Interviewing and pregnant – Photo credit: pinterest.com

Interviewing when pregnant is rarely a comfortable position to be in. Could the pregnancy stand in the way of you getting the job?

My friend N. went to interview for a lateral position in her company. Despite the obvious bias I have towards her as a friend, N. is one of the most talented and genuinely engaged people I know. N. also happens to be expecting her second child. Interestingly enough, although she was perfect for the position, she was told her pregnancy would get in the way of her fulfilling the job duties.

By now, you are probably thinking the manager interviewing my friend was some middle-aged, conservative, maybe even sexist male. And if you were betting your monthly shoe allowance on it, you’d probably come up a pair of stilettos short…The female manager interviewing my friend was smart, vibrant, pleasant, and she is 38.

Why would a woman deny another woman a position because of circumstances as natural as pregnancy? The interesting part of this professional and moral conundrum is the very same manager who interviewed my friend is also trying to get pregnant, as she revealed to N. “The problem”, she said, “is with both of us being pregnant and an entire department to be run, the situation may become impossible.”

Professional impasse or moral faux-pas? Violation of basic rights or honest, albeit impossibly difficult, decision? While N. seems to understand and even empathize with the negative outcome (partly because this manager was so nice about it), I don’t…

As a women professional, please remember you are under no legal obligation to disclose your pregnancy when interviewing. However, if your state is visible or if you willingly choose to disclose it, this alone should not constitute an obstacle to you getting the job. If it does, you may want to re-consider working for such a company or manager. After all, didn’t Marissa Mayer get the Yahoo CEO job while 5 months pregnant?

Are situations all black-and-white all the time? As with my friend’s example, there can be a lot of gray areas. When joining a smaller company or department where your prolonged absence during maternity leave may cause significant delays or losses, you may want to be more forthcoming about your upcoming availability.

In any case, use your own moral compass and listen to your instincts as you proceed. Evaluate what matters to you, make the best decision for yourself.

As for my friend N., in a weird twist of circumstances, she thought not getting the job actually turned out to be the best outcome. She went home and took a nap. And when she wakes up and reads this, she’ll ask me to start compensating her for using her for inspiration, again…

And I’ll tell her again, that stories that matter are made to be told (and the wine is on me next time)…

The Corporate Sis.