I’ve managed to get myself into the position of being asked to fly in for a second interview for a company in an area that I really want to work in. Unfortunatly, they don’t interview on Fridays and have asked me when it would be best to schedule an interview. My probelm is that after doing a little research on flights the shortest the trip is going to take is 5 hours so I don’t see any good way to make this a one day affair.
I’m wondering two things first of all when would be the best time to plan the interview? My current thinking is on May 17 since it would give me time to get some new cloths and take the time off of work but I’m not sure that a Monday morning would be the best time to interview especially with a deadline so I could fly home that night.
On the other hand if I do it any other way I’m going to need at least two days off from work, which I have the vacation for, but I’m unsure how to take off two days from work to interview without letting anyone know the real reason. Any suggestions?
And the way to do this is to book it all without your boss’s knowledge, and then on Sunday night (maybe Saturday night) ring him up and say that a personal matter has arisen, you have a flight home on Monday afternoon, and will be in work on Tuesday.
Do you really need to explain why you’re taking off from work? I mean, if you use sick time, you kind of have to “prove” that you were sick, but if it’s vacation or personal days, that’s your business. Do they quiz you on why you’re taking off? I’d suggest just putting in for the vacation days and leave it at that. If they were to be nosy enough quiz you, just say you’re taking a long weekend to visit family.
I recently had to do something similar - only two weeks in a row. Both trips included flying cross country and back, to different cities.
First, your employer doesn’t need to know why you need the vacation time. You need to “take care of personal business” or the like, or you’re making a short trip - the opportunity just came up and you can’t pass it by. Or just “I need a couple of days off” with no explanation.
Depending on where you live, is there a reasonably close airport that has more trips in and out? For example, for one of mine, I flew out of Phoenix instead of Tucson because I could get back the night after my interview.
I guess I was just over thinking the situation. I still worry that my boss will ask questions about me taking a day of vacation on a weeks notice but it shouldn’t be anything that I can’t work around.
As far as the flights go both ends are several hours from the next airport so while the flight time might be less the drive time more then makes up for it. Now I just need to send of my responce and see what they think about a Monday interview.
I sort of understand your “Monday thing”.
I always avoid doing any business dealings on Mondays - most people had weekend fever and left a bunch of work on their desk Friday - and now are in a pissy mood come Monday.
Mondays are really horrible days to go to the DMV, or deal with a bank or any other matter where the customer service person you deal with makes a difference in how thing turn out, or the speed of the results. I usually make those calls on Friday, about noon, and find people are more than happy to help out and seem to be in a far better mood as they glance at the clock and know their weekend starts in a matter of hours! Things usually move at a faster clip as well to get you in and out.
However, an interview is a different story…I would imagine those who do the interviews would appreciate the excuse to meet with you, do a lunch, or whatever - and get away from the usual stuff they have to do. This could be a good time for an interview - they are fresh, looking for a distraction from day-to-day work, and might appreciate meeting a happy, smiling face on Monday!
Yes, just say you have a family matter to attend to and let it go at that. There’s no need to explain more and don’t respond to questions about details. Your boss can conjecture on your true reasons, but so what? If you’re really concerned about it, then just call in sick the day of your interview.
Will do, I sent off a response telling them that the best time would be in a week but I haven’t heard anything back.
The weird thing is that I got the email asking for my thoughts on the timing of a second interview Saturday night at 8 so I’m not sure what that says about the hours they work.
Don’t feel bad about lying. I never understand why people feel bad about lying to their non friends/ non family members. To them, I try to be as upright and honest as humanely possible. But to everyone else? It really doesn’t matter, unless you could potentially be outed in the future. Frankly, lying in general to everyone else makes my life easier.
