Was I right or just greedy?

[mrv]

There was a client in Switzerland (a strange startup of 10) who were interested in my rare skills and wanted to interview me on site without even doing a phone interview.
I asked the agent who was also Swiss whether my travel expenses will be paid by the cilent regardless of interview outcome. After long discussion the client offered they will pay half and the other half is on me. I insisted that I will only come once my travel expenses are fully paid by the client. They cancelled the interview.
The question is, was I right in my expectations or just greedy? Would you invest your own £500-£1000 on early stage with not the most well-known client?

Also anyone based in Switzerland, could it be that local traditions require candidates to pick up the travel bill?

I had similar thing happen once. In my case, we did skype first, but client and agent made it clear they would want face-to-face before making an offer. Client agreed to pay for the flights (was about 500 IIRC), and I had to pay for trains from the airport to the site, another 80 - when asked about this, agent said something like "the client wants you to cover some costs too as a sign of your genuine interest". According to the agent F2F is pretty standard there, still I would expect them to pay for travel if you're coming from another country. In your case they probably cancelled because of the costs too - if they're a startup, they cannot afford to spend lots on people's flying.

[cojak]

You did the right thing.

I blew £350 on a day ticket to Glasgow only for the large bank to turn me down. They could have done the same via Skype.

I will never spend that kind of money again unless it was for a second interview.

[psychocandy]

You did the right thing.

I blew £350 on a day ticket to Glasgow only for the large bank to turn me down. They could have done the same via Skype.

I will never spend that kind of money again unless it was for a second interview.

£350. Private jet?

[CiderEagle]

I reckon the OP did the right thing here. If they want your niche skills so much they should be bending over backwards to accommodate you. If they don't want to shell out for the expenses for a face-to-face IV then what is stopping them doing it via telephone or Skype in the first instance?

Also, if you are prepared to pay around a grand for the privilege of being interviewed for the role, then agents will see you - rightly or wrongly - as their bitch, and will use this in all future negotiations as evidence that they can nail you to the floor rates-wise.

Finally, on the subject of working in Switzerland, I've worked in Belgium, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands and got on fine with the locals, zero or very little hassle, all pretty friendly.

I worked in Geneva for three months a few years ago, comfortably the most expensive and least friendly place I have ever worked (and that includes London).

The locals were considerably less than friendly, ranging from indifference through what you might call silent resentment right up to one case that I witnessed where a bar refused entry to one of our multi-national group on the grounds of the colour of his skin.

Now others may have had different experiences, which I respect, but this was my experience,and it wasn't a good one. I hate to say it but I wouldn't go back there in a hurry.

[jmo21]

I'd have pushed for a Skype, and if they were keen, the agent should have split it with them, or no dice.

[Ltd]

a bar refused entry to one of our multi-national group on the grounds of the colour of his skin.

Did they say exactly that? Did you sell this story to newspapers?

[garethevans1986]

You did the right thing.

I blew £350 on a day ticket to Glasgow only for the large bank to turn me down. They could have done the same via Skype.

I will never spend that kind of money again unless it was for a second interview.

Same Day First Class Return? Peak Time too?

[SlipTheJab]

You did the right thing.

I blew £350 on a day ticket to Glasgow only for the large bank to turn me down. They could have done the same via Skype.

I will never spend that kind of money again unless it was for a second interview.

Agree, when the travel expenses are in the hundreds (or in this case thousands) of pounds it's not coming out of my Ltd's pocket, either the client pays or I don't go.

[Untouchable1]

How the hell would it have cost £1000 - £2000 for a sameday, or worst case overnight stay, in Switzerland?

That buys 3 sandwiches in Switzerland.

[Brussels Slumdog]

I'd have pushed for a Skype, and if they were keen, the agent should have split it with them, or no dice.

The agency pushed for a Skype interview for my current contract but the client's IT dept doesn't allow Skype on company computers. They settled for a phone interview which saved me commuting to London for the interview