When/how to get a feel for family-friendliness in job interview?

[Anonymous]

I have been working part-time since my kids were born 5 years ago. I have a job interview this week for a full-time job- my first since having kids. I am ready to work full time again and think the job is a good fit for me and I will have great childcare, but I also know that I will not be able to work exactly like I did pre-kids- staying late at a moment's notice, hardly ever taking sick leave, scheduling my vacation when it's most convenient for the job and not around school holidays, etc.

Since this is my first interview post-kids, I wonder how to ask about or gauge these intangible aspects of the job. Of course I want to talk about how I'm great for the job during the interview, and not how I want to take a bunch of leave. So how do parents go about judging the family-friendliness of a job? What can/should you ask, or do you just try to get a feeling for the culture during the interview? Any advice is appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Ask for a tour, and look at how many cutesy/fun things/toys/kiddie pictures/non-standard screensavers you see as you walk past different people's desks.

[Anonymous]

You can easily/safely ask whether the job typically requires overtime (or staying after hours or what the hours typically are, etc.). If they ask, in return, "would that be a problem for you" you can safely say "it would be difficult for me to stay late without advance notice." (you're not necessarily saying that you WOULD work late)

You can also ask "how would you describe the office culture?" and other questions that would get the prospective employer talking about the work environment.

Also, if you want to get a sense about vacation leave, you can ask "are the times of the year when the office is particularly busy, or does the workload remain fairly steady/constant?"

That might help you judge things too - if it's crazy busy right when you normally go on vacation or during the holidays when you would want/need to take leave...

[Anonymous]

I think this is going to be very difficult to gauge during an interview.

Questions like "How is the office culture?" ALWAYS result in enthusiastic responses about collegiality, family friendliness, support, and rah-rahs. Similarly, walkarounds will reveal nothing except the taste of the person whose desk is being viewed or the policy of the company on doo-dads.

I think you need to assume that you can hardly ever take sick leave and that there will be heavy competition for vacations during school vacation time. As for staying late on a moment's notice, that should hopefully be rare in any office unless you are in law. What exactly are you doing?

Of course there is a time of the year when the office is particularly busy.

[Anonymous]

If it's a large firm- there may be input on the site "glassdoor"- it's helpful to read employees feedback..

[Anonymous]

In addition to Glassdoor, I'd also check out Yelp/Indeed/Vault or other websites similar to these to see if there is more information about the workplace culture online. Just keep "Googling". Granted, some of the reviews may be biased (posted by former "rock star" employees and disgruntled employees) so keep that in mind. The best information would be to find an "inside track" (in person or online networks/community groups - LinkedIn/Facebook, etc.) of someone you know directly or friend of a friend that works/worked there. Other subtle indicators of a company's work-life friendliness (without mentioning them outright during an interview) are existing policies on flexible scheduling, teleworking, job-sharing, etc. I would not bring up these alternative work solutions until weeks into the new job (unless the employer brings it up first in their initial job description or job offer negotiations as a part of their stated benefits).

hth

[Anonymous]

OP here- thanks so much for all the feedback. It is an administrative faculty position at a public university, so the kind of employer that is typically very flexible and family-friendly. I have a colleague there but I hesitate to ask her too much because she would be above me in the office and I don't want to seem like I care more about the time off than the job itself. I'm off to Google and see what I can find. Thanks all!

[Anonymous]

I conduct a lot of interviews and I might mention how my hours are so they can get a feel for the fit (I give an honest response -- I don't over or under play it). I know people don't want to ask so I try to put it out there in a way that doesn't require any response. But the best way to find out is AFTER you have an offer and BEFORE you have accepted.