job interview while employed...

[lonestar]

How do y'all handle going taking a half day or even a day off for a job interview? What do you tell your employer - doctor's appointment, family function, surgery, ect? Or do you be honest and tell them you have a job interview...

[allie1105]

All of the above work - I usually go with doctor appt or tell them I want to take a vacation day - they don't usually question it :)

[WorkInProgress]

How do y'all handle going taking a half day or even a day off for a job interview? What do you tell your employer - doctor's appointment, family function, surgery, ect? Or do you be honest and tell them you have a job interview...
Why do you have to tell your employer? They're not your mother. If you're using PTO, then it's none of their business.

[wordsmith]

I never tell employers I have a job interview. And I never lie (excuses are so blatant, esp. when you have a lot of them in rapid succession). I take a personal day or a vacation day.

Mine generally are never close enough by to be a half-day thing.

[lonestar]

not that I can't take a personal day, but they will ask for a reason...I do get a lot of paid time off and I rarely use it (I called in sick once this year, and I used two of my vac days for a wedding), but they seem to want to know why around here...

[cache]

"I have a personal appointment." That way it could be with anyone from a doctor to a financial planner to a school counselor


If they inquire, which employers should be smart enough to know they shouldn't, tell them the truth.

[WorkInProgress]

not that I can't take a personal day, but they will ask for a reason...I do get a lot of paid time off, but they seem to want to know why around here...

Mental health day? Because you feel like taking a break? Because you're taking a personal day to get recentered? Because you want to? Because you want to be able to sleep in? Because you have a bunch of PTO and you don't want to lose any of it at the end of the year? Because you're taking a day to visit a friend?

[paiger81]

I used sick day once & "Need to take care of a personal matter" twice, because I used that language, no one questioned it. After I was pretty sure the job was a lock, then I fessed up.

[psu1ski17]

If you tell them why, they may try harder to have you stay... (IE better tasks, more pay) It's worked that way here before. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and all that. Of course depending on the company, it could work the opposite way.

[wordsmith]

I would only do that if I were 100% sure my employer was inclination/resources to fight to keep me. And, actually, mine might (well, inclination, anyway, resources, no). Othrwise, I wouldn't gamble. Most of us, unless we're highly specialized are basically expendible at this point in our professional lives, and there's a jobless recent grad ready to take our jobs in a heartbeat.

[paiger81]

If you tell them why, they may try harder to have you stay... (IE better tasks, more pay) It's worked that way here before. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and all that.


Given that he works for a state run university. I am 99.9% sure that will not happen

[psu1ski17]

I would only do that if I were 100% sure my employer was inclination/resources to fight to keep me. And, actually, mine might (well, inclination, anyway, resources, no). Othrwise, I wouldn't gamble. Most of us, unless we're highly specialized are basically expendible at this point in our professional lives, and there's a jobless recent grad ready to take our jobs in a heartbeat.

Hmm.. I guess I take for granted that I work in an area where there is kind of a shortage. (DoD Engineering)

[shimma]

Hmm.. I guess I take for granted that I work in an area where there is kind of a shortage. (DoD Engineering)

LOL, our job market is not the real world.

OP -if you're going to be interviewing a ton, invent a medical condition. If they try to cross-examine you, tell them it upsets you to talk about your problem and besides if they keep asking you, you'll report them to HR. Easy peasy.

[yankeeyosh]

I just take a vacation day or personal day. If it's a desperate situation, I call in sick...but I try not to do that.

[CityGal]

I schedule the interviews during my lunch. If the interview takes longer than an hour and if my boss asks, I tell her I was at the doctors or I'll email her before I step out and tell her I have a doctor's appt.

[Nehalem58]

Dentist appointment works the best. I am in the same boat. I have an interview for the place I really wanted to work at, but I took this other job cause nothing else came up.

[wordsmith]

None of those "do it over lunch," or "take an afternoon off and say it's a doctor's appt." cuts it, though, if you're interviewing several hours away, as is typically the case for me. So vacation days, it is.

[MrNCG23]

If you can, do it mornings before work or evenings after work. If the interview is too long for that, use an excuse like others have mentioned or "personal situation" - which is none of their business by definition.