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

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 truthfully. 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 or not.

"I was absent from work two days last year. I missed one day because my son had strep throat, and my husband was out of town. I needed to take my son to the doctor, and I called my supervisor and notified him two hours before my shift. I had a doctor's note, and my supervisor allowed me to use a sick day. The second day I missed was due to a minor vehicle accident. I was rear-ended on my way to work and went to the emergency room for evaluation. I called my supervisor from the accident scene, and he said to take off as much time as needed. I was fine and was able to return to work the next day."