Include a mistake that cost extra when asking for reimbursement after faculty interview?
Assuming they liked your presentation, and consider putting you on the shortlist, but are not sure at which position compared to some other candidate; now, reflect, which impression this makes.
- You made a nontrivial mistake which is also quite costly.
- You ask them to cover that mistake of yours.
Even if they would be willing to do so (and assume it would be eligible at all, which is also not clear - why should they reimburse you for your mistake?), consider how this comes across.
Unless you really are in dire need of the money (and it's not clear you are going to get it anyway), it's probably the wise thing to let things be.
I actually made a much worse mistake when interviewing for the job I currently have (I booked the plane ticket for the wrong month), and paid a few hundred dollars out of pocket to make the change. I don't actually think it would have made a difference, but I was honestly too embarrassed to even try to ask for it.
The risk/reward difference is such that it's probably better to just keep your mouth shut, but I do find the other answers oddly ignore a crucial issue: there is no unitary "they" who is both making a decision about your job and the reimbursement. Of course, it comes from the same institution, but not really the same people. Your reimbursement will probably go directly to a secretary, and be signed off on by the chair without her/him even really looking at it. At my own institution, I doubt anyone would even notice if you sent in both receipts (maybe the secretary would think it was odd for a moment, but s/he has other stuff to worry about). Of course, there is some chance that it would be questioned, or go over some limit, and then maybe the secretary would mention it to the chair (or the chair might notice the bill being unusually high), and maybe the chair would mention it to other people in the department. That is the risk.
When do you need to submit your expense report by? Is it possible to delay submitting your expense report until after they have reached a decision? This may allow you to submit the expense report with the expense without it impacting your ability the secure the job.
Looking at whether the expense is valid is an interesting question but in my experience, things like this are a cost of doing business. The University always has the option of not accepting your expense report if they don't think it is a valid expense.