Looking for jobs while on Maternity Leave... What are your thoughts?

1faceinacrowd · July 2016

I think I told everyone that, a few weeks ago, I asked for a raise at work and was told "yes" by my boss. I was asking for a raise because, when I was hired over two years ago, I was told that I could be promoted into a new role upon completion of training. That new role is at the next pay scale up and has since been eliminated, so I was never given the new title or the new pay, which led me to ask for a raise. I found out yesterday that the raise I was approved for is still well below the minimum amount I would've received had they given me the role I was supposed to get, and my pay is still about $15-20k/year under market average for this type of work.

So, I've officially decided that I want to look elsewhere. The question now is... when? And how? Has anyone here ever job-hunted during maternity leave? If I were to get a job offer while on leave, what would be the best way to handle giving notice? Do I make sure I can return to work for a couple of weeks prior to starting a new job? Do I just call them up and let them know I won't be back? I'm also trying to decide if I should start searching now (3 weeks before my due date) or just wait. The thing is, my DH and I are hoping to have him be a SAHD, which would be entirely possible if my job would've promoted me into the role they eliminated, or given me a raise that brought me even somewhat close to market average. I'm in sort of a "booming" field and tons of people have left this company for more money somewhere else, so I'm fairly sure I won't have any problems finding something. Any advice would be appreciated...

Stephanie7693 · July 2016

My friend just had a baby in april. She spent the second half of her leave job hunting. She's in the dental field, so it wasn't too hard. She got offered a job closer to her home and a decent bump in pay. The difference with her is her job she left pretty much fired her for taking 12 weeks off for maternity leave. They told her if she didn't come back after 8 she would no longer have her job. So as far as notice, I'm not sure, but I assume as long as it is at least 2 weeks before you are due to go back to work, that would be acceptable.
Good luck!

Curls919 · July 2016

First off, I'm sorry your promotion didn't come through! That really sucks.

The only thing I'd take into consideration about this is what is your maternity leave policy? Is it paid at all? If so and you find a new job you may have to pay your current company back for what they paid you while out on leave. Or there may be some rule about how long you have to stay at the company post maternity leave.

cal031686 · July 2016

Agree with @Curls919, be sure of maternity leave so you don't screw yourself upon exiting.

JournoGrl23 · July 2016

I'm actually doing this too. My company has a policy where you have to work for 30 days before quitting if you want to keep the money earned through leave. But my situation may be a little different. If I don't get a job during leave then I'll go back for 30 days, but if I do get one (which I currently have a good prospect at one) then I'll let them know during leave that I won't be coming back. I work in an industry that literally pays next to nothing so I honestly don't care if I have to give up some paid leave. It makes more financial sense if I have a job before we move closer to our families as this job will probably pay an actual living wage anyway. So I guess it depends on your leave policy and your situation in general. But I think it's OK to give a good notice while you're on leave. Especially if your job is already hiring temps or something to replace you for the time you're gone like mine is. They're already prepared to not have someone in that position.

searchingforameaning · July 2016

I plan on looking for a job while on leave but am only telling current employer that I am coming back since I don't know if I will find something or not.

charmedlifex3 · July 2016

I don't think throwing in some applications now would hurt. My husband has been out of work, and some higher wage positions take months to decide. My current job I applied to a full 6 months before I was hired. (I work in a highly regulatory environment.) I would make sure to note on your application, and possibly on your resume the date you are looking to return to work. I assume even if you found something a week after you give birth, you'd still want at least a few more weeks home. Better to be realistic about it, and show a potential employer you are honest and have a viable plan to start work than to shock them after accepting the job by either attempting to go back before you are ready and being a hot mess starting, or requesting a start date a month away unexpectedly (then that becomes a point of negotiation, negating your leverage on other things) If a delayed availability is something you made clear before they ever called you, that lets you save your negotiations for things like more vacation time, or higher pay.

Fremdschamen · July 2016

I haven't done it, but a friend of mine was in a similar situation-- underpaid for her field. She found a job before going on maternity leave, but stayed at her old company until baby arrived. She made an agreement with the new place that when her leave was over, she would start at there. She also made an agreement with the new company that they would cover any money the old company tried to claw back, but this is a pretty nice perk. Obviously not every company would agree to that!

There's no harm in starting to look now. Some companies like a bit of lead time before a new person comes in anyways. Good luck!

1faceinacrowd · July 2016

You guys are awesome! Thanks for all of the advice! I'll start applying at a few places now and put my start date in October.

I'm going to try to figure out if my current company has any restrictions on paid leave when it comes to returning after leave is over.

JournoGrl23 · July 2016

Also, I have a Facebook friend recently announce she's decided to be a SAHM. She was due to go back to work in two weeks (currently on maternity leave) and she just put her notice in today that she will not be returning. So I think it's acceptable to just give a two weeks notice while you're on leave.

kgillespie92 · July 2016

My sister in law is in that boat right now, she worked for a law firm and took another position, they were paying her about 1/3 (roughly) of what she made working her normal 40 hour work week, and when they caught wind that she had found another job elsewhere during her leave, they sent her a termination letter as well as one saying she had to pay back all the money they gave her during her leave.

It is possible to find a job during leave, but can sometimes be difficult depending on the type of job you have. Best of luck to you!

charmedlifex3 · July 2016

@kgillespie92 I don't think she would have to pay that back in most companies since they termed her, she didn't quit... And if she was covered under FMLA then it likely wasn't legal to term her while she was on leave, especially based on the supposition she *would* quit upon returning. Probably she wasn't covered by FMLA if it was a small law practice, but if I remember I think @1faceinacrowd is.

I work in a similar field, and I ran into that when our office switched companies. I'm the office manager with two partners and a junior broker. We changed our parent company, which technically provided my benefits, including tuition reimbursement. I had received a check for it the week before. The company termed me, once all the brokers quit, and I was not required to pay back a dime. My former company had a policy I would need to reimburse tuition reimbursement if I left "voluntarily" within 6 months of receipt - it wasn't terribly voluntary that the company closed the office as soon as the producers all quit... even though I had already accepted a job offer working for the same people at the new company, starting the next day, that is a non-issue legally speaking.

It becomes a sticky legal wicket if you make people pay back benefits when YOU term THEM - the employee could argue the reason they were termed was so the company could avoid paying the benefit, or avoid honoring their protected leave. Both of which are generally frowned upon if you push it to arbitration. Usually it is cheaper for the company to let the employee keep their benefit than to fight it (probably unsuccessfully) in court.

pilotswifey · July 2016

Lurking from September 16... I did this right after I had DS in May of 2013. I had an interview two days after I got home from the hospital. It was a total whirlwind, but I was offered the position and started in August. (I think I may have stood out as a bit memorable in the interview, too, because I forgot what I was saying halfway through an answer...I had to explain why I was a little tired.)

My original company had FMLA, but my leave wasn't paid, so I didn't have any problem leaving. My boss was actually amazing about it, and he told me I'd be crazy to not take the new position.

Good luck @1faceinacrowd!

Edited because words are hard...

Abfisher · July 2016

I have been job interviewing toward the end of this pregnancy. I actually did an interview this week. I plan to job hunt during maternity leave. Fortunately, it would take three months for me to become credentialed if I get hired as a nurse practitioner, contingent upon passing my boards. My current job requires one month notice, so I don't have to really stress not giving them enough time. I will probably be back at work for at least a month after maternity leave before jumping ship. If you can make more $$ elsewhere, go for it. Just don't leave your current employment under bad terms. I would follow any policy they have for giving written notice of terminating employment so that you don't burn bridges. I would give them notice as soon as you find a job, however.

telicious2 · July 2016

Do you carry the health insurance? After maternity leave I had to have a little extra taken out each paycheck to cover for the weeks I didn't get paid. Good luck @1faceinacrowd

1faceinacrowd · July 2016

@telicious2 My husband carries the health insurance through the union, so we have insurance through September right now just based on the hours he's already worked this year (and he's working now, so it'll keep building up and will likely take us through the end of the year). If I get a good enough job, we'll have him quit his and I'll start covering benefits once the Union benefits run out.

jamiesc58 · September 2016

I have an interview today at the daycare we plan on having our 2 youngest attend! It is way cheaper if you work there and I will get to nurse LO also. I am praying it goes well!!!

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