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Oct 13, 2023 at 10:45 AM
As someone who temps, I always view it as a red flag when the recruiter who placed me on the assignment, tries to schedule an interview with the next prospective temp job on the last day of a current temp assignment. That puts ME as the temp at risk of losing out on a good relationship with the temp-employer, in case I ever need to get a reference for that assignment. Even though most companies won't act as references for their temps who aren't their own employees, sometimes people are nice enough to offer to act as a professional reference.
This is another reason I dislike temping. We're treated as disposable instead of with respect. We're people with lives too. Why doesn't my life matter outside of temp jobs?
I also wouldn't want to temp for a company who is so rigid with their interview schedule that they aren't interested in accommodating their job candidates schedules.
Quote:
does it look bad to be unavailable on one of the dates an employer suggests for an interview? — Ask a Manager
Decent employers know that candidates have lives outside of their job searches, and do not bristle when a candidate has a pre-existing commitment. The person who told you that you should cancel non-refundable travel in order to make yourself available at all possible times has a really messed up relationship with job hunting and/or power dynamics. That kind of kowtowing to employers will actually make you a less attractive candidate, not a more attractive candidate. (I would be appalled if I found out a candidate cancelled non-refundable travel — or any travel — rather than tell me that they couldn’t interview on a particular day. I’d also be concerned about their judgment.)
It is normal to have other things going on in your life, it is normal to have other commitments, it is normal to have times on your schedule that won’t work, and it’s normal to explain that to employers. Assuming you’re not making yourself impossible to schedule anything with, it would be a massive red flag if an employer bristled at the fact that you are a human with a life.
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And...
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employers with rigid interview days and times — Ask a Manager
In general, employers should do what it takes to interview their top candidates. Hiring the right person rather than the almost-right person makes such a difference in how well that person will do once on the job that employers should be willing to be flexible on interview dates and times. It’s in their best interest not to put up barriers to their top candidates being able to interview with them.
But there are contexts where employers have legitimate reasons for not being able to be flexible with their interview windows — a decision-maker is going out of town or is in from out of town for the interviews or has really limited availability, or they’re involving multiple people whose schedules are difficult to coordinate, or they’ll lose a top candidate if they don’t make a decision quickly.
And of course, there are also some jobs that are low level, easily filled, and attract enough interest from enough good candidates that employers can be pretty inflexible on interview times and still have plenty of people to choose from. In that case, it’s a business decision: If they know they’re going to end up with hires they’re happy with from the pool of people who can interview when they want them to, there’s no real business need to do anything differently. (But this is a pretty narrow category; for most jobs, you want to be sure you’re getting the best person you can.)
But whenever an employer is being very rigid with their interview schedules, they should acknowledge their inflexibility, note that they understand it may be an inconvenience for you, and if possible explain the reasons for it. That’s especially true when they’re asking you to interview with very short notice.
If they seem to understand that what they’re asking isn’t ideal and can give you some context for why they’re asking it of you, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. It’s employers who are cavalier about it and don’t seem to realize how it must come across who are alarming — those are the ones who are more likely to also have little consideration for your life outside of work after you take the job.
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And...
Quote:
do prospective employers expect me to take time off work for interviews? — Ask a Manager
When you’re interviewing, you’re usually going to be expected to take time off to accommodate your interviewer’s schedule. Most places with typical business hours (like 9-5 or 9-6) are going to conduct interviews during those hours. It’s possible you’ll find an interviewer who’s willing to meet with you at other times, but those are usually the exception; most interviewers don’t want to come in early or stay late any more than anyone else does, so if they’ve got other promising candidates who are available during business hours, you might be out of luck.
There are exceptions to this. Some interviewers will go out of their way to make scheduling easy on candidates. And if you’re an exceptionally strong candidate, more places will be willing to do that for you. But generally, assume you’ll probably be expected to interview during their work hours.
You can ask about options though! It’s fine to say, “It’s difficult for me to take time off from work without a lot of notice. Would it be possible to meet earlier in the morning, like 8 am, or after 5:30 pm?” Who knows, they might say yes. But if they say no, then at that point the question is whether you’re willing to make it work on your end or not.
But you shouldn’t be expected to make yourself available on a moment’s notice — at least not if the place you’re interviewing is reasonable. Good employers know that candidates have other things going on in their lives and won’t expect you to be available the very next day. Some good employers might ask if you can meet on short notice, but they’ll generally accompany it with something like “I know this is very late notice but we had a spot open up if you happen to be available” and will be willing to offer other times if you need them to. It should be fine to say, “I can’t do tomorrow but I’m available on Friday or most afternoons next week.”
If an employer tells you they’re moving quickly and need to talk with candidates in the next few days so they can make a decision by the end of the week … that’s such a fast and rigid timeline that it’s almost certainly a place that cares more about hiring quickly than hiring the best person. You might be fine with that — but make sure you’re taking note of it and adding to your other observations about it what it might be like to work there. At that point, though, you’d need to decide if you’re interested enough in the job to contort your schedule to make it work with theirs.
Sometimes all of this can be easier on you if you ask to meet at the very start or end of the employer’s business day. If you can schedule the interview for, say, 4:30, it can be easier to tell your employer you need to leave at 4 for an appointment rather than taking off a big chunk in the middle of the day.
But yes, it’s generally at least a bit of a pain.
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