Are You Willing to Travel? What the Percentages Mean and How to Answer
Are you willing to travel? How much?
Quick answer: On job applications, "percentage of time willing to travel" means the share of your working time spent away from your home office, usually counting overnight trips. Each 20% is roughly one night away per week, or one full week away every five. If you are open to travel, pick a percentage you could actually sustain for a year and, in the interview, ask what the travel looks like in practice before committing to more.
What the travel percentages mean
| Percentage on the application | Roughly how much travel | What it looks like in practice |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 10% | Up to 2 days a month | An occasional conference, training, or client visit |
| 20 to 25% | About 1 night a week, or 1 week in 4 to 5 | Regular regional client visits, monthly site weeks |
| 50% | 2 to 3 nights a week, or every other week away | Consulting, field sales, implementation roles |
| 75% or more | Most weeks away, home on weekends | Road warrior roles: travel is the job |
Employers count overnight trips. A day trip where you are home that night is usually travel expense but not travel percentage. Two roles both listed at 20% can feel very different: one night a week every week versus one full week out of town every five. Always ask for examples.
How to pick a number on the application
- Choose the highest percentage you could keep up for a full year without resenting it. Overstating it gets you the job and then the burnout.
- If the posting states a percentage, match it or go slightly above. Going below filters you out automatically on many application systems.
- If the posting says nothing, 25% is a safe signal of flexibility for most office roles. Put 0 to 10% only if travel is a real constraint for you.
How to answer it in the interview
Why the interviewer is asking this question:
Some jobs involve an element of travel. It could be travel to different work locations or it could be travel as part of the job itself, such as travel to different client locations. The interviewer wants to know if you are open to travel and whether you are travel-preferent (some people enjoy the travel component of their work) or travel-tolerant (not necessarily enjoying the travel, but understanding it is a part of the job).
The best approach to answering this question:
If you are open to travel, say so and say how much, usually noted as a percentage. Travel can sometimes be difficult to quantify as a percentage, since it usually refers to overnight travel, with each 20% indicating one night of travel per week. So travel done during the day, but returning that evening is technically not counted as business travel, although the travel itself usually is covered as a business expense. Also, 20% travel could mean overnight travel once a week or a full week out of town every 5 weeks or a full month out of town every 5 months. So it’s important to ask for specific examples of what the travel will look like if you are agreeing up front to travel requirements for the role.
An example of how to best answer this question for experienced candidates:
"I do have flexibility to travel and have done so in my most recent role, which requires approximately 20% travel. How much travel is required for this role and what are some examples of the travel that would be involved?"
An example of how to best answer this question for entry level candidates:
"I have no limitations on my ability to travel for my work and I have done extensive travel to date, including my semester abroad last year. Can you tell me more about the type and scope of travel which may be involved for this role?"
An example of how you should not answer this question:
"Well only if I’ve got a big fat expense account to draw from when I travel. Then I don’t mind, since I can pad in all the extra expenses that would make it worthwhile. Would I get to fly first class?"
About the author: Brian Krueger founded CollegeGrad.com in 1995 and is the former Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition at Amazon.com, where he led a global team of more than 100 recruiters. He is the author of College Grad Job Hunter, the best-selling entry level job search book, and has interviewed more than 10,000 job candidates over a 20-year hiring career at Fortune 500 companies. He wrote the interview advice on this page.
Similar interview questions:
Do you own your own car? Are you willing to use it for business travel?
How many nights per week are you willing to be on the road?
Is there anywhere in the world where you would not be willing to travel?
How much travel have you done in your life? Do you enjoy it?
Further review: know the answers to these Standard Interview Questions to be fully prepared for your interview!