
Ask HN: Balancing interviewing and day job? - busydev
I&#x27;m currently working as a software engineer, and I&#x27;m looking for a new role at a new company.  I&#x27;ve reached the later stages of interviewing with multiple companies, and every single company wants an on-site interview for 4-5 hours.<p>How are you supposed to manage that with a full time job?  Vacation days? Sick days? Flexing your hours?<p>I&#x27;m sure there are multiple ways to do so, but I&#x27;d love to hear some advice from those of you who have been through the process.
======
AnimalMuppet
Well, if you've got multiple companies, explain the problem to each of them.
The one with the best answer for how they will work with you is the one who
gets first crack at interviewing you. The rest get in line.

~~~
quickthrower2
This may be good advice. But what if one of them is "big advertising tech
company" and you have meta-reasons for wanting to work for them (future
signalling for example) but they ain't too accommodating on the interview side
of thigns.

~~~
kunley
Your reasoning about this company may be a wishful thinking.

~~~
quickthrower2
This is not about the company so much as the street cred of having worked for
them

~~~
scaryspooky
There are plenty of jobs that don't require Google on the resume.

------
icedchai
Sick days, doctor's appointments, car repairs, waiting for the cable guy.
Virtually any excuse will work.

~~~
itronitron
in regards to sick time keep in mind that you do not have to tell your
employer any health related information

------
Multicomp
What really gets me is the time it takes to do the interview.

I get needing 2-3 to confirm prowess and answer all of the logistics of the
working relationship, but it seems like there is waste somewhere.

I'm probably just impatient, but I'd welcome feedback on if that's just a Me
thing or if most people find nearly half a day spent interviewing to get old
pretty fast.

~~~
dabockster
No, it's not just you. Spending half a day to interview because some higher up
wanted "top tech talent" is beyond ridiculous. (Not average people that can
still do the job, oh no, it HAS to be "TOP tech talent".) There is no reason
why the interview should take more than 2-3 hours (and that's on the extreme
side) where everyone involved just sits in the same room and takes notes.

~~~
shortoncash
The bigger issue is what happens when someone commits terrible code and makes
bad architectural decisions. Firing someone is hard, but firing code that is
in active use is even harder and in some cases not possible.

~~~
dabockster
True. I have had cases where prior poor judgement has placed whoever I was
working for in a hard spot.

------
imauld
I "worked from home" a lot while interviewing.

Additional reasons I did't go in included having errands to run and not
feeling well. Depends on your current job though, my employer at the time had,
and probably still does, a very lax time off policy. It was enough to drop a
message in a public channel saying you wouldn't be in that day due to an
appointment.

------
JSeymourATL
> I've reached the later stages of interviewing with multiple companies...

Force rank the opportunities. ONLY invest your time in the top 2-3 that you're
serious about.

~~~
chatmasta
I would argue you’d be better off interviewing first with the companies you
want to work for the least. This way you can use them as “warm ups.” You’re
more likely to mess up your first interview than the later ones.

That said, if they’re all final rounds this advice might not apply.

------
dabockster
Take a day off. Fake car trouble, coughing, something.

If you have multiple interviews, try to schedule them consecutively (one per
day) so your current boss will think that you just have a cold that you don't
want to spread around the office.

------
chatmasta
They’re going to call your employer for a reference anyway. Why bother hiding
it if you’re already at final round? Just take the days off as vacation days
and if anyone asks where you are, tell them you’re interviewing for other
companies. Your boss will find out very soon anyway. It might even lead to an
offer for a raise.

You’re not a slave. You have every right to interview wherever you want and
whenever you want.

~~~
Gustomaximus
> Why bother hiding it if you’re already at final round?

You may not get the job.

A good manager, absolutely have the chat. There are also managers that would
take something like this personally and make it into an issue. e.g what if you
are simultaneously looking for internal promotion and some manager decides
this makes you look like a flight risk for the new role or any other number of
scenarios.

------
FruityFarm
Ask if you can break the onsite into 2 days. Then just make some excuse to
leave early for the day.

------
fiftyacorn
work from home

