Interview Etiquette

[LadyL]

I got my first interview invite yesterday (yay!) and I have a few questions.

-They have offered to pay for travel and lodging. I would like my partner to come up for part of the weekend since he will be relocating with me if I attend the school and he hasn't seen the area before. We can pay for his travel on our own obviously but is it a faux pas to see if the hotel room could be booked for two people? I feel like it's slightly more awkward since we are unmarried.

-The interview is for Neuroscience but I am also applying for the Psychology program at the same school. Should I let the professors I talked to in Psychology know I'll be on campus interviewing for the other program? When I spoke to them last they indicated that it was likely that I'd get an interview for Psychology as well. I feel like it would be awkward to not mention that I'll be around. I am also secretly hoping that I could interview for both programs the same weekend to cut down on travel but I suspect that's not going to happen, oh well.

[eucalyptus]

I got my first interview invite yesterday (yay!) and I have a few questions.

-They have offered to pay for travel and lodging. I would like my partner to come up for part of the weekend since he will be relocating with me if I attend the school and he hasn't seen the area before. We can pay for his travel on our own obviously but is it a faux pas to see if the hotel room could be booked for two people? I feel like it's slightly more awkward since we are unmarried.

-The interview is for Neuroscience but I am also applying for the Psychology program at the same school. Should I let the professors I talked to in Psychology know I'll be on campus interviewing for the other program? When I spoke to them last they indicated that it was likely that I'd get an interview for Psychology as well. I feel like it would be awkward to not mention that I'll be around. I am also secretly hoping that I could interview for both programs the same weekend to cut down on travel but I suspect that's not going to happen, oh well.

Generally, I would say that you can always get two people into a hotel room that's been booked for one person, but at interviews sometimes they'll have you share a room with another interviewee. So definitely check with the department and it will probably be alright, but if they want you to share, offer to pay for the other half of the hotel room.

[rising_star]

When you speak with the department, phrase it as a partner that will be relocating with you. They don't need to know whether you are or are not married. Also, make sure to find out which, if any, of the functions s/he is invited to attend.

[shai]

Congrats on the interview. What school is it ?

[LateAntique]

Generally, I would say that you can always get two people into a hotel room that's been booked for one person, but at interviews sometimes they'll have you share a room with another interviewee. So definitely check with the department and it will probably be alright, but if they want you to share, offer to pay for the other half of the hotel room.

+1 - Most interview weekends I've seen have had two people in a hotel room already.

[socialpsych]

I have nothing to add regarding your first question. About the second: I would 1) wait until you get an official invitation to interview with the psych department, and 2) don't be really in-their-faces about why you're there. Just say (again, in response to an actual invitation) that you're in the area around that time and it would be convenient to move your visit so that you would not have to fly twice.

I did this last year, and everyone at the school whose visit I moved clearly knew why I'd moved it, but it was totally fine. Also, I found departments to be really flexible about splitting travel costs and such.