How do I proceed on this offer to travel for a possible job interview?

Question

A couple of weeks ago I started sending out my resume to companies in North Carolina that are Metal Fabricators. I have a lot of experiencece in this field and want to move my family there.

I got a call back from an owner of a company that has been around a long time. He is older and a nice man who talks real southern and quietly. I have done research and they are completely legit.

I touched based with him again and he said he wanted me to travel down there and meet with him and take a look around at no expense to me. I thanked him and then sent him a couple of days that would work for me. We nailed it down to one certain day and then he sent me the following e-mail:

Looking forward to meeting with you. To confirm, I am to cover your cost to visit with us. Just let me know How to take care of this.

Have a pleasant weekend and journey to the south.

Best Regards

The problem I am having is that I don't have the money to travel there and get reimbursed (which in the back of my mind might end up with me getting stiffed). Air travel alone will be about $700.00, but I am not really sure how to respond to this. I expected him to make all the arrangements. How would you e-mail back to this?

Answer 1

Look into making the arrangements, and then send him the details, asking if he wants to book them himself, or whether he wants to send you the funds to be able to book the flight & hotel yourself.

Answer 2

The answer that Meghan gave you is exactly what I would say. Do the work yourself and then send him an email with all the info on flights and hotels, and also ask him if he would recommend another hotel near them, tell him that, that is OK with you. Ask him for a confirmation of the reservations.

Good luck and I hope you get the job.  North Carolina is beautiful, I went there for 2 weeks to visit.

Answer 3

I would do the legwork yourself.  Look into flight times, and fares.  Search for nearby hotels and get rate quotes.  

Contact him back and ask how he wants to proceed.  Tell him flight xzy on this day would be the best for you and least expensive for them, etc.  Also tell him you have looked into these hotels in the area and wanted a recommendation of the closest and see if they have any relationships already with any of them.

Then ask how he wants to proceed.  Is there a corporate card he wants to have everything charged to, then have confirmation emails sent to you, or how he would like to take care of it.  He may make the actual arrangements, but he wants your input.  Closest airport to your home, making sure you can arrive at the airport at specific times, etc.