Prospective job and planned vacation

[lovehoney]

I have an interview for tomorrow. It is my first interview since the Spring. I've been a stay at home mom for 9 years and have been looking for a job for over a year.

I don't want to get ahead of myself but what would you do if you had a planned vacation (in our case to wdw in January). Would you mention it in the interview or wait until/if you got an offer? If you got an offer would you not mention it at all and just cancel?

We are planning on going with friends at a discounted rate. We are not locked into anything, just a hotel reservation with a deposit that is refundable. We were planning to tell the kids at Christmas so they don't know. However, our friends kids know and may have leaked it to DS10.

 

[christinou]

Do not mention it in the interview. When you get a job offer that can be part of the discussion tell them you have a planned vacation already paid for, and see what the response is.

 

[Poohbug]

I would go ahead and do the interview without mentioning it.

If they offer you the job, then I would bring up the trip and see how it goes over. Then you will have to decide which is your priority-the job or the trip.

 

[bpesch]

Another vote for not saying anything in the interview. But if you are offered the job it should be one of the things you tell them right off the bat. It's important to be up front and honest about anything in the future that might affect your work schedule.

 

[dakcp2001]

You tell them about that when negotiating the job offer. So if you get an offer you tell them at that point that you had this pre planned and GET IN WRITING from hr that it is ok. I got burned on that one once. They said sure no problem, then when I started training no one had heard anything about it and denied it. Another girl in my same class got hers in writing and had no issues. Lesson learned. HR doesnt always pass thiongs on.

 

[AnjieNet]

I interviewed and started a new job at the tail end of planning my wedding/honeymoon. Did not mention any of this in interviews. When I got the job offer, I did as PP and mentioned I was getting married in a month and would need such and such dates off for the wedding and honeymoon, understanding that it would unpaid time off. It was okayed and I had it written into my employment agreement. Had 3 weeks training and took off. Of course, the economy was much better then and it wasn't as much of a worry that the trip might keep me from getting the job. Just be upfront and if you have to cancel the trip, it doesn't sound like you'll be out much. If you cancel, tell them as much time in advance that you will be taking time off say next January for a WDW vacation.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I did this on my last job. I did mention it in the "final stages" (After the interviews etc..) I was also very clear that I realized I may not have earned vacation and would be taking it without pay (I started in March and had a trip to Europe planned for late May so no vacation ) It was not an issue.

 

[Darcy03231]

I had this happen with my current job and mentioned it at the time of the offer. I told them that I had a preplanned vacation and it wasn't an issue. I also let them know I understood that I wouldn't have earned any vacation time and would be taking the time without pay.

 

[crisi]

Mention it in the final stages. State your terms. That could be "you should know I have a vacation scheduled for a week in January. However, if that is a problem, I'd be willing to reschedule it" (the likely answer will be "not a problem") or it might be "you should know I have a vacation in January. I know that I won't qualify for paid vacation, but I will need to be gone." (if you don't care that the offer is rescinded, which is a possibility, but pretty slight).

My husband did this - not only did they not care, they even paid him.

 

[puffkin]

This has happened to me 3 times. I always have mentioned it after the job was offered as part of my acceptance negotiations. It has never been a problem.

 

[kamik86]

Most places wont' give you problems with this. As they said don't mention it in the interview (I know this isn't really the case but I think if I was interviewing someone and they said that I would be thinking "Wow first priority for them is lining up their first vacation")

Since you said you could cancel I would ask if its ok. There is a chance that time is not ok for the company/industry (My Dad works for a printer, it is understood there that Christmas card season is incredibly busy and you do not get time off between Thanksgiving and Christmas unless you have a doctors note. My husband works retail and his times are similar but some people don't think that early January for some retail jobs also is hard to get off because everyone is returning stuff and spending all those gift cards. My work it depends on your project but if they need someone to fill a position for X project and there is a big customer milestone for that project at that time, your not getting the position unless your willing to be there.

 

[lovehoney]

I had the interview and it went well. I didn't mention anything about vacation and it never came up. I think they think I am over qualified but the position sounds perfect to me. It is not as much responsibility as positions I've had in the past, but all of those positions used to make my stomach hurt. I also haven't worked full time in 9 years so this would be great to transition me back to the workforce.

I'm going to send thank you emails and I will try to figure out a way to convey how thrilled I would be to get the position. Any suggestions on what to write?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Explain briefly why you think you're just right for the position, without saying you're not overqualified. "I just wanted to say..."

And if you interviewed with more than one person, send separate, non-identical thank you notes.

 

[shortbun]

I would not say anything in the first interview. If you are invited for a second interview, you need to tell them...if you are offered the job...you HAVE to tell them.

 

[sk!mom]

I agree- wait until you are negotiating an offer. Since you can cancel, if necessary, you're in a good position.

My DH did this about 10 years ago. We had 2 weeks in Europe scheduled to celebrate a big birthday. They even paid him.

 

[vsimeone]

I had this situation with my current job. I went through three interviews but didn't mention the vacation until I was offered the job. I didn't get paid but they mentioned that it is their slowest time of year and the perfect time to take vacation so it worked out well.