Tips for Interviewing While Pregnant

Interviewing during pregnancy – should I tell or not?

The company that you are interviewing with has no right to ask about your pregnancy status and you are in no obligation to tell them about it. As someone rightly mentioned in one of the forums, “Although pregnancy shouldn’t legally impact employment decisions, it makes the interviewing process a bit more awkward than it would otherwise be.” Usually the first trimester is the one where you should not be telling about your pregnancy because you still have 6 months ahead of you where you can work to the best of your ability. If your in the final trimester, sure it might impact your work in the couple of months of joining or maybe early if you are required to be on bed rest for some reason. In such a situation, it is generally a good idea to communicate to your employer showing your concern for you work and of course, builds better trust with your employer.

However there are no hard and fast rules, if your job description supports flexible hours and work from home even the third trimester won’t be as much of a problem as you would think it so. It is also a good idea to look up the work culture and benefits offered by the companies you are interviewing with. You have a better chance of being offered a job while pregnant if managers and overall company culture supports it. And of course, your abilities rule over all odds. If you are the best possible candidate for the job (example: Marissa Mayer was appointed the Yahoo CEO when she was pregnant) then there’s nothing that might stop you.

Some points to consider during the interview:

• You do not need to reveal your pregnancy status during a phone interview.
• Don’t talk about how excited you are about being pregnant or looking forward to the baby etc. keep it professional, highlight your qualifications than the pregnant glow.
• If it is quite evident that you are pregnant and a question comes up, answer casually and turn back the emphasis on how well you can get the job done while discussing the downtime you expect and if it impacts the short term work.

Whatever advice we hear around, it’s not going to be easy; just be prepared well and all can go well. Best wishes!