Interview dilemma

J_i_m

Thanks again for all the replies, there have been some interesting suggestions.

I will definitely try to re-arrange times for the interviews in an effort to be able to comfortably attend both on Friday.

However, I do not agree with this notion of simply turning up late and hoping for the best. It risks making a bad impression as it'd make me look unprofessional with poor time management and communication skills.

If the employer is inflexible with the time, which I half expect they will be because other candidates will have been booked in as well, then I will weigh up which interview represents the more attractive/realistic opportunity to me.

AP007

J_i_m wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, I will try to re-arrange the Luton one, but in my recent experience these things are fairly fixed.

So will be prepared to need to cancel one or the other.

Fixed? I have always had interviews at my suggested times. You can only ask to move it to say 12.30 or 1pm

I don't know how you are getting to the interviews but I would allow at least 1 hour for each interview and does 30 mins give you time to get to the next one?

J_i_m

In my recent experience, and I've had several interviews over the past few months (although not quite as busy as this coming week), the interviews rarely last more than half an hour, although some also have a test to do either before or afterwards.

I've experienced that different employers and HR departments organise interviews in different ways. Some give you a date, time and venue in the invitation and will have relatively little room to be flexible. Others require you to call to confirm and then arrange the time, so do it by first confirmation first served basis.

My point is.. the interview list is likely to be fairly full up and set in stone, and therefore it isn't likely to be possible to move my time. Unless someone else has withdrawn and left an more convenient slot, I'll only know that if I call up and ask.

The problem I have on Friday is that the time between my two interviews on this day leaves me no time for error between the two.

And 30 minutes does not give me enough time on this day.. because I can expect it take upto an hour to drive from Aylesbury to Luton.

Torry_Quine

I would have thought that as soon as you got an interview for a day when you already had one it would be the natural thing to contact the company and ask to re-arrange it. It seems very strange to just accept the time given if unsuitable for you.

AP007

J_i_m wrote: »

In my recent experience, and I've had several interviews over the past few months (although not quite as busy as this coming week), the interviews rarely last more than half an hour, although some also have a test to do either before or afterwards.

I've experienced that different employers and HR departments organise interviews in different ways. Some give you a date, time and venue in the invitation and will have relatively little room to be flexible. Others require you to call to confirm and then arrange the time, so do it by first confirmation first served basis.

My point is.. the interview list is likely to be fairly full up and set in stone, and therefore it isn't likely to be possible to move my time. Unless someone else has withdrawn and left an more convenient slot, I'll only know that if I call up and ask.

The problem I have on Friday is that the time between my two interviews on this day leaves me no time for error between the two.

And 30 minutes does not give me enough time on this day.. because I can expect it take upto an hour to drive from Aylesbury to Luton.

Not sure what jobs you are being interviewed for but I have never had a 30 min interview. My shortest has been 1 hour and longest 2 hours.

Besides you have no idea either how long the 1st one will last. As stated above never accept an interview when you have no idea how long it will be and can you get to the other in time.

Yes a list may be full now but just ask as you never know.

J_i_m

Maybe, but again I'm going by my experience. And having talked with many of my previous interviewers about when I can expect to know a decision and received very similar answers. I have been able to see that many of them have been interviewing for the vacancy simply on one day.

And so.. in that circumstance there isn't a great deal of room for moving appointments.

Maybe it's different in the industry you're experienced in.. maybe you're thinking of a scenario where there are also several vacancies of the same job.. which generates a large shortlist.. which has to be spread across several days.

But in general, the jobs I've gone for have been single vacancies with a relatively short, short list.. and so interviewed across one day.

AP007

J_i_m wrote: »

Maybe, but again I'm going by my experience. And having talked with many of my previous interviewers about when I can expect to know a decision and received very similar answers. I have been able to see that many of them have been interviewing for the vacancy simply on one day.

And so.. in that circumstance there isn't a great deal of room for moving appointments.

Maybe it's different in the industry you're experienced in.. maybe you're thinking of a scenario where there are also several vacancies of the same job.. which generates a large shortlist.. which has to be spread across several days.

But in general, the jobs I've gone for have been single vacancies with a relatively short, short list.. and so interviewed across one day.

Industry or job function?

No not thinking of of a scenario where there are also several vacancies of the same job.

I have worked in one job function with 4 different industries all over 1 hour long interview wise. Never interviewed where there was more than one job, only the one I was interviewed for.

Not all companies interview in one day. Some and the ones I have been to interview over a number or days for one role. Short lists of say 6-7 people.


You wouldn't need to move if you got the times that were better for oyur schedule

If you are so confident it will be 30 mins only and the one after cant change times tell them you may be a bit late and if so call them on your way.

J_i_m

AP007 wrote: »

Not sure what jobs you are being interviewed for but I have never had a 30 min interview. My shortest has been 1 hour and longest 2 hours.

Besides you have no idea either how long the 1st one will last. As stated above never accept an interview when you have no idea how long it will be and can you get to the other in time.

Yes a list may be full now but just ask as you never know.

Well, we're probably in fairly different industries or areas of work then.

The majority of my interviews have been scheduled to last no longer than half an hour. I know that through reading the invitation, and also through personal experience.

And as I've explained already, there is no unified way of arranging the interview. For my latest interview it was arranged by an automated system.

I received a email notification with instructions to logon on to the companies jobsite where I had to accept the invitation to receive full details. I had to accept the interview in order to receive a time, and unfortunately it did not give me the option to choose the time, otherwise I would have chosen one more suitable.

The other interview invitation was sent out by post (a couple of weeks ago), again the option to choose the time was not provided, as the time was already printed on the letter. To accept it I had to leave a message on a answering machine (unmanned phone line) and therefore very little wiggle room. And anyway at the time.. this was the first invitation I had for that day.. so it didn't clash with anything else.

My position is that I want a job.. and if I get offered an interview then I want to accept it. I do not automatically decline a interview simply because there is a chance that it might clash with another. For many interviews I have to accept them before I get given a time slot.

Maybe you're used to a system which is very unified and works the same across a range of different employers and teams. I'm more used to a variety of systems which work differently to each other, and not all are well designed as they could be

AP007

Post? No one has asked me to interview by post in over 20 years

Or ever used an auto system.

Not sure you'd get much out of a 30 min interview

As stated call and ask to move one.

J_i_m

AP007 wrote: »

Post? No one has asked me to interview by post in over 20 years

They have me.

Or ever used an auto system.

They have me.

Not sure you'd get much out of a 30 min interview

Most of my interviews are scheduled at 30 min.

As stated call and ask to move one.

Already stated that, this is what I will be doing