Maternity leave - to mention on CV?

[LittlePickleHead]

I'm currently on maternity leave and looking to return to a different job. I'm looking for part time work and this isn't an option in my current role.

I applied for a role through one agency who sent me for an interview. I was upfront with the agency about mat leave etc and they said that this role, although looking for full time, would consider part time for the right candidate.

However at the interview the lady that interviewed me seemed a little perturbed that I hadn't mentioned the mat leave on my cv as it hadn't been mentioned to her. I didn't get called back for a second, though I don't know if it was directly related to that.

I've now amended my CV to mention the mat leave, and I also mention it in my cover letter and the fact I want to work part time. I'm now wondering if this is a mistake and if it will put people off (although legally I know it shouldn't!). I've applied for a few part time jobs well within in my capabilities and not heard anything back. I have a very good CV (being objective!) and before I mentioned the mat leave I had a better response. However I don't want to be seen to be hiding anything.

Wwyd?

I wouldn't mention it if you were still employed while off, you wouldn't specifically mention any other type of leave, eg men don't mention paternity leave, nor do you mention any sickness absence/ special leave on the cv. If your employment finished before having the baby then you would need to mention it. It really annoys me how this is still held against women. I would feed back to the lady that interviewed you re how it made you feel,she probably wasn't very well trained at interviewing.

Well I'm still employed now, so I guess no need to mention then? Damn I've just applied for about 5 jobs mentioning it.

Really annoyed if it has counted against me.

So would you just explain during interview the situation? I still need to give a month's notice, but I'd feel pretty uncomfortable not mentioning it at all.

Sorry to hear of the bad experience.

I would personally do everything I can to not remind them that I have a womb/can still use it. I know we shouldn't have too but....

Can you try to imagine it is x months on and you are back at work but job hunting to secure a part-time role? And answer any interview questions from that stance.

I think the trouble with mentioning it could bring up all sorts of unfounded things in their head; has she agreed to return but is actually sneekily job hunting? why haven't they offered her pt?

The best interview advice I was given is "they only know what you tell them". I like to fully explain and give lots of detail but sometimes it pays not to.

Just change your approach going forward. As you might already know , one way to appear active when on mat leave is to keep your LinkedIn profile up-to-date with updates etc.

Good luck.

I think the lack of response re pt jobs is probably more about the lack of roles compared to the demand. Somebody mentioned to me that Timewise Jobs (the pt recruitment arm of the Women Like Us social enterprise) typically has 20 jobs on offer, with 44,000 women registered for updates.

Sorry I know that is a depressing thought.

Have you got a good network? Can you discretely ask for any job leads?