I've been given the advice when seeking new employment to burn up PTO time at the old job while starting the new job. That way you get double pay, and if you don't like the new job you can always go back to your old job, and nobody is the wiser.
I also work in tech and have been let go of so many jobs that I have no respect for the 2 week notice so this fits in well with that philosophy.
My issue is that my current company has 2 types of PTO. They have vacation time, which you can use for any reason what so ever. I burned a lot of it up when I got married recently but the remaining bit can be used to start a new job. My problem is I also have a ton of sick time, which would absolutely be forfeit if I left.
There usually is a little conversation with my boss where he asks “So what's the reason you're requesting off?” I know I could claim privacy but I feel like the suspicion level raises as my PTO hours lower (in both vacation and sick time).
I'm not burning with the desire to leave my current job just yet but it seems like I can accrue this sick time way faster then I can imagine reasons to use it up. I can break it up over time but it needs to get whittled down. I have about a month of PTO saved up.
So what are some sick time excuses that would get you more than a few days off work?
Also, a pro tip: I will say that a lot of my sick/vacation time is freely given to me by my boss because we always have an informal conversation about taking time off, but then I don't actually log into the HR portal to request the time officially, I just kinda take the day off and get paid me regular salary. Unless my boss gets on my case about officially requesting the time off I never do, thus the time is never used.