Interviewing while employed

[3chordcharlie]

I don't believe that is stealing time and money at all. Sick days are a benefit, and a portion of your overall salary and benefit package. If an employer offers sick days, you should be able to take them for whatever reason you deem appropriate. Especially if they aren't paying out for sick time that is unused.

Dental and medical insurance is a benefit, too. It doesn't mean you need to go out of your way to use them up each year.

Vacation time is time you get to use for anything you like. Sick time has conditions attached to it - you don't get to make your own conditions. If your use of sick days is outside company policy, you are stealing from them by abusing that time.

As I said, this is exactly why companies end up on short-term-disability plans, with much more draconian and inconvenient documentation requirements.

 

[NetWareHead]

You are the reason companies switch to 'short-term disability' and mandatory documentation of all (supposedly) involuntary time off, etc.

You call them 'mental health days'. The rest of us call that stealing time and money from your employer.

We're talking about using sick days for an interview, 1 day. Or sometimes I can use half a sick day by scheduling an interview in the morning and making it in at lunch. Short term disability? I'm not going away for a week, riding on sick days.

The company planned for these sick days and factored these days in to its budget. Does the company lose any more/less money if I am genuinely sick or I just wanted a day to lounge in the sun or interview? In a practical sense there is no difference whatsoever.

 

[Eli]

Yes - some places will make today your last day the instant they catch a hint that you're looking elsewhere, complete with an immediate escort out of the building.

Would that be considered being fired through no fault of your own? ie: You can then draw unemployment?

:hmm:

 

[NetWareHead]

I don't believe that is stealing time and money at all. Sick days are a benefit, and a portion of your overall salary and benefit package. If an employer offers sick days, you should be able to take them for whatever reason you deem appropriate. Especially if they aren't paying out for sick time that is unused.

My company does the same thing. Vacation days are paid out and employees can accumulate them year after year. Sick days are a use them or lose them deal and you cant carry unused sick days to the next year.

 

[Triumph]

I don't understand why it's so hard or bad to use a vacation day? Ok some jobs you have to plan ahead because someone has to cover for you, or there's a big meeting that day, or whatever. But if I have vacation time, why do I have to explain to my current employer what I'm doing? Do I HAVE to be going to Bermuda to take vacation time because otherwise it's not a real vacation? What if I want to just sit at home and play video games? If it's a matter of notification, I don't think 2, 3, 4 days notice is anything to worry about, assuming you don't have anything pressing that you're missing.

And why does it look bad if you took a vacation day to interview with someone?

 

[Rage187]

I don't understand why it's so hard or bad to use a vacation day? Ok some jobs you have to plan ahead because someone has to cover for you, or there's a big meeting that day, or whatever. But if I have vacation time, why do I have to explain to my current employer what I'm doing? Do I HAVE to be going to Bermuda to take vacation time because otherwise it's not a real vacation? What if I want to just sit at home and play video games? If it's a matter of notification, I don't think 2, 3, 4 days notice is anything to worry about, assuming you don't have anything pressing that you're missing.

And why does it look bad if you took a vacation day to interview with someone?

we are not talking about vacation days. We are talking about taking a sick day to do an interview.

Now, some people might have combined PTO. Then have at it.

If you use a vacation day, that's great too.

but if you have separate sick time from vacation and you use a sick day to go interview, some of us think it is a shitty move.

I may even add that to my interview questions. "How did you get today off?"

 

[Gibson486]

we are not talking about vacation days. We are talking about taking a sick day to do an interview.

Now, some people might have combined PTO. Then have at it.

If you use a vacation day, that's great too.

but if you have separate sick time from vacation and you use a sick day to go interview, some of us think it is a shitty move.

I may even add that to my interview questions. "How did you get today off?"

How would you be able to tell if they were being truthful?

 

[Rage187]

How would you be able to tell if they were being truthful?

I go De Niro on them. Human lie detector.

 

[Exterous]

That's a good point. If they request to contact current employer and you say no are you more or less screwed?

Most places should understand that you don't want them to contact your current boss. For my last two interviews I have asked that they not contact my current employer and have not had any issues what so ever.

You shouldn't be asked why but just give some excuse (doctor's/dentist appointment at 11:30/1:30, you have to pick up your relatives at the airport and they decided to make their flight arrive at 12:00, etc.)

IIRC you cannot be required to explain your time off other than 'Personal reasons'. Just say that and leave it at that. That way you are not lying

And - FWIW - I would be leary of any employer that officially asks how you got the time off for an interview

 

[aceO07]

we are not talking about vacation days. We are talking about taking a sick day to do an interview.

Now, some people might have combined PTO. Then have at it.

If you use a vacation day, that's great too.

but if you have separate sick time from vacation and you use a sick day to go interview, some of us think it is a shitty move.

I may even add that to my interview questions. "How did you get today off?"

I gotta remember to not apply for your company.

 

[3chordcharlie]

We're talking about using sick days for an interview, 1 day. Or sometimes I can use half a sick day by scheduling an interview in the morning and making it in at lunch. Short term disability? I'm not going away for a week, riding on sick days.

The company planned for these sick days and factored these days in to its budget. Does the company lose any more/less money if I am genuinely sick or I just wanted a day to lounge in the sun or interview? In a practical sense there is no difference whatsoever.

Yes, there is a difference. The company loses much more money if you make a point of taking all your sick days, some of which are really just vacation.

Your company does not plan on every employee using every sick day. Sick days are just self-insurance by the company; if they find their cost of abused sick days too high, they will purchase outside insurance instead, with the accompanying requirement of better documentation.

Now, if the only reason you ever took a sick day was for a job interview, that would be understandable, and would have little effect on your company's bottom line, given that it is likely rare.