Hi there,

It sounds like your work place experience is a bit different from mine, but to answer the original question, I would bring it up during the first interview, and reasonably promptly.

I would do this because as an interviewer, I'd be pretty peeved if I've spent a couple of hours of my time reviewing the person's CV and transcripts etc and doing 2-3 rounds of interviews with them, only to find out that they actually aren't interested in the job I've advertised. I would feel like they'd mucked me around, as I'd been clear about what role was on offer, and they weren't actually wanting to take it up.

If it was clear from their CV that they wouldn't be able to do full time (eg: if it says they're studying part time, etc, or volunteering with an organisation a day a week or something) then I would clarify with them early on, because for the roles I interview for, it's pretty important that I can be sure they're going to be in the office Monday to Friday during business hours - unless we're actively looking for a part time worker. If their CV impressed me enough that I would consider a more flexible arrangement, I'd want to discuss that first - and might even call and clarify on the phone before having them come in - because I wouldn't want their or my time to be wasted.

If they called me up and said, "Hey, Peanutter - I am very interested in the xyz role, but I actually would be wanting to do it on a [whatever time] basis. I believe it could work really well because [whatever - but showing me they've thought about it, or done it before, or have good time management and organisational skills]. I'm keen to come in to discuss the role with you further." then if it was feasible, I'd probably go ahead and do the interview - because they've been proactive and respectful, and are showing me they're on top of it, suggesting that they're going to take ownership of the role, and if they can do that about the interview, they should be able to do that about the role itself, ITMS.

Kind of like what it sounds like wysiwyg did, with hers.

But if the first I heard of it was at the point of making an offer (which would be after no less than two interviews - one with me, one with the Directors, and sometimes an in between one with the CEO) I'd be pretty unimpressed, and I suspect that would be pretty similar around in my industry. I suspect they wouldn't get the role, and wouldn't be considered for future roles from that company. It would come across as sneaky or disingenuous, and rather than feeling, "oh, I really liked this candidate, and I'm invested in it now, let's just go ahead" I'd more likely feel, "wow - thanks for wasting my and my colleagues' time, dodged a bullet there."

This isn't a criticism of part time or flexible work - while I was studying and working in industry, I had to negotiate working hours basically every semester, as my class schedule would change, and I'd negotiate it out with my employer(s) to make sure I could keep up with the demands of both. But that was discussed right up front - before even the first interview, because if it wasn't something which would be on the table (and with loads of places I wanted to interview at, it just wasn't, and they wouldn't interview me) I didn't want to waste time or burn bridges I might traverse later.

Is there someone at that workplace you could ask?