Hello everyone! I don't post often, but I have a bit of a dilemma and could use some advice. I submitted my resume for a job two days before I found out I was pregnant. Five weeks went by and I assumed they weren't considering me, but they called to set up a Skype interview, which I did. I thought it went poorly and wasn't going to worry about it since we have a baby on the way. But I just received an email that they would like me to come in for an interview next week. I will be 15 weeks pregnant. I don't like my current job, and this new job is more along the lines of what I'm used to doing, and it pays $12,000 more per year, which means I can pay for daycare without changing our budget around. Plus the office where I would be working is about 5 minutes from my top two daycares that I have picked out. The job is with the city government where I live. How do I handle telling them I'm pregnant? Do I tell them during this interview? I know that technically they can't discriminate against me, but they could still say that someone else was more qualified. What happens if I get hired, and then tell them I'm pregnant? I know I don't qualify for FMLA, but we have savings put aside for me to take up to 12 weeks off at no pay, so that part isn't an issue. I just don't want to accept this new job, and then they somehow find a way to fire me when I want to take time off, and I don't want to come across as a liar if I accept the job and don't tell them I'm pregnant. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
I wouldn't say a word about being pregnant until you have signed and returned your offer letter. Keep in mind that since you won't qualify for FMLA---and even though you might financially be ok to not work for 12 weeks---they may or may not let you have that much time off, even unpaid. That is something you can negotiate after you have been offered the job.
I was just in this exact same position. I was interviewing for a position at 16-17 weeks. During my interview I wore a loose fitting shirt that wouldn't make me look as pregnant. Once they offered me the positionand I had signed all necessary paperwork, I politely told the boss. This was the best route for me to take because I will be on a 90 day probationary period and I wanted to tell them before I could do anything that could be considered grounds for termination.
I'm fairly sure my job discriminated against me for a promotion since they later told me that I did the best out of all the candidates in our group... Only to not give the job to any of us. I couldn't hide it by then, you're not being dishonest by protecting yourself. Caution though: you might not be eligible for maternity leave if you've only been with the new job for a short time.
Re: Job Interview at 15 weeks pregnant
Caution though: you might not be eligible for maternity leave if you've only been with the new job for a short time.