In light of the tenuousness of my current position, I decided to at least try to explore other opportunities. Why assume people are going to have prejudice against a spawning woman? Not trying would be saving them the effort of the worry. I send in an application for an editor position that called for exactly my expertise. It's, admittedly, a lateral move (although for a more prestigious Journal), but it would probably be good for my career long-term if I really want to stick with this editor thing. The downsides are not duty-related: a 3x longer commute, probably more stringent working hours (and less flexibility), greater costs with the commute (it's downtown). What it comes down to is that I'm PERFECTLY qualified for this position.
So I put on my maternity pants and a professional-looking maternity top, with my suitcoat on top, and trained my way down to my interview (with an HR person followed by the Managing Editor). The interview went exceedingly well - I got along well with both people and answered all the questions clearly. I had a really good vibe during the conversations, and could really see myself in the position. One catch - we didn't discuss my obviously growing stomach. I would have gladly addressed it, but it didn't come up in the conversation, and they didn't bring it up (perhaps for fear of bias?). I'm unsure what the etiquette is on this, but since I'm obviously not hiding something, I'm just planning on discussing it when/if I get an offer (which is when I would discuss money, timing, other personal things anyway). However, the grimace associated with the glances at my stomach by the Managing Editor make me wonder if I should have brought it up anyway. We'll see if I get invited in for a second round (it's only been a few days), but my feeling right now is that the job would be mine if it weren't for my spawning handicap.
And really, I can't blame them. I would probably hire the non-pregnant over the pregnant woman if they had equal qualifications. I just have to hope that my stellar 'fit' can overcome my obvious handicap. We'll see...
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2 comments:
Legally, they are not allowed to ask you about it or utter a word about it. If you bring it up, they can listen to what you have to say, but even then, I'm not sure they're allowed to discuss it.
As your friendly HR'er...
Legally we can't ask and can't be biased. Personally, we've hired pregnant women and not had any issue, but we cannot ask unless the applicant leads that discussion.
Of the ones we hired that we obviously pregnant, they addressed it directly in their interview. Having done a lot of interviews--it's better when an applicant has something like pregnancy (which becomes a "pink elephant" in the room that we can't talk about with them) it's better for you to tell them and tell them your plans so they don't assume the worst--ie: You're going to have the baby, take 12 weeks maternity leave, then decide not to return. It also shows your potential employer that, although you are a mom, you are focused on your job at hand too.
Keep in mind that in most states, you are not eligible for job protection under FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) unless you've been there a full year, so even if you get a new job they aren't legally required to hold it for you while you take maternity leave.
Hope that helps!
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