A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:My company consists of 7 people including my manager. We are a small company but work exclusively for a major client. One of my colleagues recently left the company and the work has been redistributed to us. It's short term manageable but not sustainable and my manager has been interviewing but hasn't found the right replacement yet. Everyone is very busy. I happened to have fallen ill one day. My manager was not pleased because there were basically 2 needed people gone and the office including herself had to pick up extra work. But I had no choice but to take a sick day because I was not feeling well. The job type requires all tasks to be done the timely and same day to avoid charges and penalties. I'm seeking a career change and have been sending out resumes. I have been called for interviews but don't know how to take the time off without my manager giving me a hard time when I'm back. I have to take at least a half day off for each interview. And I don't know how many interviews it will take to find the right job. My manager and the company culture itself is nosy. My manager asks too many questions whenever I'm out sick and it makes me uncomfortable because it's private. But if I were to say so she would be offended and I would get on her bad side. It's not professional and I have seen how poorly she treats people who get on her bad side and do not want to partake. I'm trying to relocate so each interview is about 45mins from my current job location. I'm considering quitting first then putting all my efforts into sending resumes and interviewing. However there is no guarantee of when I'll be accepted for a job and I don't want to settle for any job either. I don't think it's smart to quit before accepting a job, but i don't think it's right to be going in and out of my current office either. In case it's relevant, I live in California, USA so there is at-will employment in which I can be fired anytime for any reason, including job hunting. I have savings but I still need a steady flow of income. Also, 2 weeks is the standard notice for leaving a job. What's the best way to interview peacefully and/or leave the company? Appreciate all your advice. Thank you. Reply to this Question
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female
reader, CindyCares  +, writes (19 August 2017):
 I think most responders forgot or ignore that the OP is from USA, where vacation days are a perk, not a right.
There ìs no statutory minimum employee leave from work. In theory, they could have you working non-stop year round.
In practice, companies do offer some paid vacation time ( not much. Generally 10 working days per year ) as a way to attract employees. But, also , in a wide majority of cases, with the explicit clause that vacation time must be concurred with and approved by the company in order not to clash with its productivity and regular functioning- which, then again, makes sense , and it is the same also in those countries , like in the UE, where you get a minimum of 28 days paid leave. In other words, if your company decides to close for holidays, say, 3 weeks in August, you can't say " oh no, that does not work for me, I am a winter person, I will go skiing for 3 weeks in January, instead ".
Every leave, but sick leave, must be taken in compliance and compatibility with the company's interests , and if they are already understaffed, obviously they may think this is not the best moment for you to take a lot of days off.
Which, undoubtedly, leaves you in a very uncomfortable spot, - I sympathyze but I have no brilliant solution for you.
I guess you could keep simply go on winging it, as you are doing now, by inventing a lot of emergencies, funerals , etc. Many companies see right through a sudden explosions of " deaths in the family " or " sibling's weddings " etc., but they CHOOSE to turn a blind eye , particularly if you are a good employee and if they are understaffed. A job is not like slavery - they KNOW perfectly that any time you may want to try something new , or be lured away by a better offer , and generally they are content simply with having you stay as long as possible.
Or else , you could take the plunge, quit and devote yourself with all your heart and soul to your job search. I admit I favour this solution- you say that technically it would be possible, it's not like you'd be homeless and starving, - so I'd say : believe in yourself ! If you have hopes and dreams ( and talents and qualities , of course ) and you only lack time to go after what you want, then make time. You are young and you live in a place that STILL offers a lot of upward mobility occasions , as compared to other places, so have a clear idea of what you want, then go after it seriously . When there's a will there's a way.Of course , I do realize that's easy for me to say this, from where I am, comfortably seated in front of my PC; it's not me who, in case, would have to struggle. But I sincerely believe that being brave ( not foolhardy ) pays off in life.
Third thing- but that depends on what type your boss is and how well you know her- is telling her the truth and explaining her the situation. Now if she is a control-freak bitch, that would be like shooting yourself in your foot, of course. OTH, if she is a " normal " person, why should she be angry or shocked. It's normal for a young person to want to better their position, accomplish more, earn more- or simply just to spread their wings and explore new opportunities, try their hand at something else. Gone are the days when people worked in the same company until retirement, - turnover in a work environment is a normal, accepted , unexceptional reality and someone who is not your typical boss from hell would not take it personally and may even decide to help you reach your goals. Again, though, it depends from how well you have figured her out .
A
male
reader, Riot2017  +, writes (18 August 2017):
USE YOUR VACATION DAYS, IT'S YOUR RIGHT!
Now, if you want to happily interview, just lie a little, say a relative is sick, or say your are feeling seek, your cat/mother/dog is sick, or whatever, and get out and interview. If things go bad, then quit or let them quit you, use your savings for the interviewing.
You are not a slave, you are not the company's property, so you have all the right in the world to move on. On a normal workplace you don't get a bad or ugly face just because calling sick of using your vacation days. You are a human goddammit.
It's not your problem that your manager didn't see that employee quitting, it's not your fault he is unable to find a replacement for the previous employee and soon for not being able to find a second employee once you are out.
Best luck!
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (18 August 2017): Take a day as annual leave and tell your boss you have a friend visiting from out of town that you haven't seen for years and want to meet. If you pull a sickie your new employer might find this out if they ask for a reference from your current boss.
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A
male
reader, Denizen  +, writes (18 August 2017):
 If they are short staffed they won't fire you unless you do something really bad. Over in UK we have Skype interviews sometimes which can save a lot of travel time. Perhaps that could be an option, particularly if your new potential boss understands your situation. In your situation I have even done phone interviews from a coin box because I didn't want to alert the office to my business.As for you current boss, he is probably losing sleep trying to manage and, at the moment, you are becoming part of the problem. So perhaps if you put yourself in his shoes you will understand the stress he is coming under.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (18 August 2017): In the UK you'd be entitled to interview time, and should you be attending LOTS you could just use half days here and there of your holiday allowance. If you know you're leaving anyway can you not just book half days holiday leave? It sounds like you have a poor manager, so I can understand completely not wanting to make your life hell with them. Could you join some sort of job agency and work on a freelance basis, picking up work to keep money coming in but you can turn down work on the days you have interviews? You might even be able to relocate easier by joining an agency in the area you want to live and take on short-term-work assignments. Third option, ask your manager for time to talk and explain that you are going to need to relocate and it'll be an hour away, so due to moving away you will be sadly looking for other jobs. Being upfront and acting sincere about being sorry about leaving the company but you have no other choice might just make the boss easier to handle and less likely to get unprofessional with you? You know them best though, so perhaps that approach might not work but I just feel that's the most professional way to handle things.
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