Starting new job at 21 weeks

Re: Starting new job at 21 weeks

• shannm member

  January 2015

  You wait until you have an offer in writing.  Then you negotiate your time off after the baby.  And yes, you do kind of say, "thank you for the offer.  One of the issues I would like to discuss before accepting is that I will need some time off after my baby is delivered.  I understand that I will not have completed one year of employment but I was hoping that we could come to an agreement that works for both of us."

  There are other ladies on this board that have a better way with words.  Hopefully they will chime in about the specifics BUT I stand firm on the idea that you wait for an offer.  And frankly, you will probably be visibly pregnant so it won't come as a shock.  If they are professional and know what is legally safe for them, they won't bring it up at the interview.  But if they do, just go with the flow.

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• pb&fluff member

  January 2015

  I would probably bring it up in the interview. They know it's illegal to not hire you because you're pregnant.  But you also need to allow them to make decisions about who will cover you when you're on leave, what kind of leave you need to have, etc.  As a business, they need to plan too.  Especially if they're a smaller business.  I'm sure I'm in the minority, but it seems kind of crappy to wait until you have an offer and be like, oh BTW. 
  

  
  
  "You know my name, not my story.
  You've heard what I've done, not what I've been through.
  If you were in my shoes, you'd fall the first step."
  
  

  
  

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• shannm member

  January 2015

  pb&fluff said:

  I would probably bring it up in the interview. They know it's illegal to not hire you because you're pregnant.  But you also need to allow them to make decisions about who will cover you when you're on leave, what kind of leave you need to have, etc.  As a business, they need to plan too.  Especially if they're a smaller business.  I'm sure I'm in the minority, but it seems kind of crappy to wait until you have an offer and be like, oh BTW. 
  

  
  

  But remember you put the company in a very bad position by disclosing it at the interview.  You are right, they know they can't discriminate so then by you telling them at the interview, they now have to worry about whether or not you will cause trouble after they choose not to offer the position, pregnant or not.  

  
  

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• pb&fluff member

  January 2015

  shannm said:

  pb&fluff said:

  I would probably bring it up in the interview. They know it's illegal to not hire you because you're pregnant.  But you also need to allow them to make decisions about who will cover you when you're on leave, what kind of leave you need to have, etc.  As a business, they need to plan too.  Especially if they're a smaller business.  I'm sure I'm in the minority, but it seems kind of crappy to wait until you have an offer and be like, oh BTW. 
  

  
  

  But remember you put the company in a very bad position by disclosing it at the interview.  You are right, they know they can't discriminate so then by you telling them at the interview, they now have to worry about whether or not you will cause trouble after they choose not to offer the position, pregnant or not.  

  
  

  I agree.  Very much a rock and a hard place.
  

  
  
  "You know my name, not my story.
  You've heard what I've done, not what I've been through.
  If you were in my shoes, you'd fall the first step."
  
  

  
  

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• Beevol member

  January 2015

  When I did this, I was very obviously pregnant and I brought it up during the interview when she asked me what sort of timeline I was looking at to start (this was during an interview that went very well and in which the specific position needed to be filled ASAP so the question of "when could you start" was one they probably asked everyone applying, there was also travel that would have been involved after my 36 week mark so that was part of my decision to say something). 

  
  

  I just said something along the lines of "Well, as you can see, I'm pregnant and due at X, and I would like to give my current employer Y weeks notice, so, the earliest I would be able to start would be Z." I was nervous to say something because it's really awkward to bring up something in an interview which is illegal for them to ask about, so I'm glad that I found a way to mention it organically and necessarily. If I hadn't been showing so much, I probably would not have said anything until I had an offer, but it was clearly the elephant in the room and those things kind of need to be addressed. 

  
  

  They did offer me a job (which I took!) although it wasn't the position I initially applied for/interviewed for. Once I had the offer in writing (email, not the official offer letter, which I actually didn't get until my first day - it was weird) we negotiated my start date and maternity leave in addition to my salary. I did this all via phone and email (making sure to recap phone discussions in writing in my emails). 

  
  

  For some jobs/employers, it would be a deal breaker to need to be off so soon after starting, but for others it's not an issue. In my case, I was able to work from home part-time during my maternity leave which made it a lot more feasible. 

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