Besides vacation and holiday time, how many days were you absent from work last year?

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
Focus Your Answer On
What to Avoid
Entry Level Example
Experienced Example

Walgreens wants to hire employees who are responsible, dependable, and show up to work when scheduled. Even though they advertise they offer paid time off and flexible hours, part of their success profile is that you must be "responsible and willing to work a flexible schedule, including evenings and weekend hours." The interviewer asks this question to evaluate your work attendance in the past year. If you called off work many times in the past year, they might hesitate to offer you the position unless your reasons were excusable.

Focus on giving the exact number of days you missed work and why. If the interviewer deems your absence from work an excused and unavoidable reason to miss work, it will likely not be an issue. If you have many unexcused absences, they may disqualify you as a viable candidate.

You want to avoid saying you cannot remember how often you missed work or answer untruthfully. The interviewer will contact your former employer for a reference and ask them the same question. It is best to be honest and explain any absences from work in the past year, allowing the interviewer to decide if your reasons were unavoidable.

"I was out two weeks when I had to self-isolate after being exposed to COVID. It turns out I had it, but I had no symptoms. It was frustrating because I wanted to be at work and felt I was letting people down. But we had a lot of elderly folks coming through daily, and I couldn't risk exposing them. Other than that, my attendance has been spotless."

"I was absent from work five days last year. I had LASIK surgery, and my doctor recommended taking one week to recover. I arranged the time off with my supervisor before scheduling the surgery, and she allowed me to use sick leave. Other than that, I did not miss any other days last year."