Page 17 - How To Answer Interview Questions (II)

Job Interview Question 3

Are you willing to travel?
(How much are you willing to travel?)

If your answer is an unqualified “yes,” because you’re willing to go wherever, whenever, for
however long it takes, then say so. Any other answer (“maybe,” “it depends,” “I’d rather not”) needs
to wait until you ask:

“How much travel is required for this job?
Can you tell me about that?”

Always ask what the travel expectations actually are before you rule yourself out. I’ve had
great candidates say, “I’m not willing to travel,” and then they find out how great the job is, or that the
travel is to someplace they’re really interested in, or that the salary would be very generous to
compensate for all of the travelling, and then, all of a sudden they are willing to travel. If they’ve
already let the company know they aren’t willing to travel, they’ve knocked themselves out of
consideration and it’s over.

As a recruiter, I can tell you one of the things I found interesting about this question is that people
define “travel” very differently.

Is it overnight travel, or is it just day travel?
Do they mean 20% travel, 50% travel, or 90% travel?

If they tell you that it’s “50% travel”, what does that actually mean in practical terms?
Does it mean you’re out Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday every week?
Does it mean you’re in the office one week and out the next?

Get specifics, not just percentages, because those can be a cause of miscommunication. Ask how
many nights away per week they’re talking about, so you are absolutely clear on what they are asking
for.