So, I qualified earlier this year as a solicitor with a regional firm. Great, all well and good.
I decided to seek opportunities elsewhere and managed to get an interview at a really good law firm (think top 100). The first two interviews were very informal but feedback was good and they invited me back for a third interview. Prior to them setting up the third interview, I was asked to fill in all the gaps on my CV stretching back to my school days. I managed to do this but left out maternity leave periods as I didn't think it was something I ought to put on the application - it was not something I was trying to hide but I was wary as it leaves me open to being discriminated against/the prospective employer open to being accused of discrimination. However, they insisted ALL gaps had to be covered so I included this information.
Third interview came around which I thought was going well, until one of the interviewers asked me (after telling me he knew he wasn't supposed to ask this) how I was planning on juggling the job/hours with having DC. I felt uncomfortable being asked this (but tried not to show it) and said (in summary) that I had done this very well throughout my training period and after qualification and did not see my having DC as an issue. At the end of the interview, I was told that they liked me and that they would arrange for me to move through to the next stage which would simply be an informal way for me to meet with the rest of the team.
Fast-forward to a week later. After chasing up with them, I was told that other candidates were also being interviewed/considered and they wanted to get us all at the same stage so final interviews could be arranged simultaneously. Fair enough, I thought - they had already said/implied that there was more than one role to fill. Fast-forward to a month later, and I have just been told that I will not be invited back to interview/be offered the job and no reason has (yet) been offered. I am waiting to see what reasons (if any) I get from them, but it's not looking good, is it (especially given the question(s) asked at interview)?
If I had been informed of the decision much earlier, it would have given me an opportunity to aggressively look elsewhere, but I didn't, partly because I really did like the firm in question and thought I would be a good fit, and also because I wanted to make sure I had enough availability for the final interview with the firm in question. Now, the recruiting season (for this type of role) is pretty much over and it looks like I shall have to wait at least 6 months to a year before anything remotely similar comes up.
A close acquaintance suggested that I pursue this through raising a grievance followed by a tribunal claim if I don't get satisfactory answers/if it looks like my having DC is the reason - I spoke to her shortly after my interview and she was incensed that I had been asked such a potentially discriminatory question, but I played it down at the time (and I guess it's come back to bite me!). However, the legal industry (especially the type of law I have chosen to specialise in) is very small - everyone knows everyone, and I am mindful that, should it get out, it may prejudice my current employers against me and make my working life impossible/make it impossible to move on elsewhere in the future.
I suppose my question is WWYD? Try and find out why they decided not to call me back for interview/offer me a job? Simply accept the decision (regardless of the reason(s)) and move on? Submit a grievance/pursue a tribunal claim if no satisfactory/non-discriminatory reason can be given? I'm inclined towards no. 2, but this has really knocked me (and my confidence) for six! 