Dilemma-- Interviews vs Full-time job

[unsung]

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So, I've got a problem. I just interviewed for a full-time position at a hospital and have a good shot at getting it. This is a very good thing, as I need to pay the rent. The bad thing is, it would involve 4-6 wks of full-time orientation and after that, I would be presumably working full-time.

My question is-- when do schools usually schedule interviews? For some reason, my impression is that they are scheduled for the daytime on weekdays 🙁 This would be very problematic with my new job as they have no idea I've applied to medical school or would need to go on interviews.

Anyway, I might be getting ahead of myself as 1) I have no interviews yet (MCAT scores haven't come out), and 2) haven't heard back formally about the job.

But I am still worried. How do you ppl handle it?

 

[JT2008]

For some reason, my impression is that they are scheduled for the daytime on weekdays 🙁

As opposed to at nighttime on weekends?

Working during interview season is a huge dilemma. Your employer, if you take the job, probably won't be too happy.

 

[jult24er]

So, I've got a problem. I just interviewed for a full-time position at a hospital and have a good shot at getting it. This is a very good thing, as I need to pay the rent. The bad thing is, it would involve 4-6 wks of full-time orientation and after that, I would be presumably working full-time.

My question is-- when do schools usually schedule interviews? For some reason, my impression is that they are scheduled for the daytime on weekdays 🙁 This would be very problematic with my new job as they have no idea I've applied to medical school or would need to go on interviews.

Anyway, I might be getting ahead of myself as 1) I have no interviews yet (MCAT scores haven't come out), and 2) haven't heard back formally about the job.

But I am still worried. How do you ppl handle it?

you dont get any vacation? sick days?

 

[iheartsnow]

Most jobs don't allow vacation or sick days for at least a couple of months. Your best bet is to just be up front. One, if you do get interviews it will be difficult to hide and your boss will be annoyed if you call in sick or keep requesting random vacation time. At many places, you are on "probation" for the first few months, so they could just fire you if they find out. Two, if you ever want a recommendation from him and he finds out you applied to med school secretly, you won't get one. Although, if this is like many lab jobs and requires a two year commitment, they probably won't want to hire you if they know. I guess it really depends on whether you care about what your new boss thinks of you. If you're just in it for the money and don't care about future references, then go for it.

 

[JT2008]

If you get the job, you're being hired to be a dependable employee to do a JOB. What is your main goal right now? Is it to get a hospital job or get into medical school? The reality is you'll probably have to work crappy jobs this year or temp jobs so that you can remain flexible enough to attend any interview, open house, or second look that pops up.

 

[footballrules]

So, I've got a problem. I just interviewed for a full-time position at a hospital and have a good shot at getting it. This is a very good thing, as I need to pay the rent. The bad thing is, it would involve 4-6 wks of full-time orientation and after that, I would be presumably working full-time.

My question is-- when do schools usually schedule interviews? For some reason, my impression is that they are scheduled for the daytime on weekdays 🙁 This would be very problematic with my new job as they have no idea I've applied to medical school or would need to go on interviews.

Anyway, I might be getting ahead of myself as 1) I have no interviews yet (MCAT scores haven't come out), and 2) haven't heard back formally about the job.

But I am still worried. How do you ppl handle it?

Exactly, you are getting ahead of yourself. You don't have the job offer yet, no medical school interivews yet, and it appears you don't know your working hours and such.

Once you have the job offer, then you can try to figure out what to do IF you even get a medical school interview.

I'm not trying to be mean. I'm just trying to speak the truth. But what you are doing is a good thing.

 

[footballrules]

Most jobs don't allow vacation or sick days for at least a couple of months. Your best bet is to just be up front. One, if you do get interviews it will be difficult to hide and your boss will be annoyed if you call in sick or keep requesting random vacation time. At many places, you are on "probation" for the first few months, so they could just fire you if they find out. Two, if you ever want a recommendation from him and he finds out you applied to med school secretly, you won't get one. Although, if this is like many lab jobs and requires a two year commitment, they probably won't want to hire you if they know. I guess it really depends on whether you care about what your new boss thinks of you. If you're just in it for the money and don't care about future references, then go for it.

Some jobs even have a probation period from six months to a year.

 

[dd128]

I went through this last year. Presuming you get the job and a number of interviews you really only have two options. Be honest, and hope they give you the time off, or just call in sick as interviews generally only take up a day. If you failed to mention in any interviews that you are applying to med school the former could be a bit dicey and your boss would more than likely not be happy. Then again if you are a hardworker and do your job well any employer will be happy to keep you on as long they can keep you.

 

[JT2008]

I went through this last year. Presuming you get the job and a number of interviews you really only have two options. Be honest, and hope they give you the time off, or just call in sick as interviews generally only take up a day. If you failed to mention in any interviews that you are applying to med school the former could be a bit dicey and your boss would more than likely not be happy. Then again if you are a hardworker and do your job well any employer will be happy to keep you on as long they can keep you.

Most employers don't like to "waste" their time and train an employee that doesn't even plan on sticking around 12 months.

 

[jult24er]

Some jobs even have a probation period from six months to a year.

You're not allowed to be sick? i have a hard time believing that ...

 

[RoadRunner17]

Most employers don't like to "waste" their time and train an employee that doesn't even plan on sticking around 12 months.

The reason I was able to get my research tech job, with my PI knowing that I was applying to med school that year AND giving me the flexibility to schedule interviews is because I already had several years of experience working in that kind of research. Therefore, little training was necessary and they get more out of me than what they pay me for. That's what it really comes down to... cost-benefit analysis.

 

[JT2008]

The reason I was able to get my research tech job, with my PI knowing that I was applying to med school that year AND giving me the flexibility to schedule interviews is because I already had several years of experience working in that kind of research. Therefore, little training was necessary and they get more out of me than what they pay me for. That's what it really comes down to... cost-benefit analysis.

You'd be an exception then and definitely not representative of most premeds doing a job search during this application process.

 

[JT2008]

You're not allowed to be sick? i have a hard time believing that ...

Sure, people are allowed to be sick, within normal limits. Can you explain being sick 5-6 times or more two days each time within a span of a couple of months?

 

[olemissbabydoc]

I've work-studied for my boss for 4 years, then grad assisted for one. He was great about setting up my new fulltime job in a way so that I don't have a probation period and can miss when I need to. As long as you are up front with you employers, they may be able to work something out for you.

 

[iheartsnow]

The reason I was able to get my research tech job, with my PI knowing that I was applying to med school that year AND giving me the flexibility to schedule interviews is because I already had several years of experience working in that kind of research. Therefore, little training was necessary and they get more out of me than what they pay me for. That's what it really comes down to... cost-benefit analysis.

Ditto. Your bargaining position depends on how much they want you. This is why most pre-meds end up taking two years off if they want to get a research job. Then when you're applying to med school, your PI is really supportive. Its really not necessary to work crappy/temp jobs for a whole year just because of med school, that's just silly. It just might take some work to find a job you want that also is okay with your med school plans.

 

[Nobuo]

It can largely depend on your boss and his/her attitude.

For ex, I'm currently working part-time at a research institution, and my boss is super flexible. I just told him upfront like when I interviewed with him or when I just started that I'm applying for med school this year, so I might be needing to go on interviews occasionally in the next few months. He was like ok whatever and said as long as I can finish the experiments I needed to do and make sure stuff doesn't die (like all the proteins and stuff are in the fridge and won't perish), then I can take off and do w/e I want.

I'm planning to tell my profs up front also when I start school again, just so they don't think I'm skipping class or something. It's better for them to know at the beginning so it won't be a shock when you actually do leave for a few days.

 

[tfa2007]

I'm in a simliar position but I'm a full-time teacher during the year. Are there any schools that are willing to schedule interviews on the weekends? Are there any that have multiple locations in the country for interviews (e.g. a school in Boston allowing me to interview in Philadelphia)? What have other people's experiences been?

 

[scarletgirl777]

I'm in a simliar position but I'm a full-time teacher during the year. Are there any schools that are willing to schedule interviews on the weekends? Are there any that have multiple locations in the country for interviews (e.g. a school in Boston allowing me to interview in Philadelphia)? What have other people's experiences been?

Does that TFA stand for Teach For America? I've gotta believe that they would be ok with you taking time off, given that they've gone out of their way to make partnerships with individual medical schools.

OP, I would only mention it if it came up during the selection process, and if the offer came, I would ask for a detailed vacation policy and probably mention medical school as an explanation for my interest. Most jobs do have a probationary period, so this absolutely would need to be addressed. You do have to understand though that the other poster was right: many people are forced to take 2 years off if they want a substantive job.

 

[linguini]

So, I've got a problem. I just interviewed for a full-time position at a hospital and have a good shot at getting it. This is a very good thing, as I need to pay the rent. The bad thing is, it would involve 4-6 wks of full-time orientation and after that, I would be presumably working full-time.

My question is-- when do schools usually schedule interviews? For some reason, my impression is that they are scheduled for the daytime on weekdays 🙁 This would be very problematic with my new job as they have no idea I've applied to medical school or would need to go on interviews.

Anyway, I might be getting ahead of myself as 1) I have no interviews yet (MCAT scores haven't come out), and 2) haven't heard back formally about the job.

But I am still worried. How do you ppl handle it?

Well as for the probation period people are referring to, see if your company will let you take time off during that probation period and then take away your earned time later...after you've earned it obviously. The hospital I work for does this routinely; I took a week off for vacation after only being there for a week. Afterall, it was beach season.

I also agree that you need to be upfront with your employers about the issue. Otherwise you could end up paying for it, either by missing interviews or pissing your boss off. If your bosses are MDs as mine are, they might actually be very understanding as they know what the interview process is like. Regardless though of how you think they will respond, you have to tell them way before interviews start.

 

[DrChristianTroy]

Ditto. Your bargaining position depends on how much they want you. This is why most pre-meds end up taking two years off if they want to get a research job. Then when you're applying to med school, your PI is really supportive. Its really not necessary to work crappy/temp jobs for a whole year just because of med school, that's just silly. It just might take some work to find a job you want that also is okay with your med school plans.

That is one of the reasons that I decided to work for two years instead of one. Now my boss is extremely supportive.

OP, you definitely need to tell your boss, but I would wait until after you actually get the job. Then if your boss seems reasonable, you could ask if you could work four 10 hour days during the week that you have an interview. This way you are still putting in 40 hours of work but will be able to have a day free for your interview. This is what I am doing to save my vacation/ sick time for a future vacation. It is not bad to come in at around 7:30 and leave at 6:00. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

 

[GreenShirt]

You're not allowed to be sick? i have a hard time believing that ...

You're allowed to be sick but you just don't get paid for it. Employers don't want to hire people who quit after working for a few months during which they were on vacation.

OP: What kind of hospital job did you apply for? Most clinical work is shift-based. If you work 12's you'll only be in the hospital 3 days/week and can probably trade shifts with people if needed. Unless this is some sort of 9-5 position?

 

[blankette]

I got a research job and when I interviewed I was actually seen only by the grad students in the lab. I was honest with them about applying to med school and I was hired anyway. I guess my PI didn't hear I was applying and when I started getting interviews she was not that happy to know I'd only be around for a year (depending on if I get in of course). Oops--she's still being supportive though. I don't get any time off for the first few months while I'm on probation, so I usually just take off the day and make it up on a weekend or something.