To tell or not to tell...my boss i have interviews

Evilm

an9i77 wrote: »

Scarlett you make it sound like I am doing something wrong! But it's not wrong to want to move on after two years, and I think my boss understands already that the job cannot meet my development needs due to chats we've already had. Its a job - not a prison sentence.

The problem is that as far as the company is concerned - maybe not your direct boss but anyone beyond him possibly - you ARE doing something wrong. You are leaving them to find someone else to do your job.

The chances are that they could turn round and say "right, off you go then" and sack you without allowing you to find something else first.

If you believe that won't happen then tell him. If you think it could don't.

ScarlettOHara_2

an9i77 wrote: »

Scarlett you make it sound like I am doing something wrong! But it's not wrong to want to move on after two years, and I think my boss understands already that the job cannot meet my development needs due to chats we've already had. Its a job - not a prison sentence. I don't expect him to accomodate me any more than just letting me have time off for an interview which I am willing to work back by coming in earlier / staying late.

If I'd not already had lot of hospital appointments I may consider the medical appt excuse, but that to me feels like taking the p, particularly when a lot of the appointments I've had have relied on trust as I've not had to give in medical cards or anything (they have all been genuine btw) so I would feel like it was an abuse of that trust to start pretending that interiews were for medical appts

No matter what the correct answer to this problem is, it is not lying - I do not want to take this time dishonestly.

I'm not saying its wrong at all to want to move on and develop, on the contrary if you want a new job you should go and get it - I really hope you are successful.

My point was to try and consider what you want from the work perspective and how their view could impact you. By understanding their point of view you could try and use that to your advantage. It sounds to me like your workplace is really stretched and there is only a very limited amount of flexibility to be had. As a manager I would want to use that flexibility to keep my most committed staff motivated and happy. By signalling that you are going for a job elsewhere you can't be on that list of committed staff. It doesn't mean that you aren't doing your job or are bad at your job - it just means that right now you aren't top of the pile for people I need to keep happy.

It things aren't as tight as all that and I've misunderstood then I'm sorry. A lot of places can cope when people ask to come in early to leave early. If its as easy as asking if you can come in an hour early and leave an hour early and it doesnt affect anyone then just saying you have an appointment should do it. I work in an office and it's usually that easy. If it was a shop or operations department and I had to cover peak periods, lunches etc then it would be really difficult.

I really do caution you to think twice before telling your employer that you are looking for another job though. It is highly likely to damage your working relationship with your employer. If you get another job quickly then it probably doesn't matter too much. If it took six months to find another job then that might be different.

Even if your employer knows that you are looking for another job then they dont have to give you the time off for appointments. It's rubbish for job seekers but generally that's the way it is, for now at least.

I really do wish you good luck. The last thing I would say is if you are already ill then it is not worth worrying over and making yourself worse. Risking the fallout with your boss may be the best course of action if the alternative is being sicker.

warehouse

Don't, under any circumstances tell your boss. What if he decides to make life difficult, what if your colleagues find out and there's a conflict on days off, what if you don't get any of the jobs and are stuck there?

Keep it to yourself and find any excuse to get the time off.

Savvy_Sue

an9i77 wrote: »

but if it gets to the point where I am prevented from taking time off when an interview is actually scheduled I will have to just bite the bullet and come clean (in an 'I didn't want you to find out but I've no option but to tell you' kind of conversation) .

You do realise that even if you have that conversation, your manager can still say "I'm sorry, I still can't let you have time off then"?

You said your dept was under-resourced. I don't know what your job entails, but if it's one where there have to be a certain number of 'bums on seats' at all or certain times of day, I'd do my best to ensure that those bums were lined up before asking for the time off - swaps, favours, whatever.

Then I'd approach with "I've got something personal I need to do on Friday morning, I should be in by 11 and I've checked with Fred who will cover for me until then, is that OK?"

Do this often enough and your boss may come straight out and ask "are you going for interviews?" Then you have a choice between the truth, and "Do you mind if we don't talk about this now?"

BTW, if you normally dress smarter for interviews than for everyday, I'd smarten up every day. We could always tell when someone had been for an interview without taking the whole day off.

an9i77

Thanks for all your replies. Of course, if I can get away with not telling my boss I will, but I've already used the personal appointment can I leave early excuse for the interview on Tuesday, and booked off next Friday morning as leave for the second interview. If it literally gets to the point where I am unable to get the time off, then I have decided I will tell him and offer to come in early/late that day - although we are under resourced it's not like we have to have a certain number in at any time, so long as the work gets done that day/week.

I really don't think he would be so vindictive as to stand in my way and prevent me from going to an interview. He knows that my developmental needs are more than he can offer, as we've had discussions about this and he said he would provide development but it never happens so I have now lost faith.

As I've been there two years he couldn't just sack me. The worst is, it would be slightly awkward until I get a new job (which I don't think will take more than a few months) but as I hate working there anyway it will be just one more thing, and I can put up with it if I know there's an end in sight.

BTW the medical problem whilst serious, is treatable, and I've nearly finished the course of treatment so whilst I have had time off for this it's (hopefully) not going to be an ongoing issue or something that will prevent me starting anew job. But because he's been generous with time off for this, at the company's expense, I really feel like I don't want to start lying to him for time off (and let's face it the reason most people would give for needing time off in the day suddenly is medical) as this would feel like an abuse of his generosity.

getmore4less

IF you can try to arrange the interviews on the days you have booked allready.

hospital appoinments often only need s few hours .

agree with others if possible try to get early late hospitals so you don't need full days holiday or none at all if the job can be flexable, then do the same for interviews.

Many places are sensitive to the issue and will do interviews to fit, they will have enough unemployed applying to take the normal work time slots.

If local what about trying for the long lunch break to fit in an interview.

ONe thing we used to do when recruiting was telephone interviews to try to reduce the number of people we would invite in it gave both a chance to see if there was a fit.

jfh7gwa

an9i77 wrote: »

Does anyone on here have any experience of telling their boss they were going for interviews, and what happened?.

I've witnessed a family member and a couple of colleagues do this.

In every single instance it's turned out badly.

I think you're forgetting one important question in all of this:

"If I tell them, what's in it for me?"

You clearly haven't assessed the risks vs gains here. Gains being that it might make it easier to get time off for interviews (however unlikely it may be, for all we know your boss might be the 1 in a 10000 people who wouldn't cause problems for you)... risks being numerous. Look out for yourself first at work.

Regarding feeling as if you were "lying to him"... the decision to leave is a business decision. If your company was thinking of making 10% of its workforce redundant, do you think they'd warn you well in advance of their legal obligation , as they were just mulling it over? No? This is the reverse.

You are not wrong to want to leave. But you are being naive and unprofessional about how you're handling it - I mean this kindly - you're being too nice, and forgetting that your boss isn't your friend, he's your work colleague. Your obligations to him fall well below your own duty to look out for your own interests first.

MrSnuggles

It's the manager's job to retain staff. He will want to stop you from attending interviews if you let him know you're planning to leave.

Or it could turn out into a "Why? Are you unhappy here?" and you telling him he's a terrible manager. From there it's either a short argument on why he's a terrible manager, or simply a sack.

You have to be very stupid to tell him.

Northerness

One word....Olympics.

Tell your boss that you've applied for some volunteer positions for the Olympics (catering, stewarding etc) and may need a few days off for interviews. Tell him if you get the volunteer job, you'll be working for a week and will take the time off work as holiday.

I know a lot of people doing this (many live in the North), most employers support their staff who are volunteering at the Olympics - with it being a once in a lifetime opportunity. Just do your homework so you know what you are talking about!

http://www.london2012.com/about-us/volunteers/index.html

Slinky

Northerness wrote: »

One word....Olympics.

Tell your boss that you've applied for some volunteer positions for the Olympics (catering, stewarding etc) and may need a few days off for interviews. Tell him if you get the volunteer job, you'll be working for a week and will take the time off work as holiday.

I know a lot of people doing this (many live in the North), most employers support their staff who are volunteering at the Olympics - with it being a once in a lifetime opportunity. Just do your homework so you know what you are talking about!

http://www.london2012.com/about-us/volunteers/index.html

Can't see how that would work without backfiring. Unless you know anybody who had actually gone along for volunteers interviews. Having said you're going to be interviewed, the boss is bound to ask some questions about where you went, how you got on, what sorts of things would you be doing etc etc. You'd have to be a very good liar to blag it successfully,