DO:
- Give your employer plenty of notice before taking time off.
- Try to plan your vacations, trips, etc. around your supervisor’s and coworkers’ schedules to avoid taking time off at the same time as the rest of the office.
- Put your time off request in writing – a verbal request could easily be forgotten.
- Try to schedule any doctor’s appointments, etc. during your lunch break, so that you don’t need to miss work.
- Save your sick days for when you are actually sick – you never know when/if you will need them.
DON’T:
- Request a lot of time off after just starting a new position.
- Request time off at the last minute – for example, you shouldn’t wait until Friday to ask for that Monday off.
- Assume you are guaranteed time off around holidays – always be sure to ask your employer about the holiday schedule and request time off if needed.
- Use all of your paid time off at once – try to avoid missing a large amount of work at one time by spreading out your time off throughout the year.