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1st Trimester
Donniesgrrl
member
Job Interview while pregnant
Donniesgrrl
member
I had a phone interview about 2 weeks ago, it was 3 days before I found out I was pregnant, I got an email from the last Wednesday saying they will contact me in the new year and they would like to have me meet my supervisors team for an interview ( supervisor will be out on maternity leave) I am hoping tht they can get me in reatively early in January and I can start the Job before the end of my 1st tri, the job would be a perfect fit for me and would relieve alot of my worries since I am being laid off, on December 31.
How would you handle the news of the pregnancy? my original plan was to wait for an offer then tell them upon accepting the offer, but I am worried then that they may find a reason to let me go, early on.
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Re: Job Interview while pregnant
You are not required to tell them at all in the interview, and it's against the law for them to ask if you are pregnant. I would handle it as if you didn't know you were pregnant. Depending on the H/R policies in the new job, you may not have to reveal anything until your 4th month. As a teacher, our contract requires that we notify our employers around 12 weeks to work out our maternity leave. However, keep in mind it is also illegal for them to fire you because you are pregnant.
Hope that helps!
BFP/Labor/Everything Buddy: Papetvet/Erpetdoc
They can't NOT hire you, or fire you because you're pregnant- it's illegal. HOWEVER I know that employers will sometimes "find" a different reason to do it.
They can't ask you, and you don't have to say anything- I would wait at least until after you get the job, and then maybe until you're far enough along that you can't possibly hide the bump anymore? I don't know. It's tricky.
I think your plan is perfect.
Tell when you have an offer--the same way you'd say "I'm happy w/t he offer and would like to accept; for the record, I have already planned a vacation for November 13th-Nov 27th next year; I will need that off, is that a problem?"
" "I'm happy w/t he offer and would like to accept; howeer, I do need to let you know that I am PG and will need X time off at Y time and will be returning on Z date. Is that a problem?"
(and I know some people ethically wanna tell earlier in the process...please don't.
When I was interviewing and doing the hiring for a small company, I did NOT want to know things that got me into legal gray areas. If I have 7 candidates and one of them tells me she smokes [this was a company where we worked w/ kids and making sure smokers didn't do it where they were visible--role models and all that was important], one tells me he can't do Y for religious reasons, etc, it got funky.
Yes, it would be nice to be able to move them to my 'b' list because of that information but I really REALLY didn't want to--I didn't think that was fair because some of my A listers may have had the same problems, they just kept their mouths shut. ANd I also didn't want to be in the situation of turning them down (for whatever reason) and then they'd be ablet o say "well, they didn't hire me because I am an X"...true or not.
I really REALLY didn't want to know)
i would not blame you for not telling them. in fact, i think it's a good idea (at least, until you accept the offer). however, you should keep in mind that the 1) company's insurance may not cover you for awhile (ie, a 30-90 day "probation" period), and 2) you may not be eligible for certain maternity benefits, such as paid leave. it would really depend on the company's policies, how long you work there, etc.
so you may want to consider when you want to talk about it with them so you know what YOU'RE getting into.
good luck!
On that front, you have to be there a year before FMLA...so they don't *have* to give unpaid leave in the US.
THey might but, they don't have to.
For anyone that would ask me this I would advise that she wait until receiving an offer before disclosing; however, that's not what I did when in this situation. My current job hired me while pregnant. I was very up front during the interview process about my situation. My reasoning was that I wanted to build a relationship of trust and not disclosing something that major early on felt dishonest to me (I know it's not dishonest to withhold that information, but it just *felt* that way to me). Also, if they didn't hire me because I was pg, then I figured it was a place I wouldn't want to work anyway! In the end, they were great about it. They were very generous with my maternity leave and I love my job all the more because of it.
Good luck!
A year before you start your leave? Just curious because I'll have completed 1 year 8 days before my due date.
I *think* so.
But I'm not 100% sure because the last company I helped w/ such things for was to small to 'have' to offer FMLA