Searching for a job in this economy is difficult – there are so many qualified people out there that it’s hard to even get through to the first stage of interviewing.
However, as difficult as a normal job search may be, it’s even worse when you’re pregnant.
According to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, an employer cannot refuse to hire a pregnant woman because of her pregnancy. However, we all know that discrimination still happens.
But why?
Yes, I happen to be pregnant, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be committed to my job. I’m a really hard worker who is looking for a long-term career path at a new company. Due to my pregnancy, I will need to take maternity leave in the spring; however I WILL come back to work as soon as my leave is over.
Unfortunately, when an interviewer sees a pregnant woman they may feel that once she goes on maternity leave, she won’t want to come back to work. Not only that, but she may require too many accommodations even after her return.
Well, that’s just not fair!
Not all of us can survive on one income. Even if my family could survive on just my husband’s paycheck, I DON’T WANT TO! I enjoy working and it’s not fair to assume that once I have my baby I’ll want to stay home and stare at it all day long.
So, how do you interview while pregnant?
I’ve done some research on this, as well as spoke to a Human Resources professional and my headhunter, and I’ve found that during the interview process you are pretty much forbidden to disclose your pregnancy.
Not only are you not supposed to say anything, they can’t ask either. It’s just as forbidden as asking a potential employee their age, weight or marital status.
At 5 months of pregnancy, it really depends on what I wear to decide whether I look pregnant or just a little chubby. I’m not *hiding* my pregnancy from potential employers, but I’m also not sticking out my tummy and telling them to call me Mommy.
Once I receive a written job offer, I will disclose my pregnancy. However, I will also use that opportunity to tell them how committed I am to the position.
Will there be hard feelings that I’ve kept this from them? I hope not, because the only other option is to disclose the pregnancy in the interviewing stage and forever wonder if that was the reason I didn’t get a job offer.
I’ve heard the horror stories of women who couldn’t get a job while pregnant, but I’ve also heard about women who were hired while obviously showing. It pretty much comes down to the fact that if someone doesn’t want to hire you due to your pregnancy, would you really want to work at that company anyway?