When do you mention part-time hours?

[PatsysPyjamas]

Any HR people out there?

Thinking of applying for a job, which is advertised as full time. When would be the ideal time to mention part-time hours, to give me the best chance of getting the job, and the part-time aspect of it? I don't want to put them off me by appearing not to fit the bill. Equally I don't want to waste my time or theirs if this is not possible.

Do you do this in the application, interview or wait until they have offered you the job? There is also the opportunity to speak to someone in advance of applying (not someone I know).

Ring the contact person. No point wasting your and their time if it is not negotiable .

Yep, agree with LIZS. Say something along the lines of "I'm very interested in the post, I've done something very similar (assuming you have!) and fit the job description well, however I'd only be available for X hours per week. Is it worth me putting an application in?"

Thanks. I take it it's better to call than email? (I know it is, but email is so easier!).

Wait until your offered the job
Otherwise you'll never know if your application was rejected because you mentioned part time in it

Oh a different perspective. This is what I am worried about. I have applied for jobs before mentioning part-time in the application form and didn't get anywhere. I don't know if that's why.

Are any of you in HR by the way? I wondered if there is one way which is seen as best practice? It must happen all the time.

Ohh I would never have thought of doing that, I just assumed that if they advertised full time they just wanted full time. Interesting!

From a practical point of view I would say ring before hand as you are wasting everyones time if it's non negotiable, however I see where Lilaclilly is coming from, it would be nice to know that they wanted you even if they then cant offer part time and you have to turn it down.

I would do defo ring first though, interviews aren't pleasant so why go through that if you don't have to.

I'm "HR" and when making my own job applications I've always telephoned the contact person to chat generally about the role (with some simple questions lined up about the type of work) and then also asked what the company feeling was about flexible working for this role.

I wouldn't usually get into the detail of my availability until after interviews; I would make that part of the discussion if they made me an offer.

When I'm recruiting and people contact me before interviews to ask about working options, I try to give them an honest idea of what would be considered. So I might say, the company is open to discussing flexible options, but generally prefers full-days due to the nature of the work (I.e. a few days a week might be fine, but a few mornings a week probably wouldn't).

Good luck with your application!

I mentioned it very clearly at the job interview as they started talking as if I had been successful so I thought it only fair to mention my requirements at this stage.

I got the job and flexible working that I wanted! In this particular case, I think it helped to be up front.

It depends on the following:

Is it a deal breaker for you, or would you do the job full time if they say no?

Are you proposing to make a minor adjustment like working times, compressed hours or only a small reduction, or are you wanting to reduce the role significantly, say to 3 days a week or something, which would probably involve them adjusting the workload, making changes to other people's jobs or recruiting a job share?

If you only want to make a minor adjustment and it's not a deal breaker for you, I'd wait until offered the job, or at least until they clearly are keen on you.

If you want a big change and won't consider the job without, explore it upfront to avoid wasting everyone's time if it's not possible.

I recently applied for a job that I was overqualied for but it was virtually on the doorstep and sounded interesting. The interview went really well, right up to the point where I asked if they would consider flexible working - pointing out that with my experience I could do the job in fewer hours than someone less so - but I got a firm no.

I am working full time at the moment and have been for nealy 3 years and it is killing me. Unless you are sure you can do it, don't back down and attempt full time work!

Thanks very much everyone. A lot to think about here.

Part-time probably is a deal breaker for me, but I'd be willing to do, say, two shorter days a week. The flexi-time means you can finish at 4, but I'd want to finish at 2.30 or 3 two of those days ie work 2-3 hours less a week. I would also be happy to only work half a day on those days, if it's not possible to miss core hours, or work a normal 4 day week if they didn't want anyone to leave early. So I think I am fairly flexible.

Actually, thinking about it, I could maybe offer to do two 9-hr days, one 8-hr and two 7-hr days to add up to full time. Is that more likely to be accepted?

I would ideally work less though, so maybe it's better to say that from the beginning.

I took a full time job, worked my butt off for 3 months and then asked them to consider part time at my 3 month review. They agreed and I got to choose my hours once I'd been there 6 months and passed probation.
It was a tough 6 months though!!