Notify potential employer about (potential) unavailability?

July 22, 2013 4:42 AM

I have an interview this week for a casual job in a field relevant to my career. I told them I would be available on weekends, then full-time during the summer break. This was before I managed to submit a grant application for a project that would also be over summer break. I have since received an email that my project application was unsuccessful, but that the university committee would try to get me funding for it anyway. (This has worked in previous years, but there's no guarantee it'll happen this year.) Do I tell my interviewers about the potential clash?

The job doesn't specifically require summer availability, they just asked if I would be available then. My first instinct was to bare all in the interests of honesty and full disclosure, but I'm having second thoughts. I don't know if telling them about the project would hurt my chances, because I don't know how many other people they're interviewing, or whether I'd be quickly dropped for someone who's more sure about availability. I'll still be able to work weekends over summer break, but they might want someone there full-time.

I really want this job. Jobs like this are so hard to find for students. But I also really want this project, which aside from being really interesting, would be a great addition to my CV. Have I overreached here? Or can I leave out the project in the interview, and (if I'm successful at getting the job) only tell my employer if I do get the grant (I won't know until October)?

Apologies if this question is a no-brainer, I just really wasn't sure what to do.

posted by cucumber patch to Work & Money (6 answers total)

Or can I leave out the project in the interview, and (if I'm successful at getting the job) only tell my employer if I do get the grant (I won't know until October)?

Exactly this. Never mention potential future plans in a job interview. Heck, I usually recommend against mentioning definite future plans. Get the job, show them how awesome you are, and then let the summers sort themselves out later.
posted by Rock Steady at 4:55 AM on July 22, 2013 [5 favorites]

It's normal to pursue more than one possibility at the same time, so that if one falls through then you still have the other; at this point there's no need to disclose the potential project to the potential employer. What you want to avoid, if at all possible, is getting the job offer first, accepting it, and then 2 weeks later saying to your new employer, oh, "BTW, I won't actually be available over the summer like I said I would be."
posted by jon1270 at 5:16 AM on July 22, 2013

No, you don't need to disclose a "might-maybe" thing. When you get the grant and you have the job, that would be the time to bring it up.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:28 AM on July 22, 2013

Nth'ing "Shut up about the grant."

They are interviewing at least a couple of other people for that same job; odds are that they got hundreds of applications, dozens of them from people who are just as qualified as you. And they will assume that you are applying to other jobs as well, any one of which may pay more or be a better fit for your CV or is closer to your home or have some other advantage over them.

If they offer you the job and you say, "No, thank you," they will move to their second choice basically as soon as you hit the Send button. You would do them such a minor disservice by not taking the job that it's safe to call it no disservice whatsoever.

What's more, they will not enter your name into a secret employer database of People Who Say No To Job Offers that will prevent you from working in that field ever again.

There is no down side to keeping it secret before you even have an offer. None whatsoever.
posted by Etrigan at 6:26 AM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Etrigan: What's more, they will not enter your name into a secret employer database of People Who Say No To Job Offers that will prevent you from working in that field ever again.

There is no down side to keeping it secret before you even have an offer. None whatsoever.

Well, that's not always the case. In certain small, well-connected industries, you do have to be careful who you say no to and how often, but in this specific case, for a student/summer job, you shouldn't worry about it.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:44 AM on July 22, 2013

"Casual" employment is just that, casual. They owe you no commitment. You owe them no commitment.
posted by tel3path at 7:20 AM on July 22, 2013