Can't get time off for a job interview

Succamo

Hello all,

I am in a bit of a predicament and I was hoping for some advice.

I got the news yesterday that I have been offered an interview at a higher paid job with more security etc.

Now my predicament is at my current employment,
My one colleague has been signed off sick for a week and the other will be on holiday the day of my interview so there is no way I would be able to book it as holiday as there is no cover. I also wouldn't be able to book half a day. If I pull a sickie I will be in alot of trouble as the whole department will be down for the day. I really don't know what to do and don't want to miss out on this opportunity. I also don't want to try and rearrange the interview because I feel that makes it sound like I don't really care about the job. Can someone please give me some advice on what to do I'm so frustrated.

Thanks

TELLIT01

You really only have two options. One is to pull a sickie, leaving your existing employer in the lurch and taking the risk that they will discover the real reason for your absence. The other is to contact the company offering the interview and asking for an alternative date, or an interview as late in the day as possible. Explain the reasons to them. If anything it could work to your advantage that you don't want to leave your current employer with no cover.♠

bugslet

As an employer, I take it as a positive sign if someone was to ring and say how much they want to come to the interview but unfortunately due to sickness and holidays, your coming to the interview would leave no one in the department. Would it be possible to reschedule the interview.

That would be telling me that you are a team player and conscientious without you saying anything else.

Succamo

Thank you very much both! I am going to ring in the morning and explain my situation and hopefully rearrange!

[Deleted User]

This was me a week ago, I wrote the employer the most heartfelt email along with offering a solution and you know what they came back to me next day and I so got to meet them. :) 2 hours after the interview I was the luckiest lady and I'm still putting them out in honesty. Can't believe I nearly didn't make it and gave up as couldn't bear the thought of letting family down neither. The power of an email reply...

OK so they did make it clear "Well we are unlikely to find anyone local with your experience"

Please ask to re-arrange and give a date you can meet as really I shouldn't have been seen until today or tomorrow. Admittedly I believed I wouldn't be hearing until now so giving notice become a bodge up (karma definitely!!) I was cursing the only time I travel from home on the only annual leave I had booked was the time all the interviews popped up at one point and was feeling so sick this time a week ago!

bugslet

Good luck - their response may tell you something about the culture of the company!

PasturesNew

Phone to try to rearrange the interview. If that's a no go, you have no choice but to keep the interview when it is ... and throw a sickie.

How big are your b4lls?



Good luck. It's never easy when you have a job to attend interviews as you're often just "told when it is" without any consultation.... the cheeky domineering b4rstewards

Cheeky_Monkey

I wouldn't recommend throwing a sickie as it's likely to jump up and bite you on the backside if you get the job and need a reference.

It wouldn't be too difficult for your current employer to work out that your 'sick day' was probably not a coincidence

getmore4less

We had multiple solutions if prople had difficulty with the date/time we proposed.

Chose a differnt mutualy agreeable date if soon enough.
Initial telphone interview.
early but preferably late after normal hours.
last resort weekends.

some of these require a second go but you get past the fit was wrong anyway.

eg if a telphone interview had both sides keen to go further we would be a bit more flexible and be prepared to wait if it was just a week(ish) till they could come in.

TBagpuss

bugslet wrote: »

As an employer, I take it as a positive sign if someone was to ring and say how much they want to come to the interview but unfortunately due to sickness and holidays, your coming to the interview would leave no one in the department. Would it be possible to reschedule the interview.

That would be telling me that you are a team player and conscientious without you saying anything else.

I agree. It does depend a bit on the employer and job -if they have people coming in from several locations to sit on an interview panel then rearranging can be tricky, but it is definitely worth contacting them to ask.

As an employer, we'd have no problem rearranging to a different day, we've also sometimes done interviews out of normal working hours. (My own interview, back when I first joined here, was on a Saturday, and only last week we did an interview at 5.30 because the candidate couldn't get time off work due to holiday absences)

Stylehutz

Interviewers should always work around the candidate. Only exception being if you have a panel it might be difficult to get them all together at the same time.