A mile long walk to a job interview? How bad could it be?

You can find a video on this at the bottom of the page.

Years ago, while at my last school, I applied for an afterschool coding tutor position. The job post said they wanted someone who could go to elementary schools and teach kids how to code. The onboarding consisted of learning how to hack Minecraft using Python.

At the time I was paying my way through school and this seemed like a great way to get a head start on my software development career.

I completed the phone interview and they liked what they saw on my resume so we set up an in person interview where I could see the place. Now, I didn’t yet have a vehicle, but I had plenty of time. So when Google Maps said it would take a few hours to commute via bus, train, and foot, I didn’t bat an eye.

It was worth it for an opportunity to get a job both teaching the youth, and expanding my developer skills beyond the C++ I knew at the time.

I made the bus, both trains, and after a mile and some change in the snow, I arrived at my destination. It actually wasn’t so bad. When I arrived, the hiring manager and one of the developers walked me around the campus before my interview.

They had a variety of workstations with different machines set up. They had hacked game consoles, some of them were opened up for modding, and they built gaming computers in house! This company had so many fun projects. It was like a dream come true.

The interview went pretty well. They asked the usual intro questions before sitting me down at a computer and teaching me how to hack Minecraft. This was the first time I’d done training BEFORE getting hired with a company.

Thirty minutes later, the CEO walked in and pulled me aside to ask about my commute. The hiring manager mentioned my journey to the campus and he came to confirm if I had a car. Apparently, employees were meant to transport company laptops to the work sites for the tutoring sessions. The hiring manager didn’t mention this part over the phone.

The CEO apologized and let me know he needed someone who drives. It was a bit of a let down, but I had a good time anyway. The developer from my training felt bad about the whole thing so he took me out for lunch before dropping me off at the metro. At least I didn’t have to walk in the snow again.

Then I got a phone call.

During our drive, the hiring manager called me. They started screaming and cursing me out about making them look bad. To be clear, in our initial conversation, when they asked if I had reliable transportation, I said “Yeah I have reliable transportation. I can take the bus and the train to get to your campus for the interview.” When I reminded them of our past conversation, their response was “NO! Reliable transportation means you have a car and you said yes!”.

Even though I told them I would take the bus and train…

I’m glad I made an effort and went for the interview. But I wouldn’t make that mission again. Everyone has different circumstances, but if you have to travel more than an hour to reach the job site, leave the job alone. Even if it’s a one time deal, you’ll save time finding a place closer to home.

As for that hiring manager, they weren’t clear in the job description or over the phone. I don’t like how they handled the miscommunication, but that’s the nature of working with other folks. Not everyone deals with things the same way. Maybe they got in trouble with the CEO and they took it out on me. I didn’t get upset with them or yell back, I just hung up and crossed the company off the list.

Hopefully you don’t have to deal with anyone flying off the handle or a long trek in the snow. But if you do, look for another company. Don’t get pressed over any one position. Take your time and find a role suitable for you and your commute. After all, there will be many jobs, but only ONE of you.

For more on this, watch the YouTube video below.

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Coding Fanatic