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I've been working while on a temp-to-perm contract, and recently a couple friends have helped to directly refer me to their companies - the recruiters of both companies promptly scheduled me for interviews next week with hiring managers, after the initial phone screening interviews went smoothly.

I haven't told my manager about this yet; how could I do so effectively, and without upsetting him? I will need to be out of the office for a few hours each time, in order to attend my interviews.

Naturally, a full-time offer is valuable to me, especially one that is gotten by the help of a friend and former colleague.

Thanks,

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  • can you not use your leave?
    – Neuromancer
    Oct 13, 2018 at 17:10
  • @Neuromancer I'm on a contract with no vacation time.
    – Jalapeno Nachos
    Oct 13, 2018 at 17:11
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    No, you are not. NOONE (!) works all year with no rights to vacation at all. That is slavery. I do contracing for more than 25 years now and guess what, while the contract does say "pay per hour" with no time off, I always inform my client that yes, I need a couple of days off when I need them. Inform, not ask.
    – TomTom
    Oct 13, 2018 at 17:24
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    @TomTom in the us it isn’t unknown to have no vacation time for the first year.
    – Joe W
    Oct 13, 2018 at 17:27
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    As contractor? Really? Whow. Sounds like some third world country. Seriously. I can not imagine working under such conditions.
    – TomTom
    Oct 13, 2018 at 17:29

2 Answers 2

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I haven't told my manager about this yet; how could I do so effectively, and without upsetting him?

You should ask for time off because you have an appointment. You don't need to specify the details of the appointment. That said, most manager will be able to guess. And most of those managers will understand that these things happen. You could offer to make up the missed time, if that's important to your current project.

For future interviews, you should try hard to make them before or after your scheduled work. Most employers would be happy to accommodate you.

If you can't do that, try to arrange them to avoid impact as much as possible on your current projects. Try not to miss important meetings, or important deadlines.

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Generally the advice is don't tell your manager that you have a job interview. That makes them not trust you and nervous that you will quit any day now.

That advice might be different if you are on a contract with a deadline. The temp-to-hire is like that. Your manager knows your goal is full-time employment. They either will make you an offer if they like your work, and they have the budget, or they will risk you leaving. Letting them know you are getting nervous about the end of the temp period can be beneficial to getting them to make a decision.

You are on a probationary contract with no benefits. Therefore no specific vacation and holiday pay. You have to review your contract to see if you have to charge 40 hours every week to use all the money before the contract runs out. Your contract or some sort of handbook should specify how to inform them you will be out of the office for a short appointment.

Normally people hide interviews by calling them doctors appointments. This works great when they have one bucket of PTO instead of separate vacation and sick leave accounts. Many people make the interviews for the start or end of thee day to mask what is going on.

Unless the time remaining on the contract is very short I wouldn't schedule more than one or two in a week, otherwise it can impact your performance.

If you are going to tell them, be polite, tell them you want to give them a heads up that you are interviewing. Remember the goal is to get them to hire you, not to get them to fire you.

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