
Ask HN: How do engineers make time for job interviews/phone screens/preparation? - jobseekerThrowA
I work full-time at a mid size tech company as a senior engineer. I&#x27;m looking to make a move looking for better opportunities.<p>As a senior engineer, I have plate full with project deliverables, design for next project, bug fixes, presentation, and other meetings. How do I make time for preparing for interviews, phone screens and full-day on-site interviews?<p>Around 4 years back I worked at a big-company as a junior engineer and didn&#x27;t have many responsibilities so it was easy to vanish for couple of hours&#x2F;call-in sick for phone screens and  take off for on-site interviews.<p>Just curious how other HN folks manage job hunting. Also since I&#x27;m on H1B, I need to secure another job before I can quit existing job so quitting job and searching is not an option.
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jacalata
Preparing for interviews is your own time, like evenings. Phone screens, same
way you'd do a dentist appointment. All-day on-site, take a vacation day.

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cakes
PTO or sick days most likely if you have to do it during a normal work day.
Sometimes, if you are lucky, you may find a company willing to work around
your schedule (e.g. maybe a late-day interview) - it wouldn't hurt to ask.

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muzani
I used to interview with a lot of companies on Saturdays. It seems that some
people squeeze it into their schedule when they like a candidate.

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randycupertino
PTO and sick days... "dentist appointments" etc.

I will say I stay away from companies that want you to do an extensive try out
before there's an offer in place. I had a consulting gig that was like 20
hours of work to "see how I solved problems" I politely declined and told them
I couldn't do it without a consulting fee.

Also stay away from any jobs posted on HireArt, their whole process is to have
you do a massive "try out" before you even get through the recruiter to the
company. Terrible process, massive waste of time.

Good luck in your search!

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hnuser123
I would take day off for on-site. For preparation using PTO would be fair to
your current employee.

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jobseekerThrowA
OP here: Thanks for the responses!

Since taking a single PTO doesn't reduce expectations wrt deliverables, I
think it would be better to take off in chunks of 2-3 days or a week for
interview preparation.

