How to get time off for interviews while working

Question

Hi,

I was wondering what was the best way to go about getting time off from my current company for consulting interviews.

From my past experience, interview invitations have usually only been sent out a week or two in advance, so it might be tricky to get permission to take that day off work at such relatively late notice.

Is there a particularly good way around this? Shall I pre-empt by booking time off around the dates I generally expect interviews to be scheduled for?

Furthermore, what shall I tell my current employer - that I am going for interviews? I obviously don't want to harm my status at this current company if the interview doesn't work out and I stay.

Thanks

Answer 1

Schedule interviews as per below (whichever is feasible) to minimise disruption to work day. Request HR to consider accommodating you:

early morning (830am)
lunch time slots
late evenings (after 5pm)
Friday afternoons

If you know the interview schedule, plan and take days off (holidays) on those days. Take a sick day here there and that's okay, doctor appointment, personal appointments etc- dont over do this obviously.

And no need to tell your current company that you are interviewing. Why would you?!

All the best for interviews.

Answer 2

The tricks are plenty:

Doctor appointment
Emergency personal engagement
Time-out
etc.

On the other hand - try to see if you can schedule interviews in times of the day when you expect peace and quite and hence do not need to resort to excuses most likely.

Answer 3

Hi there,

You should not tell your current employer you are interviewing!

I would recommend the following (in any order of preference):

Schedule leave/time off during the full day
Schedule a “doctors/dentist appointmnet” during the interview time
Block out that time in your calendar for “personal matters”, or get all of your work/meetings done before/after that block of time

Answer 4

Hi there,

Definitely don’t tell your current employer you are looking for another job! It will kill their trust in you.

In terms of how to reserve the time, I would recommend the following:

Take a full day off/vacation
Take a morning off

If your company doesn't allow for that short-term, the only option is to postpone the interview. Consulting companies are well aware of the problem for experienced hires and should not be a problem.

I would not recommend to schedule interviews in the afternoon and work in the morning unless strictly necessary, as you may get distracted and/or have a work emergency.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 5

Don't tell them. It won't help your career to be seen as someone who is about to leave / not committed to that job.
Try to schedule at the beggining / end of the working day (ideally Friday) or lunch time.
Say you have a doctor's appointment or any other personal issue you need to take care of at that time, so you'll be late / be out for a while / leave early.

There isn't much science here. What would you do if you needed 2 hours for something personal? You just need to think what is the “personal” thing that is credible in your situation.