I have recently been invited to interview with one of the Big 4 for a reasonably senior position (SM/Director). My interview expenses are likely to be in the region of £300 due to my home location and I have been told that this will not be covered. Having recruited many consultants in my career (all of whom had their interview expenses covered), I find this quite surprising. Is this standard practice or a result of current financial conditions?

In my experience reasonable interview expenses with larger consultancies ARE covered but only if this is agreed in advance on your behalf by your agent.

I am a recruiter: there is tremendous variation, even in top firms. The norm is that interview expenses are covered at second interview stage, but some cover at first stage, some not at all. With significant expenses like yours I would definitely check at each stage and be prepared for disappointment.. Good luck

I am in a similar situation - my location and the location of interviews - and have to say that interview expenses are a 'thing' of the past. Too many candidates chasing too few jobs makes for 'we do not need to pay expenses' from companies, regardless of who they are.

Yep, Im in the same boat. Had to fork out £150 last week for a wasted day in London (my skillset was not well matched with what company were after) with no expenses covered. Got another interview in a few weeks for a Big 4 which will cost me £250 due to travelling at peak times and no recompense with expenses. Its outrageous!

To the last poster - why is it outrageous?At interview stage you are essentially selling yourself and making a pitch why a company should invest in you i.e. take you on.If you are good and/or there is a fit then you will recoup your (relatively small) initial outlay in the form of salary, benefits etc. Also you know the costs involved ahead of interview so you have the ultimate decision on whether you want to attend / it has the potential of being worth it - in this way it is also a very good screening process for the company - if the candidate doesn't really believe they fit the bill then they will probably not go to all that effort to attend the interview.Look at it this way - if you pitch to a potential client, do you charge them for that pitch before you win the business....?!

I can only assume that you are currently employed and not 'on the market' as if you were I suspect that you might understand the issue.Speaking as somebody who has been made redundant, I can do without the games being played by certain companies. Many people are being taken to face to face interviews - sometimes after telephone interviews, but all after CV's have been reviewed by HR and in some cases the line - to then be rejected with a very weak reason. In many cases there are not actually any roles, but the advertising of such roles and the message in the market is that 'A N Other' must be doing OK as they are recruiting.If your time and money was being wasted you may also have a problem with such a practice.Or, perhaps you consider that you will never be in that position.