Having a baby = disadvantage in job market?

nopegoat · May 2011

I am starting my job search and I have heard several different views on whether having a kid is viewed negatively by prospective employers, especially as a recent college graduate looking for pretty much an entry level position.

What do you think?

I know it is illegal for them to discriminate but of course we all know it still happens in various way for various different reasons.

megperk72 · May 2011

It is illegal for them to ask if you have children. If you think you're at a disadvantage I wouldn't bring it up in conversation. If they ask, you can always say "why do you ask"? Of course, if there is travel involved and you don't want to be away from LO, then that's something you'll need to take into consideration. But as far as them making the decision for you, I wouldn't give them any more information than what is legally required.

danto · May 2011

I don't know if discrimination is the right word. As a manager and a mother, I don't see parents' as work force 'go getters' I doubt that I'll be able to count on them for the 10+ hour days that a non-parent might put in.

However, usually the parents are more seasoned and quality of work will far outweigh quantity of hours so don't hesitate to hire.

If someone never mentions their kids during the interview or uses them as an excuse during employment then my expectations of work for that person would be no different than for a non-parent. I say don't mention it if you are interviewing - you are right, there is no legal requirement for you to do so.

jastl32 · May 2011

I'm sure there are companies out there who frown upon it, but in the 3 companies I've worked for (I've been in HR for all of them and do a lot of hiring) I've never seen it come up - EVER.

It is illegal for them to ask you if you have any children. No need to give that information.

sodelish · May 2011

I personally wouldn't even mention you have a child in a job interview. Legally a prospective employer can't ask and it shouldn't affect whether or not you get a job.

doremi29 · May 2011

The school I teach in is very "family first", but I agree with PP's that I would avoid bringing it up in an interview. You can talk about yourself in the professional sense and still give them an honest view of what you are like without mentioning you have a child. I definately think that if many employers had 2 applicants that were close to identical, but one had a child, they may view that as a negative (though, I sure lots of employers wouldn't care).

Unknown · May 2011

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OrangeSmoke · May 2011

danto:

I don't know if discrimination is the right word. As a manager and a mother, I don't see parents' as work force 'go getters' I doubt that I'll be able to count on them for the 10+ hour days that a non-parent might put in.

Do you feel the same way about male employees?

To me, it's not a parent vs. non parent thing. I think most entry level employees (young, building their careers) will tend to want to be a "go getter" - far more so than someone who's established in their careers (and families).

danto · May 2011

OrangeSmoke:
danto:

I don't know if discrimination is the right word. As a manager and a mother, I don't see parents' as work force 'go getters' I doubt that I'll be able to count on them for the 10+ hour days that a non-parent might put in.

Do you feel the same way about male employees?

To me, it's not a parent vs. non parent thing. I think most entry level employees (young, building their careers) will tend to want to be a "go getter" - far more so than someone who's established in their careers (and families).

Yeah, I guess I kind of have a bias about moms and dads. Maybe not equally though. I feel if someone is mentioning their children during the interview, I can't legally use it as a reason not to hire, but I'd be concerned that if the children work their way into derailing an interview, they'll work their way into derailing their productivity.

bluejayway · May 2011

I wouldn't mention it in an interview. That said, I work in a tough business. I'm surrounded by Harvard MBAs and it's very competitive. But lots of people I work with have children, I do feel that dads are held to a different expectation than mothers, in some weird, unspoken way. I am quitting my job to focus on being a mother for a little while, because we're moving back home (we're working internationally for our company right now) and I need to focus on getting us/DD settled.

But when I go back, I will have to interview and they will ask why I left, I am sure. Will I give the reason, "motherhood," for me quitting? I don't know. I feel that being a parent has made me more well-rounded, far more efficient, grown-up. I have a different side and depth and determination to me. All good things in an employee.

ASmallWonder · May 2011

Like others said, they can't ask. But only you know if you should mention it or not. When I was interviewing for the job I have now I was very open about it. I didn't want to work someplace that didn't appreciate that I have a family. I was up front about the fact that I would be dedicated to my job but that I was unable to work random late nights. I felt like if that's what they wanted, they deserved to know going into it that I wasn't their candidate.

numeria11 · May 2011

bluejayway:

I wouldn't mention it in an interview. That said, I work in a tough business. I'm surrounded by Harvard MBAs and it's very competitive. But lots of people I work with have children, I do feel that dads are held to a different expectation than mothers, in some weird, unspoken way. I am quitting my job to focus on being a mother for a little while, because we're moving back home (we're working internationally for our company right now) and I need to focus on getting us/DD settled.

But when I go back, I will have to interview and they will ask why I left, I am sure. Will I give the reason, "motherhood," for me quitting? I don't know. I feel that being a parent has made me more well-rounded, far more efficient, grown-up. I have a different side and depth and determination to me. All good things in an employee.

I think unless like this poster you have entirely left the workforce for several years to be a SAHP then no you dont mention you have kids. At that point you mention it to show that you are still a productive member of society for the last 3 years or whatever not just at home hanging out on unemployment. People can say all they want it doesnt affect their decision on who they hire, but as an HR Manager and a Recruiter with 3 different companies (two of which required ungodly hours from the employees) I can tell you it often does sometimes affect the decision on who to hire. It may never be said out loud that is why we arent hire Candidate X but the reality is everyone in the room knows it is a big factor in some jobs. When you are asking people to work 6 months to a year straight with 15+ hour days then yeah having kids that might take that person away is viewed as disadvantage.

MrsSR · May 2011

I think it depends on the company and position.

I'm a teacher at a Catholic school and I feel that being a mom is an avantage.

Quizzle · May 2011

I wouldn't mention it during an interview.

Now that said, I did get hired at my new job (I work for a children's hospital) in spite of the fact that my husband told my boss I was nursing the baby when she called for an interview. Argh!!! I almost killed him because seriously, what if she hadn't called back?! Although in his defense he thought it was a charity call because it's a nonprofit. I did stress my husband's flexible schedule when they asked about childcare and such, since it was out in the open I had a baby.

She told me a couple of weeks ago that she thought our family was kind of weird when she called for the interview thanks to my husband's response, but didn't count the baby against me -- it was a positive (and there are a bunch of new babies in my department right now). And we were all out of sorts because we had moved 3 days before so everything was chaotic. It would have been hypocritical to count kids against you given the company though.

delg23 · May 2011

elmoali:
Like others said, they can't ask. But only you know if you should mention it or not. When I was interviewing for the job I have now I was very open about it. I didn't want to work someplace that didn't appreciate that I have a family. I was up front about the fact that I would be dedicated to my job but that I was unable to work random late nights. I felt like if that's what they wanted, they deserved to know going into it that I wasn't their candidate.

I agree with this. And when I go back to work I am going to have to explain why I didn't work for a year or so. So I plan on mentioning it.

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