When to ask new employer

[lizlemon19]

Is it acceptable to ask for certain vacation time when accepting a new job? I interviewed last week, and they have checked references. They called today and said

I had already booked 3 days in June and a week in August. There are also 2 trainings I paid OOP for, but would be relevant to this job. Should I ask before I officially accept?

The catch is this job is temporary (10 months) filling two maternity leaves. They said if it works out They may be able to find me something within the agency. I feel I need to prove myself.

[crashgizmo]

I would (and have) done this if I had a paid for, important trip scheduled. Basically, if you can't get the time off you won't take the job type of situations. I don't know if either of the trips you have planned are negotiable, but I would be prepared to give a little if they won't go for 2 trips. Just my thoughts.

As for timing, I would share the information as part of your negotiation (if applicable). At my current job, I did not negotiate salary because I had a 10 day trip planned like 2 weeks after I was supposed to start and I wanted to ensure I would get that time off.

[lime]

How long is each training session for, a week?

I would ask during the negotiation process. That said, I think it is really NBD to have a few weeks off over the course of 10 months. No reasonable person can expect you to work that long without downtime.

[v]

Congratulations! Now is the time to bring it up, but it likely won't be a problem (particularly if you're willing to take it unpaid if you won't get paid vacation and/or will not have accrued the time by then).

www.askamanager.org/2008/06/pre-planned-vacation-when-job-hunting.html

www.askamanager.org/2013/03/short-answer-saturday-7-short-answers-to-7-short-questions-29.html (item 2)

[lizlemon19]

The trainings are just one day local things. The week in June we are just going camping, so would be fine with Mon to Tues off.

The week in August we rented a house. I am hoping it won't be an issue.

[lizlemon19]

Thank you!

[monsterz]

Bring it up now. I would also suggest asking for it to be unpaid as opposed to going in the negative. Getting out of a negative balance is next to impossible.

[v]

Oh, and if it makes you feel any better, I worked 3 days at my new job and then took a week and a half off It is hard to plan these things.

[gibbinator]

I had my wedding and honeymoon booked and paid for when I interviewed for jobs. I let my new job know after receiving an offer that those dates weren't flexible but that I didn't have any other firm plans. It was nbd

[ECB]

Now is the time to ask. And really- you are not the first person this has happened too. I think employers are VERY used to being informed of already planned vacations. We still live our lives even when we're job hunting.

[aurora]

Totally fine to ask, and I can't imagine they'd expect you not to take a single vacation or training day in 10 months even if you're filling in for others on leave. It's not like you're asking for 2 months to road trip through South America.

ETA - and let us know how it goes.