# Got a job interview saturday when I'm scheduled to work... what shall I do?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [April 29, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704 "2009-04-29T04:26:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/1 "2009-04-29T04:26:13Z")
I currently work in a fast food restaurant, and I’m searching for a new job since I moved to a town 25 miles away and I’m really sick of commuting.
The good news is that I have a job interview on Saturday at 9 AM. The bad news is that I’m scheduled to work 7 AM-10AM (yeah, a 3 hour shift… a waste of my time and gas money)
I suppose I could just lie and call in sick, but I’d like to get someone to cover my shift, and I’d like some sort of plausible excuse. I don’t really feel comfortable telling my current employer that I’m planning on leaving them until I’m sure I’m absolutely certain I’ve got a new job lined up.
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### Author:  [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/2 "2009-04-29T04:40:54Z")
Since you have several days in advance, ask your coworkers if someone would like to pick up an extra shift for you . Don’t offer an explanation. From my experience, people don’t often ask for details. Then once you’ve found someone to cover for you, let your boss know so that their ass, not yours, is on the line if they change their mind.
If your coworkers or bosses are nosy, just tell them something came up. They’ll probably assume you want to get totally wasted at a concert Friday and avoid going to work hungover or something. When people want to switch shifts like this (i.e. without a specific excuse- illness, school conflict, etc) it’s usually just that there’s something they’d rather be doing with their time. So everyone will most likely assume you’ve got fun plans, not that you’re looking for another job.
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### Author:  [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/3 "2009-04-29T06:14:39Z")
Tell them you have a Doctor’s appointment. That’s the line I used–no further questions were asked (and if they are, you just say “it’s personal”).
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### Author:  [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/4 "2009-04-29T06:21:27Z")
It’s fast food, man. You could probably call up at 8am and tell them you’re not coming and get away with it (not that I’d recommend it).
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### Author:  [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/5 "2009-04-29T07:27:25Z")
Is it possible to do shift trades there? If so, trade with someone on a later shift. If not, just make up an excuse. (i.e. you have to take your mom to the airport, you have an appointment for a physical exam, you injured yourself, etc.)
Driving 50 miles, round trip, for three hours of fast food work is definitely a bad deal. Get out of there as fast as you can.
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### Author:  [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/6 "2009-04-29T07:28:08Z")
talk to whoever is coming in at 10 and see if they want some more hours.
refuse to work a 3 hour shift with a 50 fraking mile round trip attached to it.
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### Author:  [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/7 "2009-04-29T07:33:37Z")
> [@FlyingRamenMonster](#):
>
> It’s fast food, man. You could probably call up at 8am and tell them you’re not coming and get away with it (not that I’d recommend it).
Yeah. Anything would work. Hell, their turnover is probably so high, you could just tell your manager, “I’m taking an interview for a better job that day. Hope I get it!”. Don’t - you’ve got better options; but you could.
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### Author:  [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/8 "2009-04-29T07:36:16Z")
Jeez, man, call in sick and go to the job interview! Don’t even think about it.
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### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/9 "2009-04-29T07:47:03Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#):
>
> Tell them you have a Doctor’s appointment. That’s the line I used–no further questions were asked (and if they are, you just say “it’s personal”).
Doctors usually don’t make Saturday appointments. However, veterinarians do.
Just say that you can’t afford to come in for 3 hours when you have that long a commute, and you’ve made other plans. It’s the truth. The downside is that they might try to schedule you for more hours on that day. Or just tell them that something else came up, you’re rather not discuss it, and that you won’t be available that day. This is also the truth.
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### Author:  [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/10 "2009-04-29T11:52:34Z")
Whatever it takes go for the interview. Once you ask all your coworkers to cover your shift, you’ll be in the shithouse calling in that day as sick. Don’t go out shopping after the interview after you call in sick or you’ll get spotted.
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### Author:  [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/11 "2009-04-29T12:08:23Z")
If you do call in sick, make sure you drop the line somehow that “it’s coming out both ends” so if you get spotted you are not necessarily busted.
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/12 "2009-04-29T12:14:31Z")
Last time I sat on an interview panel, as a favour to a friend, she had to reschedule one interview to suit the applicant. He was our only interview that morning. He walked in and said to Jane, his prospective future boss, “I wish we could have had this interview in the afternoon. Then I wouldn’t have had to take a sickie.”
Genius. I almost said to him, “just fuck off now and end the misery.”
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### Author:  [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/13 "2009-04-29T12:28:23Z")
If you can’t get someone to take your shift, reschedule the interview. The willingness to drive 50 miles to work a 3 hour shift when no one else will take it is the kind of thing employers appreciate. If they aren’t interested in you enough to move the interview out an hour or two, or to another day, they probably weren’t that interested or considerate an employer anyway.
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### Author:  [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/14 "2009-04-29T12:39:57Z")
> [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](#):
>
> If they aren’t interested in you enough to move the interview out an hour or two, or to another day, they probably weren’t that interested or considerate an employer anyway.
That’s not necessarily the case; they may have personnel staffing issues on their end too. For instance, my department is hiring someone and for the second interview we were stuck for small time windows on two days in the week, because of the schedule of one of the doctors. (He’s only in two half-days a week and has patients those days, so we don’t want to delay patients either.)
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### Author:  [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/15 "2009-04-29T12:55:15Z")
Having worked in HR for years, I stand by my statement. Not as an absolute, because of course you know of an exception, but as the \*probable \*situation.
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### Author:  [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/16 "2009-04-29T14:04:41Z")
I need a better understanding of where the OP is coming from. For instance, fast-food jobs are normally thought of as “disposable” and, frankly, not to be taken all that seriously in situations like the OP’s. Most all managers (with notable exceptions) and all employees understand this, so there’s an assumption of high turnover, people quitting summarily just to go to a party, etc. Not responsible and not ideal, perhaps, but it’s reality for many fast-food workers.
So, **Blalron** , what role does this fast-food job play in your life? Would tossing it away casually be unthinkable? Could you expect to easily find a similar fast-food job closer to home within short order? I know the economy is tough right now, and I don’t know your life … so I don’t want to approach your question with off-track assumptions.
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### Author:  [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/17 "2009-04-29T14:19:50Z")
Two words: Swine Flu.
They’ll beg you not to come into work.
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### Author:  [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/18 "2009-04-29T14:26:25Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#):
>
> Two words: Swine Flu.
>
> They’ll beg you not to come into work.
I will be hard to make that interview with all the reporters and health officials that show up. Especially when quarantined.
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### Author:  [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/19 "2009-04-29T16:56:19Z")
I would advise against calling in sick. I got a job once because the man that was more qualified that I called in sick to go to the interview.
I always tell them that I have a personal issue that I have to take care of! End of discussion it is personal, I do not want to discuss it.
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### Author:  [@Pammipoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pammipoo)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-a-job-interview-saturday-when-im-scheduled-to-work-what-shall-i-do/494704/20 "2009-04-30T02:27:23Z")
I reccomend giving the shift to a coworker. If you cant find anyone, talk to your manager. They’ll probably understand that the commute is not worth it, and compromise. It might just be an extra shift, and they don’t really need you. Maybe they can take pity on you and make more of an effort to schedule you longer shifts.
For what it’s worth, I’m a fast food manager. I would understand if an employee came to me and explained your situation.
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