Phone interview during work hours

[pete6032]

You apply for a job. The potential employer calls you back and says they want to interview you over the phone at a specific time during the day, but you will be working at your current white collar office job at that time. You work in a cubicle in a quiet office where everyone can hear what's going on when you're on the phone. Nobody from your current job knows you are looking for a new job. You accept the interview time. Do you....

 

[Ns1]

It's pretty common knowledge that walking into an unused conference room on a call is code for "I'm looking for a new job and talking to a potential employer", especially if it follows "Hi this is pete6032, can you hold on a second"?

 

[cbrunny]

I did this once in my office at work. Just closed the door and talked on the phone for 30 mins or so. That's fairly abnormal for me but I figured fk it. If I'd been in a cubicle instead of an office, I'd have found a way to not be at work for the call.

 

[BurnItDwn]

We have a shitty open floor plan here with 1000 little small "huddle rooms"

I'd just grab one of those rooms and set up the laptop and shut the door, pretend im on the phone with a business user or off shore. If I knew the day ahead of time I'd just work from home that day.

 

[deadlyapp]

When I was in a cubicle I would take these calls out in my car. Now that I have an office I just shut the door.

 

[core2slow]

Are you barred from going outside during work hour or something?

 

[sigmanova]

When I was in a cubicle I would take these calls out in my car. Now that I have an office I just shut the door.

This. if you don't have your own office and can't take the day off do the call in your car. I do these calls in my office now and it looks like I'm on a conference call.

 

[nakedfrog]

Do it like your mother, Trebek, in the bathroom!

 

[rcpratt]

It's pretty common knowledge that walking into an unused conference room on a call is code for "I'm looking for a new job and talking to a potential employer", especially if it follows "Hi this is pete6032, can you hold on a second"?

People do this for many personal reasons at my workplace. I wouldn't assume someone is applying for a new job because they are on a private phone call.

But yeah, conference room or just go to your car. You're making this too complicated.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Get in my car on my lunch break and take the call there.

If it's just a quick appointment call, "Hey, can I bring my car in tomorrow at 10:30? Thanks" I'll make the call in the lunchroom or something.

I save team/huddle room calls for calls that are personal, but more embarrassing to the people who overhear them than they are to me. e.g., "Hello, health care insurance nurse? Yes, I have this thing on my anus... Mike, this room is taken. Anyway, it's leaking this sort of gooey..."

 

[720pete]

Delete

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

You tell the potential employer when you're available to be interviewed not, the other way around.

 

[gorcorps]

You tell the potential employer when you're available to be interviewed not, the other way around.

Bingo

Whenever I tell a potential interviewer " I'm usually home by 5:30" they don't have a problem with that. Did you even try to have it outside of business hours?

 

[Red Squirrel]

Since you're planing to leave anyway, there's no sense in worrying about using up vacation time. I'd just book half or even the whole day off. (use rest of the day to do errands or what not or just sit at home etc) If that's not possible due to it being too short notice, just call in sick. I'm not a fan of people abusing the idea of calling in sick, but I'd do that as a last resort if you can't find another way out.

I would not chance doing it in a conference room, someone could walk in on you, and it will look kind of weird if you're not a person that typically uses a conference room to begin with. People will ask what you were doing in there, etc because people are curious. Worse is someone like your manager might try to call you for something and you won't be at your office and wonder where you were. Best to use non company time.

If you are allowed to take lunch when you want, another option is to just take your lunch later. Just say you have an appointment or something so you'll take your lunch then.

 

[Red Squirrel]

You tell the potential employer when you're available to be interviewed not, the other way around.

That's kind of a bad thing to do to a place you're trying to get hired at. You are expected to work on their schedule, not yours. Trying to go against that grain is going to leave a first bad impression. Basically "do you want the job or not, if yes then come when we tell you to".

 

[Ns1]

People will ask what you were doing in there, etc because people are curious.

"I'm talking to my doctor about my massive hemorrhoids. sup?"

 

[pete6032]

"I'm talking to my doctor about my massive hemorrhoids. sup?"

Lol.

The call is only 30 minutes long as this is the first round. I book meeting rooms often to make work calls anyway because I don't want to annoy everyone sitting around my desk. I'm just going to do the call at work. Obviously for an in-person or longer phone call I would take vacation time.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Oh yeah if you use the conf rooms regularly then I'd probably just do that. Won't look as "suspicious".

 

[gorcorps]

That's kind of a bad thing to do to a place you're trying to get hired at. You are expected to work on their schedule, not yours. Trying to go against that grain is going to leave a first bad impression. Basically "do you want the job or not, if yes then come when we tell you to".

You're not going against the grain if you tell them the times you're available. If an employer is talking to you there's a reason. If they're not willing to work around your current schedule then they aren't worth working for. Everyone who I've ever interviewed with has been very flexible and didn't seem taken aback when I told them I was only able to interview after work. What kind of places have you interviewed at?