When my kids were of interview age, I would have had to drive them. They could not drive my car, my car was always with me anyway, and there was no public transportation where we lived. It would have been unlikely to have found an interviewer within our small suburb.
I can’t imagine that any interviewer would think negatively of a kid whose parent drove him or her to the interview. I certainly wouldn’t.
I think one takeaway from this discussion for kids who will be interviewing is that interviewers may vary quite a lot in how they view the interviews, the kinds of questions they ask, and what makes a good or bad impression on them. You can’t know this in advance, usually, so you should simply do your best to make the best possible impression. Be polite, dress appropriately, shake hands properly and make eye contact, do your homework in advance so you can ask good questions, don’t check your phone during the interview, etc. As far as the location goes, if you feel uncomfortable about where it is scheduled, ask politely if it can be held someplace else. Apologize for inconveniencing the interviewer.
I’d love for the OP to update on this–what her daughter decided to do and whether she has any insight to offer after this long thread. And hoping that the interview went great!
Our kids didn’t have licenses before they were in college, so I drove them pretty much everywhere, including to any interviews. I even drove S to job interviews in town, one of which was at Starbucks near the office he would work at.
If I were interviewing students/prospective employees, I’d likely have them in public spaces, just because of the environment these days, for my protection and that of the student/prospective employee.
Hi. OP here. D emailed interviewer and suggested a couple of public places in the area. He accepted one. Interview hasn’t happened yet. I will make sure she thanks him for any inconvenience.
Thanks to all for suggestions.
So this came up on my FB feed: http://www.saraharberson.com/blog/how-to-ace-your-alumni-interview?utm_campaign=New%20Articles&utm_content=62615189&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
it’s a link to an article by a professional college counselor her number 3 of 10 on how to ace your college interview: “3. Most interviews take place in a public location, like a coffee shop. Sometimes, the alumni interviewer asks the student to come to their place of business. It is no longer acceptable for the alumni interview to take place at the interviewer’s home. If this is suggested, contact the admissions office and ask if you can be reassigned to another alumni interviewer.”
@swtaffy904, good for your D taking initiative and emailing the interviewer on this. Your D is helping the interviewer be more aware and be sure that she AND the interviewer will be comfortable at the interview and be able to focus on the important subject of the U and her and how the two will mesh well.
It’s really important that interviewers be more aware of these issues and not inadvertently make people uncomfortable when it is so easily avoidable.
As far as being overheard, seen, or “knowing” that there is an interview going on, I really think that prudently choosing your time and location can minimize these issues. I’ve conducted many interviews in public places and never felt self-conscious. People meet and chat at casual public settings all the time for many different reasons.
I cam across this article today, and I have to say, it’s made me think that colleges really aren’t doing a good job of training/vetting interviewers. https://www.chronicle.com/article/When-Alumni-Interviewers-Screw/241835
Good article - From the article -
Duke recently revised the training module for its 6,000 interviewers. It includes explanatory videos, infographics, guidelines, and expectations for behavior (“do not be alone with a single minor,” “do not invite individual minors to your home”).
Things do go wrong. Most college counselors have stories about middle-aged men who invited female applicants to their homes or offices, who made inappropriate comments about their clothing, and even some who asked them out on dates.
Ms. Devine, at Francis Parker, recalled an alumnus of another Ivy League university who took photographs of several applicants he interviewed. “Girls were really uncomfortable with him,” the counselor recalled. “One came into my office afterward, saying, ‘That guy’s such a creep.’”