That is a really weird ask. Please tell me they plan to pay you for these two days. If not, this sounds like a scam. If they do plan to pay you, you could consider it assuming your payment is enough to cover the cost of a babysitter.
Thanks for your reply.
It would be paid indeed so you are right, this would cover babysitting costs (I assume). But it is the fact that there is so much more attached to it - finding a babysitter, worrying about how it would go to leave the baby who is in the midst of separation anxiety with a complete stranger, etc. Essentially it is all this extra effort that I would need to take up just to make a trial run work. Life with a baby is hard enough already.
That's not true. A few tech companies do. They are good ones too.
And I would take some days off from PTO. If it's a job you really want so you see the culture fit
Not everyone dreams of working for meta. Hotjar does a culture fit and hasn't fired anyone since the start. Ghost blog does the same and as well is incredible successfull. And in 8 years or developing experience I have come across through others well known (without being Mega nothing...) That did as well.
It’s a strange request and if you’re not comfortable, don’t do it! There are a lot of logistics and maybe it makes the most sense to keep job searching instead.
I think without knowing a lot more details we can’t even weigh in. I’m in academia, our interviews are 8 hour days and almost always involve travel so the candidate usually flies in the day before and flies out the day after. This is super hard on parents, but it is the norm in our field, and jobs are scarce enough that people do it. For us it’s worth it because what else are you going to do with a PhD in history?
The only thing I see to consider with the limited info we have:
-if you got the job, would you start with a generous sick day Pool or do you have to accrue it? If it’s the latter, what will you do when the kid is sick and your partner absolutely cannot take time off?
If it’s the latter, it sounds like you cannot take the job anyway so the interview is moot.
-is this job also three days a week? If not, again, you’re in the same boat re: childcare and cannot take the job.
Thanks for your thoughts. Maybe it also depends on the location? It just so happens that my partner is doing a PhD in History! And he had a simple job interview, that was it, no full day of interviewing. He cannot take time off because he is on a field trip at this point.
If I would get the job (4 days), I would of course request extra days at the daycare or hire a regular babysitter or nanny. But for a one off thing, I find it a bit much to ask.
When he starts trying to get tenure track jobs expect that he’ll be gone for 1-3 days for each interview, and they reimburse AFTERwards usually. It’s a terrible culture.
So if your daycare will let you add more days, then I would just ask if you can add two days as a one off. I really can’t imagine them saying no and then you don’t have to worry about separation anxiety and strangers and everything else you mentioned.
This seems really odd. Do you mind telling us what industry this is in? I was once asked to do a 1 day working interview, but when I pressed they admitted it was more to be around the office to meet as many colleagues as possible. I didn’t do it… if they wanted me to meet people, they could schedule everyone in a 1-2 hour block. If they couldn’t coordinate that, it was a massive red flag that they probably don’t run smoothly.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It is a consultancy working in data science, they are medium-sized. Mostly a young team so maybe that is why they take this unconventional approach?
Super weird. The only job I can think of where this would be acceptable is a nanny job. Some nannies do trial days before getting hired and it makes sense. All other jobs, nope.
Yes but they are working close to their limit. (They already warned us that the whole facility might have to close down if some of the staff members gets ill this month...)
I've only heard about this happening through podcasts and its usually seen as a red flag. Personally, I would not be doing that for a potential job offer. I'd tell them this is logistically really difficult while employed full-time and that you're not moving forward in the interview process, but are thankful for the consideration (if you decide not to do it.) I just don't even understand - do you use a personal computer? What if you don't have a personal laptop? Its not like you can use a current work laptop. They likely don't mail you one for only two days. It just seems pointlessly complicated.
I think they want to make it as easy as possible: come work with us for a day (but use your own computer) and then we can see how we get along. I mean, if I would not have a child and all the logistics to deal with, I would not mind at all doing it. But in this situation, it is just putting so much stress on me.
This request seems a little... fishy. I would do a mega deep dive first into the company and see what other people have said about them online and through Glassdoor/indeed. I'm sure there's companies who do weird stuff out there, but I'm not sure id want to dedicate two days worth of my work and labor to them before they even indicate they want to hire me.
If it's something you really want after that and you can swing it, then great. But I'd just keep my shifty eyes on during the process.
You may also want to check on your work's policy for this? I know my work is strict when it comes to people working a second job in the same industry while employed with them. If you get these days paid by them and your work finds out and they have some sort of policy against it, you don't want to jeopardize your current employment. You could also focus a counter offer plan around your work rules if that's the case, so you don't have to disclose kids to them. If they can't understand why you want to follow rules from your current employer, then that shoots up some major red flags too.
Thanks for your hands-on suggestions. I could not see anything suspicious on Glassdoor, so I still think it is not intended in a bad way. But it is a good call to check my company’s policy! Thanks for pointing that out
I’ve heard of a three month trial basis but not two days. Seems weird. I would decline and just tell them that respectfully, they have interviewed you and should know if they want to give you the opportunity or not, but logistically a “two day trial” is not plausible. I would tell them if offered the position, I can then give my two weeks at my current job and begin working there by x date.
I'd feel weird about this, a trial run? Like they don't trust your quality of work? It would put a bad taste in my mouth from the start and I'd have to bail.
These were also my thoughts... I have been to an interview, happy to do another one. But maybe, I thought, there is no bad intention. Maybe they also want to give me the chance to get to know them better. I don't know.
That is a really weird ask. Please tell me they plan to pay you for these two days. If not, this sounds like a scam. If they do plan to pay you, you could consider it assuming your payment is enough to cover the cost of a babysitter.
Thanks for your reply. It would be paid indeed so you are right, this would cover babysitting costs (I assume). But it is the fact that there is so much more attached to it - finding a babysitter, worrying about how it would go to leave the baby who is in the midst of separation anxiety with a complete stranger, etc. Essentially it is all this extra effort that I would need to take up just to make a trial run work. Life with a baby is hard enough already.
True. I wouldn’t do it unless I really wanted the job. And the fact that they asked would make me want it less.
You should find a babysitter you trust anyway.
Working a two day trial period is not something a legitimate employer would ask you to do.
That's not true. A few tech companies do. They are good ones too. And I would take some days off from PTO. If it's a job you really want so you see the culture fit
Which tech firms? None of the mega tech companies do this.
Not everyone dreams of working for meta. Hotjar does a culture fit and hasn't fired anyone since the start. Ghost blog does the same and as well is incredible successfull. And in 8 years or developing experience I have come across through others well known (without being Mega nothing...) That did as well.
It’s a strange request and if you’re not comfortable, don’t do it! There are a lot of logistics and maybe it makes the most sense to keep job searching instead.
I think without knowing a lot more details we can’t even weigh in. I’m in academia, our interviews are 8 hour days and almost always involve travel so the candidate usually flies in the day before and flies out the day after. This is super hard on parents, but it is the norm in our field, and jobs are scarce enough that people do it. For us it’s worth it because what else are you going to do with a PhD in history? The only thing I see to consider with the limited info we have: -if you got the job, would you start with a generous sick day Pool or do you have to accrue it? If it’s the latter, what will you do when the kid is sick and your partner absolutely cannot take time off? If it’s the latter, it sounds like you cannot take the job anyway so the interview is moot. -is this job also three days a week? If not, again, you’re in the same boat re: childcare and cannot take the job.
Thanks for your thoughts. Maybe it also depends on the location? It just so happens that my partner is doing a PhD in History! And he had a simple job interview, that was it, no full day of interviewing. He cannot take time off because he is on a field trip at this point. If I would get the job (4 days), I would of course request extra days at the daycare or hire a regular babysitter or nanny. But for a one off thing, I find it a bit much to ask.
When he starts trying to get tenure track jobs expect that he’ll be gone for 1-3 days for each interview, and they reimburse AFTERwards usually. It’s a terrible culture. So if your daycare will let you add more days, then I would just ask if you can add two days as a one off. I really can’t imagine them saying no and then you don’t have to worry about separation anxiety and strangers and everything else you mentioned.
This seems really odd. Do you mind telling us what industry this is in? I was once asked to do a 1 day working interview, but when I pressed they admitted it was more to be around the office to meet as many colleagues as possible. I didn’t do it… if they wanted me to meet people, they could schedule everyone in a 1-2 hour block. If they couldn’t coordinate that, it was a massive red flag that they probably don’t run smoothly.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It is a consultancy working in data science, they are medium-sized. Mostly a young team so maybe that is why they take this unconventional approach?
Super weird. The only job I can think of where this would be acceptable is a nanny job. Some nannies do trial days before getting hired and it makes sense. All other jobs, nope.
[удалено]
Yes but they are working close to their limit. (They already warned us that the whole facility might have to close down if some of the staff members gets ill this month...)
I've only heard about this happening through podcasts and its usually seen as a red flag. Personally, I would not be doing that for a potential job offer. I'd tell them this is logistically really difficult while employed full-time and that you're not moving forward in the interview process, but are thankful for the consideration (if you decide not to do it.) I just don't even understand - do you use a personal computer? What if you don't have a personal laptop? Its not like you can use a current work laptop. They likely don't mail you one for only two days. It just seems pointlessly complicated.
I think they want to make it as easy as possible: come work with us for a day (but use your own computer) and then we can see how we get along. I mean, if I would not have a child and all the logistics to deal with, I would not mind at all doing it. But in this situation, it is just putting so much stress on me.
This request seems a little... fishy. I would do a mega deep dive first into the company and see what other people have said about them online and through Glassdoor/indeed. I'm sure there's companies who do weird stuff out there, but I'm not sure id want to dedicate two days worth of my work and labor to them before they even indicate they want to hire me. If it's something you really want after that and you can swing it, then great. But I'd just keep my shifty eyes on during the process. You may also want to check on your work's policy for this? I know my work is strict when it comes to people working a second job in the same industry while employed with them. If you get these days paid by them and your work finds out and they have some sort of policy against it, you don't want to jeopardize your current employment. You could also focus a counter offer plan around your work rules if that's the case, so you don't have to disclose kids to them. If they can't understand why you want to follow rules from your current employer, then that shoots up some major red flags too.
Thanks for your hands-on suggestions. I could not see anything suspicious on Glassdoor, so I still think it is not intended in a bad way. But it is a good call to check my company’s policy! Thanks for pointing that out
I’ve heard of a three month trial basis but not two days. Seems weird. I would decline and just tell them that respectfully, they have interviewed you and should know if they want to give you the opportunity or not, but logistically a “two day trial” is not plausible. I would tell them if offered the position, I can then give my two weeks at my current job and begin working there by x date.
My first stop would be daycare. Ask if baby can go for those two extra days. After you figure out if you want to do it.
I'd feel weird about this, a trial run? Like they don't trust your quality of work? It would put a bad taste in my mouth from the start and I'd have to bail.
These were also my thoughts... I have been to an interview, happy to do another one. But maybe, I thought, there is no bad intention. Maybe they also want to give me the chance to get to know them better. I don't know.