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Follow-up letter, advice?!!?!?!?
**A little long, thank you VERY much for reading/replying!**
I posted the other day about how I had an interview for a full-time nanny position and how I wasn't sure whether or not to bring up that I have an upcoming trip in October (and also in April, October is our at-home wedding reception and April is my best friend's wedding, we wanted to take 2 weeks in October and a long weekend in April). I've read elsewhere and was also advised on here and by talking with a few friends to wait until I was offered the job before bringing it up. Well, I had the interview tonight and it went really well and I feel good about it. I WANT THIS JOB! Locations, hours, pay, children, everything is perfection.
HOWEVER, the dad is active duty Air Force and the mom is a speech pathologist (something to that effect) and she made it clear in the interview that it is really hard for her to take time off and she doesn't like to use sick days or anything like that if she doesn't have to. Obviously I started thinking about my trip and felt a huge wave of disappointment. I am in the process of writing the follow-up letter and can't help but feel I should bring up the impending trips. I don't want to get hired and then say "I know you hate taking time off, but can I have 2 weeks here and a long weekend there?!". 2 weeks is a lot, and I would be willing to cut it down to a week. What do you think? Mention it in the letter? My husband said if they feel strongly about me being the right nanny, then a couple vacations shouldn't totally change their mind, but you never know.
Here is the letter:
Hi M,
I just wanted to say thank you again for meeting with me last night. It was great to meet you and the rest of your family! Thinking back to our discussion, I realized I did not ask you just how time off was handled or whether there were an allotted number of vacation days per year. As I was talking about how everything went with my husband last night, he asked if we had talked about it and reminded me that we have a wedding in October and a wedding in April to attend (we were hoping to take a week or so in mid-October and 2 or 3 days in April to fly back to Maine). I know these dates are far off but I like to put everything up on the table while you are in the process of deciding who to hire as your nanny. I can honestly say I've never used a sick day in my life and rarely use vacation time and I pride myself on that, but being out here in Hawaii it's not easy to just fly home for a weekend, as I'm sure you know! Anyway, I know they say don't discuss time off before being offered a position but it just makes me feel better to make you aware of any upcoming conflicts. Nothing is set in stone as far as October and April are concerned but, like I said, I just wanted to put it out there since taking time off from your job was something you wanted to avoid, and understandably so!
Have a great weekend and I hope to hear from you on Monday.
Sincerely,
E
Any moms out there? Would you want your potential nanny to be up front about something like this before you hired her? I really hate inconveniencing people, but at the same time, I feel any job should offer some vacation time..and I don't even care if it's unpaid time, I just want to be able to go home and see my family once a year! I don't want her to think I'm going to ask for all this ridiculous time off all the time. Thanks for reading and any input you can offer!
Re: Follow-up letter, advice?!!?!?!?
I still think this is the wrong time to bring it up. Overall, the letter feels unprofessional and I just don't feel like this is the right time. I would wait and talk to her about it over the phone or in person if and when you get the job offer. I realize you don't want to inconvenience these people, but vacation time is standard in any job, including nannies. She will undoubtedly be aware that her nannies, especially if you're living in Hawaii, will need time off to visit family and take a vacation now and then.
By sending a letter that feels so "all over the place" you make yourself sound unprofessional and could potentially endanger the job. Wait until the offer is made. When you get the offer, you may also get some guidelines on vacation time - number of days per year, amount of notice needed, etc. Wait until you see that, then tell her.
Ditto the pps. If I were ever to write a letter like this (which I wouldn't do), I wouldn't go into a big thing about how I talked about this with my husband and all that. There's a lot of extraneous information in that letter.
I think her comment was meant to tell you that she expects you to be there, on time, when you say you'll be there. Not that you can never take a vacation while you're her nanny.
If you're going to send a letter, send a standard TY note. Thank you for the opportunity to interview, I'm really excited about the opportunity, I hope to hear from you soon, etc. If you get the job, tell her immediately that you have some long-term vacation plans that you want to discuss with her ASAP so you can both adjust your schedules accordingly. Heck, if you want this job so much and know someone who could step in for you while you're out, let her know you already have a vacation solution for her.
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I agree that there is too much information in the letter (ie: speaking with your husband). I think it's the wrong time to bring up your vacation. Also, I have had several jobs where I wasn't even permitted to take any time off for about six months.
I think you should wait for a job offer. What if they are on the fence? Then writing to them about your vacation may tip them in the direction of not offering you a job.
I agree with the PPs; this letter sounds unprofessional and draws a lot of negative attention to the time you need off (it's all you talk about in the letter! You don't mention how much you want the job or how great you'd be for it!) You should wait until they offer you the job, because by then they've "hired" you in their mind. They want you. If the vacation is a problem, then it will have to be a HUGE problem and they'll pull the offer. But if you send this now, and it's between you and one other person, it will go to the other person (who may have the same needs).
Just wait until the offer comes, then ask what kinds of time off they provide. That can segue into a conversation about your vacations. Until then, send a nice thank you about the interview and how wonderful their family is, reminding them of your qualifications.
As someone who has a nanny keep in mind - you taking planned time off isn't the end of the world. My nanny is currently off for a week and a half. She found us a replacement since we couldn't get off (which is what we normally do since my husband has tons of vacation time). Around here nannies do get paid time off (2 weeks is standard for the year) but I have no idea what it is like where you are.
I certainly agree with PP that your note is far too long and detailed, and I really don't think you need to send it at all. Just bring this up if they offer you the job. If you know other people who could fill in even better.
Thank you for meeting with me last night. It was great to meet you and the rest of your family. Thinking back to our discussion, I realized I did not ask you just how time off was handled or whether there were an allotted number of vacation days per year. We have a wedding in October and a wedding in April to attend. As these days off are many months aways I am certain I can you find coverage while I am away, but I wanted to keep you apprised of this issue.
Thanks ladies. I just got really worried and felt like I should be saying something while she's making her decision so there's no surprises. I'll send her a simple thank you, and if she does offer me the job on Monday, I'll bring it up with her then. 2 weeks is definitely long, I understand that, it's just hard living on the other side of the world from my family, I see them once a year and like to make the most of it.
Alright, so I'll hold off on bringing it up. And if the offer is made and the vacation poses a problem, I guess it just wasn't meant to be! It's just frustrating when it's such a good position.