Deciding on start date | Fairygodboss

Mystery Woman

Tell us more for better jobs, advice
and connections

YOUR GROUPS

Discover and join groups with like-minded women who share your interests, profession, and lifestyle.

COMPANIES YOU FOLLOW

Get alerted when there are new employee reviews.

YOUR JOB ALERTS

Get notified when new jobs are posted.

Your post is published!

Samantha Garko

Experienced People Manager

12/10/20 at 4:41PM UTC

Career

Deciding on start date

Hey FGB! After being laid off in April due to Covid, I got a job offer! Yay me! I'm excited about it and have accepted. They are basically letting me choose my start date. It has to be a Monday, so I can start Dec 21 (right before Xmas), Dec 28 (right after Xmas), or Jan 4. I do celebrate Xmas, but given the pandemic, I won't be travelling to see family the way I usually do so I'm not concerned about having days off around the holiday. I'm eager to get started since I haven't been working for so long. However, the idea of waiting until after Xmas, just so it's behind me, or even Jan 4 to not have an awkward half month of working sound appealing too. Are there any things you think I should consider when deciding this? Any advice? I am so grateful to have found a new position and this is low on the list of most people's concerns, but I figured this was the networking/career group to ask. Thanks in advance!

Join the conversation...

Anonymous

12/29/20 at 4:40PM UTC

I just had a new team member start 12/21. I thought due to the training and paperwork it would be great. It is not since no one was around these 2 weeks and she is feeling bored.

Serena

189

Account Manager

12/17/20 at 7:07PM UTC

The first few weeks are usually pretty slow to start, so I would say start as soon as you can that way you can hit the ground running in the new year!

Corrine Taylor-Chin

108

Writer & Web Production Professional

12/16/20 at 1:51PM UTC

I'd say it's nice to have time off, but if you're not doing anything interesting to pass the time...just start. Especially if you need the paycheck sooner or the benefits to go into affect sooner. Plus, if you do start before Christmas, you'll likely get a couple holidays off already! Congrats on the new job.

Liz Wanic

Cyber Intel and Dection Fusion Advisor in NY

12/16/20 at 2:42AM UTC

Nice work, first off! Of course it's your choice when you want to start, so any of the dates you choose would be completely fine. However, starting sooner gives you a) a couple more weeks of pay, which might be nice to have post Christmas, and b) the chance to ease into things while others will be taking time off. It would also give you some time to sort out the usual onboarding admin during a potentially slower time so that you're all sorted come January when most of your coworkers will be back and ready to get things moving for 2021.

Suzanne Speak

Award-winning Senior HR leader

12/15/20 at 6:16PM UTC

Congratulations on landing a new position! As an HR leader with many years of healthcare HR experience, I agree with your comment that there is never really downtime in healthcare, particularly now and particularly in recruiting. I would go ahead and start now just to get a jump start on what you know will be a busy month in January. As the number of people getting vaccinated continues to grow, I expect that January will be a very busy month for healthcare staffing and you want to be able to hit the ground running. Good luck!!

Stefanie Cossalter Motley

118

12/11/20 at 2:38PM UTC

The only other consideration I would have is whether there are any advantages to starting in 2020, in terms of benefits. For example, our company has a pension plan that enrolls new employees only on January 1 of every year; so if you started on December 28th, you'd receive contributions starting 1/1/21, but if you started on January 4th, you wouldn't receive them until 1/1/22. Good luck!

Katrina

12/10/20 at 11:48PM UTC

What field? Also how long have you been applying ?

Amy Carothers

630

Brand Marketing and Publishing Manager

12/10/20 at 10:36PM UTC

I would start in January unless obtaining a paycheck is a concern. You mentioned that you've been out of work since April so I'm sure finances are a concern. Taking that into account, I agree with the assessment to find out if your supervisor will be there. I've started roles while most of the office is away and it was difficult to get into the swing of things. While downtime is helpful while you're trying to catch up, being new while everyone is wrapping up projects can feel daunting. January affords a fresh start with everyone on the same page. Whatever you decide, congratulations on your new role. Wishing you the all the best and what a great gift to commence the holidays!

Melanie

584

HR Leader giving my own two cents to help women.

12/10/20 at 9:31PM UTC

I like they gave you options. You ask if you wanted to start before the new year will there be team mates to meet as part of the on boarding process. If most of your colleagues would be off, not sure there would be any advantages for starting before the new year. My offices are pretty quiet so I personally like working so I can get a lot done. Congrats and good luck!