Introduction:
When one works in an organization or industry, they are bound to stick to the rules and regulations of that respective organization or industry. Sometimes, it becomes hard for working people to balance their personal life and work life. In such situations, taking a time off from their daily routine makes them get recharged again and get back to their routine. Giving some time for one’s self is highly important and it helps to reduce psychological issues in them. Be it any walk of life, self-care is a must. Even a homemaker requires some “me time” for them to get off from their daily routine. Taking a time off in personal life without disrupting their professional life is a must but how it is addressed and requested matters the most. Especially requesting time off in a new job could always be embarrassing and difficult. So, in this discussion, let’s see How to Mention a Planned Vacation before starting a new job.
New Job offer:
Everyone is working hard to reach their dream position. There are situations when one becomes tired of what work they do and decides to focus on their goal by choosing to quit their present job. There is nothing wrong with this decision because what matters at the end of the day is whether we can sleep peacefully as we are doing what we like and not being forced to do something that we don’t like. In many cases, people after quitting their job would like to revive their energies back by going on a vacation with family or friends or all by themselves. So, there are chances where they could submit their resume for new job openings and parallelly plan for their vacation.
Life is all about expecting the unexpected, so, by chance, if they could get accepted for the job interview, that too for their dream position and get selected. This would be the most happening time for them but they would need a break to bounce back and start their new position. There could be situations when one could prepone their vacation ahead of the start of the new job, then it is well and good that they need not disclose this to their hiring manager but if the vacation date collides with the date of the new job and there are no chances to alter the vacation plan, then they had to think about disclosing it to their hiring manager. Hence, how and when they spill the vacation details to their hiring manager plays a crucial role.
Let’s see a few suggestions below that might help one to mention about their planned vacation to hiring managers in their new job:
- Wait for the right time:
Though one already knows they have a planned vacation schedule that collides with the start date of the new job, it is important to know when to confess about it. One need not bring about their planned vacation during the initial interview sessions. There is no necessity to discuss one’s planned vacation plans until they are confirmed formally via email that their job is confirmed.
Before submitting their original certificates or soft copy of their certificates, they could bring up this discussion in a casual manner about the planned vacation along with major details like how important is for them to take that time off and tickets have been booked with rooms already been paid off.
- How to request a planned vacation:
Remember that the first 3 months of a new job are always critical and it is the time where superiors would analyze the performance and caliber of the new joiner. As decided, one chooses to disclose about planned vacation post they receive their offer letter from the respective company or industry. So, once they receive their offer letter, they could mention their thoughts in a polite and organized manner like
- Convey that you require a break before starting the new job
This might be somewhat scary for one to ask because have an offer letter for their dream job and any wrong move could take that dream away from them. They might also think let’s join in and then take time to analyze how the team and the supervisor are and then decide to tell them but this is very tricky and it could backfire.
Once, a person joins their job newly there are chances that they might bombard with deadline works or a new project, etc., and conveying their superior that they want time off within a few days from joining will create a bad impression on one’s professionalism. Instead, opening one’s vacation plans before the start day is a better option.
- Email one’s respective hiring manager
As soon as the person decides to inform their hiring manager about their planned vacation, the best way to communicate is through email as it will look formal and it will be a proof of reference that one has already informed about their time off. So, while writing such an email it is important not to brag with too many details and have a clear context with a polite tone.
Example email
I have received the offer letter and I’m glad to get this opportunity with KLY company to develop my career.
Since we need to finalize the details, I would like to inform you about a vacation that has already been planned.
I honestly need this time off to revive myself for the new position.
So, I will be able to start working on (date).
Please let me know if this is good to proceed.
Thank You!
- Dealing with recruiters:
Most hiring managers would agree to the planned vacation as they want their employees to be happy and healthy working with them. But there are a few things that one needs to be aware of while dealing with their respective hiring managers, they are:
- Availability Check by hiring managers:
- Almost all hiring managers would put up this question in their final interview round when they are likely to select one for their new role, that is, “whether you would be available to join us on (date)?
- The way one responds to this question is highly important. Since the person has already planned for a vacation and by what the manager says, the person knows that it clashes with their vacation plan, it is a good practice to inform that moment about their plan and when exactly they would be able to join the job.
- If a person decides to hide their planned vacation plan and agrees to the said date, later, when they receive an offer letter and write an email back to say about their planned vacation, that will backfire as it is considered being dishonest in an interview process.
- Candidate must be prepared to:
- Giving a valid reason for the time off would help to convince the hiring manager like a sister’s wedding, medical treatment, already planned commitments, etc.,
- Since these are going to unpaid leaves, it will not bother much for the hiring manager unless it is more than a week of their scheduled start. If it is going to be more than a week, then be prepared to have the correct reasoning and expect that it might not convince the hiring managers because they work for the company and they have to think for the benefit of their process.
- Have a positive expectation that the hiring managers would postpone the candidates joining date if they are suitable for the role and the process will run smoothly even if their presence is delayed for a few days.
Things candidates must not do:
- Don’t be frivolous: Since the initial days of one’s work, helps to create visibility and trust with the organization, it is important to discuss the correct details and if there are any contradictions for the hiring manager, try to plan an alternative method. Showing one’s interest in the job before starting it will help to maintain a good reputation.
- Don’t butter-off: If one is requesting time off for the days that they genuinely need, then do not negotiate about dates with the hiring manager but just stick to the exact content and do not brag with unnecessary details. For example, one could simply say ‘I need these days off’ and share the relevant details alone.
- Don’t just have an oral agreement: As a professional, the candidate must send a formal note to the hiring manager about what was discussed and agreed as there are many chances that the hiring manager might forget about that agreement since it was made orally through a phone or interview session.
- Don’t make assumptions: Suppose, during the hiring process, a candidate has informed and approved with HR about the planned vacation, it becomes the candidate’s duty to inform their hiring manager on the same at least by keeping them in the loop in all formal email conversations with the HR because there are chances that the HR might forget about the discussion and missed to update the respective hiring manager.
- Don’t have second thoughts: There could be scenarios where the candidate would fix their mind that planned vacation will affect their job opportunity but there is no such fixed rule. Organizations or industries look out for good caliber and are flexible with certainly planned vacations.
- Self-thoughts and discussions with the hiring manager:
It is important for one who is taking up a job with a planned vacation in mind, to analyze and process what might happen and what are other possibilities if the hiring manager does not agree to their plan. Remember that as the hiring manager has selected the person already, they would have set some specific job for that person based on skillset and it might not that easy to reject that person due to a vacation plan. So, the candidate should deal with it patiently and politely similar to the other negotiations while getting a new job.
Set up a self-statement in mind as to what to discuss with the hiring manager. What details to enclose and how to convey them. As explained earlier paragraphs start with the gratitude for giving this position and then get into the necessary details about the vacation plan. What needs to be disclosed purely depends on one’s mindset but it is good to project only the important details and see to that whatever one says should align with the new company’s standard and their culture.
There might be chances that the job requires the candidate’s immediate presence may be due to project needs or the position being empty and the team is striving hard daily with the overflow of workload. In such circumstances, the hiring manager may not be happy with the vacation plan, so, during such situations, it is better to have an alternate solution in mind.
The candidates must try to understand the nature of work and their necessity by getting to know the details from a manager like
- What are the activities for the first few weeks after joining?
- Pending works that need to be covered, if any?
- Will coworkers be able to cope during their absence?
- Does it require them to attend meetings or events during their absence?
These questions will help the candidate to analyze the immediate responsibilities of their job and to figure out what needs to be done during the absence.
- Provide Solutions
Post discussing with the hiring a manager about the immediate job responsibilities and needs, try to convince the manager with possible solutions that one could imply in such situations like
- Extended working hours post the vacation time off
- Offline working in later hours during the trip
- Staying available through phone for any priority issues
But ensure not to make any false promises because it might create a bad impression on the employer and the coworkers.
Conclusion:
Mostly, hiring managers would agree and they would try to be flexible. But in rare cases, if nothing works, it is better to alter the date of the vacation plan or reduce the number of days so that it does not affect the work process, also, vacation can be enjoyed at a later date without much disturbance from the coworkers. At times, things do not go as per our plans but not to get worried about that and always have an alternate approach. Eventually, at some point what we thought will happen.
