Job interview, lawyer, 6 months pregnant

[Gennz]

Hi everyone,

well, as above - I have a job interview on Wednesday and I am 25 1/2 weeks pregnant. It looks like an interesting role, a step up from what I've been doing in terms of seniority and money, and more of a focus on writing /advocacy than I currently have, which I like (I'm an in-house lawyer). It's very close to home (I could drive there in under 10 minutes).

The first interview is this week, and there'd be a second interview next week. I think I could just hide the fact that I am pregnant with a cunningly cut dress. However, if I made it to a second interview, I think I would probably tell them and hope that they thought I was so amazing that they could live with it

My idea would be to pitch a mid-March start date, with one day worked from home (the nature of the work means this should be do-able). The baby would be 4 months old. DH could arrange to take some parental leave for 3 - 4 months at that point, and the extra money would mean we'd be able to afford a nanny.

This would mean that, although I'd start a bit later than they would have had in mind, they won't need to worry about maternity leave or anything. My notice period at my current job is 3 months anyway, and the Christmas/Januray period is very quiet here - lots of offices shut down for 3+ weeks.

Is this remotely feasible or am I totally deluded? Anyone been in a similar situation?

Sounds entirely feasible to me.

Thanks Waffle... I can't decide whether it is actually feasible or if I'm talking myself into it!

Oh you have doubts? What is worrying you?

I don't have doubts that I can do the job, just whether the fact of the pregnancy/later start date/flexibility requirement will be totally off-putting for them.

Have found that pregnancy does seem to make some managers revert to circa 1972.

I'm an in house lawyer and I can't imagine my head of department recruiting someone in those circumstances unless they were exceptional and there was no one else who could start sooner. Generally we only recruit if there is an immediate/mid-term need for someone and 7 months is quite a long time to wait, especially if the team is under pressure in terms of resources.

There's no harm in trying, at the very least to understand what the company needs and when. However if you don't get the job because your requirements aren't compatible, if you make a good impression it could be a good door to open for the future.

Yes I agree it's a long shot southpaws

It's a head of legal role (though a very tiny team) with a very specific skill set (I sound like Liam Neeson in Taken) so I'm hoping that will count in my favour, rather than against. I've negotiated a 4 month delay in start date before but 6 will probably be pushing it - I really would prefer the baby to be at least 4 months before I go back to work though. Oh well, I guess it's worth a crack!

I wouldn't tell them I was pregnant until offer stage if you can hide your bump! Definitely tell them before you accept the job but no point telling them before an offer, that way you wouldn't know if you hadn't got it due to the pregnancy or whether another candidate was better. They would find it very hard to wiggle out of an offer if you tell them you are pregnant at that point, as I'm sure as a lawyer you know, but then you arent' actually deceiving them by accepting without telling them.

I think if you tell them before an offer stage you run a significant risk that they will take on someone else, although if you have a long notice period anyway it may not matter so much.

well, I just had the inetrview and it went really well. I ended up telling them I was pregnant - they ask me what I liked to do outside work in my personal life, and I felt like it would be a bit weird not to mention it (maybe my attempts to camoflague the bump weren't that successful!)

From what I could tell, they didn't seem fazed or they hid it very well. The CEO was at pains to mention that it was a family friendly organisation, and said that they'd had to postpone the interview of another candidate as she'd just given birth yesterday. The incumbent is in the job until late September & will be contracting back to the organisation anyway, so perhaps the delay in starting won't be such an issue?

Anyway, I thought I'd update in case anyone is in a similar boat - even if I don't get the job, it was a generally positive experience and made me feel a lot better about my career prospects. Things in my current role have been a bit difficult since I announced my pregnancy.