Help!

Help! I don’t know what to do.

I am currently in the process of interviewing for jobs. I left my corporate role in February to finish my MBA and just graduated at the end of the summer. I recently found out I am pregnant. I don’t know when to disclose this information. I don’t want to disqualify myself in the interview process but also feel like I’m keeping this huge secret. What would you do? Have you been in this situation before?

I am also frustrated I have to think about this because a man would never have to!

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4 Comments

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  1. Anonymous

    Yours is literally the 3rd or 4th time this exact question has been asked in the past few days. Scroll down the page and you should see the others along with all the responses.

  2. Anonymous

    Employers legally can't ask you if you're pregnant and you don't have to disclose until after you have received an offer. I wouldn't inform them until 30 days prior to needing to take a leave. They cannot discriminate against you for being pregnant.

  3. Anonymous

    You take things in order of priority. That means landing the jobs and receiving healthy offers is priority one. Revealing your pregnancy is not really part of that priority because it's not supposed to be part of the decision for hiring.

    Put your frustration aside as the gender equation is there and it's real and there is nothing you can do.

  4. Paulla Fetzek, MSEd

    Congratulations on several levels - the MBA, the new opportunities for jobs, and your pregnancy!

    You aren't required to reveal your pregnancy in a job interview. It's up to you to say something or not. And, while it's considered uncouth - it's not illegal for a company to ask a women if she is or intends to be pregnant.

    Having been an interviewer for years - I have appreciated the people who've said something ahead of time. But I have never broached the subject as I personally find that invasive.

    From a company's perspective, it's difficult when a woman's been hired to do a job - only to be told that in x-number of months she's going to be on maternity leave.

    Finally, I respectfully disagree that men don't have to think about pregnancy. They're absolutely not impacted physically the way women are. However, the same cannot be said emotionally or mentally. Just think of a man - who's either just landed a job or is looking for one - while knowing that in short order he's going to be a father.

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