Started a few weeks ago at a firm with an “unlimited” vacation policy. I’d really like to do a 1.5-2 week trip to Japan at some point this year. When is the soonest I could make that happen without it going over poorly?

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It’s only “unlimited” if you’re making your hours. If you take a 2 week vacation and miss your hours your first year there, it’s not a good look. I wouldn’t go until you’ve been there at least 4-5 months.

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Meeting your hours is essentially the only objective metric by which associates are measured, and many (most?) firms consider it to be a minimum performance indicator. So if an associate can’t make their hours because they took a vacation, no one is going to give them a break because of it. An associate who doesn’t intend to stick around long may decide that’s ok, of course. If the whole group is slow, then maybe you decide to go for it anyway. But there’s risk in being a low performer in a slow group.

likesmart

Have you gotten any vibe yet about how other associates at your level take vacations and how the department handles in terms of coverage and general attitudes?

Unlimited vacation just means that you don’t accrue, so they don’t have to pay you anything when you leave, not that anyone takes more vacation that they did under the accrual system.

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I did this at about one year

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or u can skip japan because a mega quake is due, plus volcanos and overcrowding from other toursits due to the yen being weak

funny

Fyi Japan is at least 2 weeks preferably 3-4. You can easily get lost and walk for hours. Amazing experience. Have not met a single person that didn’t like visiting Japan. If you can do it with local or someone that speaks japanese that would be good.

Why didn't you go before you started? Lots of people take a few wks between jobs for a vacay, and I think it might be assumed that you would've, rather than take a lengthy vacation out of the gate.

If you take a 2 week vacation in your first year, people will comment. It might be okay to do it sooner, but if you want to be sure it won’t go over poorly, work for a year first

Would 1 week vacations be seen as more appropriate? At my last firm first years took 3-4 weeks vacation per year but I realize that might’ve been unicorn

If you can say without it being false that the trip was scheduled before you started, I think you could do it unapologetically after 6-8 months. After that, I’d say G least 12 months for 2 weeks.

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