WWYD - job interview scheduling (help!)

[♥ms.pacman♥]

ok so a week or so ago i posted about having a phone interview..it went well and the hiring manager said to expect to hear from HR re: onsite interview. i thought i would get an email or call or something asking for what days would be okay, etc. but i didn't hear anything for a week...then today i just got an email from HR saying "dear x, your interview is scheduled for __ date at 8am..attached is the schedule, etc".

The problem: date is in 2 weeks, WHEN DH IS SCHEDULED TO BE OUT OF TOWN (he will be OOT that entire week). Crap crap crap. I'm sure i've b*tched about this a thousand times before, but the reason this sucks is that we have no family in town at all to help with childcare or anything like that. I do have one regular sitter and i could ask her to come that day super early (like, insanely early) and stay the whole day to watch them. But i am just worried because while she is great, she isn't 100% reliable...she's had to cancel at the last minute due to being sick, or she's had a family situation come up (she lives with her parents still, and often has to unexpectedly take one to the doctor or something). She does come late often and while that was never a dealbreaker for me (i'm a SAHM, no need for me to be anywhere) now I"m just worried if she sleeps in or is late or whatever. If she doesn't come for whatever reason, i'd be up sh*t creek. if DH was in town, he'd just take a day off and watch them, no big deal.

anyway, i have no idea what i'm supposed to do now. I feel lame asking them to change the interview date with the excuse that my DH will be OOT that day (worst part: small chance that DH's project could get delayed and he may not have to be OOT that week after all..it may get delayed for a few weeks). Though in my defense, they never even asked me what dates were okay, they just scheduled it! But I feel hesitant going with the interview date as is, bc with DH out of town, i have no backup in case the sitter cancels at the last minute. There is a drop-in daycare near me that i've visited before and could register both kids at so i could drop them off for the whole day, with no notice, but it doesn't open till 8am. I'd need something at least lke 6:30 so i could have enough time to drop them off, then drive there and get there with some extra time to spare (the company is a good 45 minutes from my house, maybe an hour in traffic).

DH even called his mom (5 hr drive away) and asked if we could fly her over on Wednesday so she could watch the kids on Thurs. She said she could come but would want to fly over Wednesday late afternoon (like after 5 pm) because she has to watch my niece that day (BIL/SIL both work FT, and use her as childcare so they dont have to pay for daycare). So that would likely involve me driving w/ my DC to the airport (45 min away) at like 7pm..probably wouldn't get back till 9 or so. Plus, MIL has a host of health issues (RA, amongst various other things) and i'd feel bad having her take care of 2 toddlers for an entire day.

Sorry if this is rambling. i'm just kind of panicking now, i can't even think rationally. i' haven't interviewd for a job in like 5 years, my memory is just foggy, i don't know what's ok to do or not. I work in an EXTREMELY male-dominated field (electrical engineering), and most men who have kids have wives who are SAHMs, so this whole "im-in-a-childcare-bind" is not a big issue that comes up often and not sure they'd be sympathetic to that. ugh. i have not been employed full time for over 4 years, and i feel like this is my one shot at getting a full time position and i can't afford to screw this up. :(

[niccig]

Ask the babysitter if she would stay overnight as you have to leave early for an interview. You'll pay her a bit extra for staying over and the early start, but she won't be watching the kids until the morning when you leave. That way if the kids are still sleeping, you can go and she can do breakfast etc with them.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Ask the babysitter if she would stay overnight as you have to leave early for an interview. You'll pay her a bit extra for staying over and the early start, but she won't be watching the kids until the morning when you leave. That way if the kids are still sleeping, you can go and she can do breakfast etc with them.

that is a good idea, thanks! that will definitely make me less anxious the night before, if sitter is already here so i dont' have to worry about her arriving late or what not. we have a nice guest room, and my kids don't usually wake up until 830 or even 9 so the added bonus for her is that she can sleep in. :)

i just talked with my dh more, and we agreed that it seemed over the top to deal with flying my MIL in for the off chance that sitter can't come. my saint of DH (it's past 1am where he is) spent some time googling and finally found a local drop-in playcare (happens to be enroute to the company) and opens at 6:30am :bighand: i'll check this place out over the weekend and unless it's totally crappy i will register the kiddos there. The idea of waking my anxious kids up 2 hours early and dropping them off with strangers for 8 hours doesn't even faze me at this point..they'll survive...i'm just glad to have a backup option!

[niccig]

I would
A) set up the babysitter telling her you will confirm if DH is on his trip
b) set up the back-up childcare with a "will drop off if needed". Maybe take the kids next week for a day so they can get used to it and you can spend the day prepping for the interview.

If DH is home, you don't need A or B.
If DH isn't home, you go with A.
If DH isn't home, and A cancels on you, you go with B.

You'll do great in the interview.

[hillview]

sounds like you have some good options! great news on the interview. It is odd IMO that they just set a date/time without checking but GOOD LUCK!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

thank you guys!!! am feeling less freaked out about it now.

niccig that is a good idea, i will see if i can drop them off next week sometime..that will make things easier.

[mom3boys]

I would
A) set up the babysitter telling her you will confirm if DH is on his trip
b) set up the back-up childcare with a "will drop off if needed". Maybe take the kids next week for a day so they can get used to it and you can spend the day prepping for the interview.

If DH is home, you don't need A or B.
If DH isn't home, you go with A.
If DH isn't home, and A cancels on you, you go with B.

You'll do great in the interview.


I agree with this. Even if you have to forfeit some extra $ to have (B) as a backup option (like, if you cancel on B last minute they still charge you $) It is worth it to not be stressed out, IMO. It is only one day and certainly cheaper than flying in your MIL!

But Option A is better than B because I think it's less stressful for you on the morning of the interview. You don't have to pack the kids up, get them up early, etc.

[echoesofspring]

Congratulations on the interview, that's exciting!

It sounds like you've got a good plan now - and I might have missed it in an earlier thread, but what's the plan for if you get the job? B/c if you are going to have to find daycare, maybe this is good push to look for it (if you don't have it lined up), find a place you can do a test run at during the interview, etc.? Speaking as someone who works in a male dominated field (though I only work part time), we struggled with flaky babysitter/adhoc family babysitting for nearly a year before I finally bit the bullet and convinced DH to try real daycare, and it made all the difference in the stress level of my life.

Good luck on the interview!

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

I work in an EXTREMELY male-dominated field (electrical engineering), and most men who have kids have wives who are SAHMs, so this whole "im-in-a-childcare-bind" is not a big issue that comes up often and not sure they'd be sympathetic to that.

You should move out here. All of the guys I work with (ok, the vast majority) have wives that work and kids. No one bats at eye at childcare binds, as most men have them at times, too. Love working in the Silicon Valley!

Now that said, Good luck! You will do great! It's a coup for a company to get a talented woman engineer.

Great plan with booking the babysitter and having the drop off as backup.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Congratulations on the interview, that's exciting!

It sounds like you've got a good plan now - and I might have missed it in an earlier thread, but what's the plan for if you get the job? B/c if you are going to have to find daycare, maybe this is good push to look for it (if you don't have it lined up), find a place you can do a test run at during the interview, etc.? Speaking as someone who works in a male dominated field (though I only work part time), we struggled with flaky babysitter/adhoc family babysitting for nearly a year before I finally bit the bullet and convinced DH to try real daycare, and it made all the difference in the stress level of my life.

Good luck on the interview!

well if i get the job i plan on sending ghe kids to a daycare (probably in-home one so the kids can be together). i haven't started researching yet but after the interview i definitely will.


You should move out here. All of the guys I work with (ok, the vast majority) have wives that work and kids. No one bats at eye at childcare binds, as most men have them at times, too. Love working in the Silicon Valley!

Now that said, Good luck! You will do great! It's a coup for a company to get a talented woman engineer.

Great plan with booking the babysitter and having the drop off as backup.
haha, believe me i would if i could. my parents, brother and some other family are in the bay area (i went to middle, high school and college there) and i'd move back in a heartbeat if we could afford a decent sized house there.or i guess what DH deems to be a decent-sized house. :) DH was born and raised in TX and he kept going off about he hated having to spend so much $$ for a small place. When we moved here to TX he did like the idea of me being able to be a SAHM and having a big place, but lately we have been having discussions of eventually moving to Bay Area or even to Boston (where is company is headquartered). Its funny, with this summer + election year I think DH (fairly liberal) was getting fed up and wants to move somewhere with better weather and more diversity. I don't know, maybe by the time the kids are in school and we only have to pay for aftercare, and my mom is retired (3-4 more years) would we seriously consider it.

[twowhat?]

Oooooh congrats on the interview!!! I like the idea of getting your nanny to stay overnight!

Good luck!

[codex57]

Babysitter is flaky right? Well, I'd still have her as Plan A, but only if she spends the night or agrees to come extra, extra early. Like 30 min before you need her or more. So, if she is late, just tell her to forget it and you still have time to drop them off at the daycare.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

thanks everyone. talked to my sitter today, and she said she is available to stay overnight the day before, if DH is actually going to be OOT that week (I told her i'd let her know as soon as i can..hopefully in a few days). DH and I are going to check out this drop in daycare place over the weekend. And i am going to have to go shopping for a suit. Arghh, so many things!!

What would be awesome is if DH doesn't have to go out of town that week after all, that it gets pushed back to the next week. I can only hope!! Even if everything works out with the day off sitterpwise, I dont' see how i'm going to have ANY time to prepare at all that week if DH is not there to help in the evenings (i have to prepare a 45 min presentation, and interview with 8 different managers...oral-exam type stuff..i haven't dealt with this stuff in 4 years so I REALLY have to study up)...this week alone i'm tired just from doing basic stuff with the kids. Will try to see if i can get the sitter to come another day earlier in the week to watch them so I can use the time to prep my presentation, rehearse it and read up on things.

Sigh i cannot wait till this is all over!

[twowhat?]

evenings (i have to prepare a 45 min presentation, and interview with 8 different managers...oral-exam type stuff..i haven't dealt with this stuff in 4 years so I REALLY have to study up)...

:47: holy canola oil!!!!