Inform of pre-booked vacation during interview or after offer?

Curious to know what recruiters would advise the candidate, assuming the start date could not be delayed and the candidate has a pre-booked vacation.

Should candidates inform during the interview (or consultant) or right after?

Or should the candidate/consultant wait until there is an offer then inform hiring manager?

Wondering what the 'best practice' is on this? Other than delaying any job search activities until after the vacation (Obvious).

Cheers

Viv

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Permalink Reply by Peter Ceccarelli on February 17, 2010 at 5:12pm

At the offer stage is typically when candidates have informed me of pre-arranged vacations and that's usually when I need to know about them.

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Permalink Reply by Viv Phipps on February 17, 2010 at 9:15pm

Thanks for the response.

Peter Ceccarelli said:

At the offer stage is typically when candidates have informed me of pre-arranged vacations and that's usually when I need to know about them.

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Permalink Reply by Stuart Musson on February 21, 2010 at 12:47pm

If the job search is being conducted around the most active holiday season(s) normally it is best to inform your customers of the pending pre-booked holiday after the first interview. We find it is best for our customers to understand all the information they require prior to hiring, that way there are no surprises when they are ready for an offer or start date. If your candidate is the right candidate for the company they will make the arrangements.

Asking the Recruitment Professional(s) we represent about pre-booked holidays is part of our interviewing process especially around the active Holiday times in Canada (Summer, Christmas and March Break)

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on February 22, 2010 at 2:27pm

We disclose after the first interview if the feedback is positive and the client wants to move forward. We suggest to the candidate that they offer to take the prebooked vacation time at no pay if it falls within the first six months of employment. Normally if the employer wants to hire they will make the prebooked vacation time off part of the hiring offer. We seldom see an employer accept the offer of the candidate to take off with no pay but they very much appreciate the offer on the part of the candidate.

We always ask if there are any preplanned vacations, medical procedures, relocation or legal problems (like divorce, custody hearings, real estate closing etc) that will require time off work in the initial employment period. None have ever been a problem when disclosed in advance of an offer if the required time off work is a week or less. Longer than a week we advise delayed start date notification prior to offer or wait to interview until the vacation is over.

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Permalink Reply by peni volz on February 23, 2010 at 10:03am

It's critical to advise the client as soon as possible once they are moving forward with the candidate. Therefore, I always make this information known at the offer stage.