, the company who was hiring was originally going to pay for all of the travel expenses, but when the unexpected happened, they changed their mind.

Let’s see how the story plays out.

Company recruits me for senior position, brings me to their HQ, project gets canceled while I’m interviewing and I’m supposed to pay for the trip? I don’t think so.

During the dot Com boom in the late 90’s I became somewhat well known for my expertise with a now somewhat obsolete networking technology.

I ended up getting heavily recruited by a big telecom firm in Denver to run the technical side of a huge networking project they had underway.

After multiple phone interviews I was invited out for the big in-person sit down, a two day affair where I met with the big dogs, other techies, HR, etc.

It was a pretty killer opportunity.

Day one went well.

Took the trip.

First day of meetings went great, I felt it was a great match, etc.

I did sense there was some tension between two groups over network architecture; turned out that was one of the reasons they were bringing in someone more senior who could finalize the approach and get the project moving.

That was fine, all part of the job, whatever.

Got wined and dined after the first day, was definitely feeling like the job was a match and that I’d be moving to Denver.

Day two was quite different.

Went in the second day and after another round of interviews the division head takes me to lunch.

That’s when it all blew up.

While we were at lunch the firm’s senior management canned the entire project and fired every person associated with it.

Apparently there was a huge internal political war going on, this project was ground zero for the big battle and this division just lost.

This was not how it was supposed to go.

We get back from lunch and the manager escorts me to HR where we’re going to sit down and go over their offer.

Instead he’s told what’s going on and that he’s out of a job along with everyone else on the project.

At this point I was told to leave. No apologies, it was just bad luck for me. What? OK then, I’m gone.

It gets worse.

I get back to the hotel and there’s a voicemail for me asking me to call the HR people.

I’m ticked but I call.

They tell me they’ve had to cancel my return ticket and that I’d need to pay for the hotel myself for now, but that if I would submit an expense report they’d might be able to get me a check.

There’s a second voicemail from the front desk asking me to provide a credit card for the stay.

And then I get a call on my cell phone from the car rental company which I didn’t answer. Turns out they also wanted my credit card.

Forget. That.

This is a lot to ask someone to pay when they’re interviewing for a job.

I called the airline and they said my reservation had indeed been canceled. But they also acknowledged that the reservation was paid for using a “fully refundable” ticket – which I was holding and which back in the 90’s was essentially as good as cash. Said they wouldn’t know for certain if I could board until I showed up at the counter with the physical ticket.

Great. Just great.

I’m on the hook for several thousand in airfare, nice hotel and rental car after taking several days of vacation from my job for this interview?

I don’t think so.

Here’s how he got home.

Here’s the revenge:

I packed my bags and loaded up the rental car. Left the keys in hotel room door. Drove the rental car back to Dallas (stayed overnight in Amarillo).

Dropped the rental at the Hertz lot at DFW airport, took their shuttle to the terminal I’d left my car at and drove home.

Over the next few months I got several nasty phone calls from their HR and accounting departments demanding I pay them back for the trip including paying for the $700 drop off fee for the car.

He was not about to answer the phone.

Never answered them of course, just let them go to voicemail.

Eventually got a demand letter from their legal department, paid an attorney a nominal fee to send them a demand for compensation / threaten a lawsuit letter.

Never heard from the firm again.

That’s horrible that they tried to get someone who was interviewing for a job to pay the travel expenses to interview for the job! He did the right thing by refusing to comply.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

This person has questions about the technology.

The company knew they couldn’t legally force him to pay.

This person likes his creative way of getting out of paying.

Another person has questions about the rental car.

This person rants about telecom companies.

Talk about the worst job interview ever!

And that’s a pretty low bar.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.