Would you ever switch jobs if you're pregnant?

[Anonymous]

I got a call for to interview at another federal agency. Job would be a small pay bump (about $10k), so it's not life changing. I'm 17 weeks pregnant.

Would you even bother going to the interview? I'm happy enough in my current job, but my current agency has been targeted by the administration and I have no idea when they'll hire / promote here again.

[Anonymous]

Yes, at any stage of the pregnancy. I'm always looking for the next big opportunity.

But then again, I'm told I behave and think like men do in the workplace.

[Anonymous]

Yes. And don't mention you're pregnant.

[Anonymous]

I did. I started the interview process not pregnant, but was 8 weeks along by the time I got an offer. I accepted, started and then told them about the pregnancy at 16 weeks. I was eligible for fully paid maternity leave on day one though, so I didn't have to worry about negotiating that. I also told my future boss (and very close friend) that I was pregnant and she agreed that I did not need to tell the firm until I was ready. I had struggled to get pregnant for years and was not going to put my career on hold for a baby that I was not sure I was going to carry to term.

My good friend also recently interviewed while pregnant. They really liked her but told her they could not offer her paid maternity leave as a new employee. She was 3 months pregnant at the time and wanted 5 months off. She stayed with her job and took maternity leave. She call the job she interviewed with while on maternity leave and they gave her an offer for her to start when her maternity leave was over.

[Anonymous]

Would you be eligible for full maternity leave?

That would be my concern.

[Anonymous]

Only if I could negotiate maternity leave. Then, yes, definitely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did. I started the interview process not pregnant, but was 8 weeks along by the time I got an offer. I accepted, started and then told them about the pregnancy at 16 weeks. I was eligible for fully paid maternity leave on day one though, so I didn't have to worry about negotiating that. I also told my future boss (and very close friend) that I was pregnant and she agreed that I did not need to tell the firm until I was ready. I had struggled to get pregnant for years and was not going to put my career on hold for a baby that I was not sure I was going to carry to term.

My good friend also recently interviewed while pregnant. They really liked her but told her they could not offer her paid maternity leave as a new employee. She was 3 months pregnant at the time and wanted 5 months off. She stayed with her job and took maternity leave. She call the job she interviewed with while on maternity leave and they gave her an offer for her to start when her maternity leave was over.

She really wanted to leave a workplace that offered such a generous leave package for one that wouldn't work with her?

[Anonymous]

OP here. It's federal to federal, so the mat leave would be my own annual and sick time that I've accumulated. 12 weeks. The question would be if they'd let me use the whole 12 weeks I have saved. If not, then I absolutely wouldn't consider it.

It's all further complicated by the fact that my first child's daycare is currently in the building I work in, and honestly, that's a pretty sweet set up. The new job is a mile further into the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did. I started the interview process not pregnant, but was 8 weeks along by the time I got an offer. I accepted, started and then told them about the pregnancy at 16 weeks. I was eligible for fully paid maternity leave on day one though, so I didn't have to worry about negotiating that. I also told my future boss (and very close friend) that I was pregnant and she agreed that I did not need to tell the firm until I was ready. I had struggled to get pregnant for years and was not going to put my career on hold for a baby that I was not sure I was going to carry to term.

My good friend also recently interviewed while pregnant. They really liked her but told her they could not offer her paid maternity leave as a new employee. She was 3 months pregnant at the time and wanted 5 months off. She stayed with her job and took maternity leave. She call the job she interviewed with while on maternity leave and they gave her an offer for her to start when her maternity leave was over.

She really wanted to leave a workplace that offered such a generous leave package for one that wouldn't work with her?

Yes. It was a move from biglaw to in-house. Biglaw have very generous maternity leave but are terrible for young parents.

[Anonymous]

I started new jobs during both of my pregnancies, though in my case only the first time was purely intentional. The second time I had been laid off a few months before, and while I had been intending to consult for a while a really good opportunity came my way soon after I got pregnant again.

This will be somewhat different for you, but in my case I did not mention my pregnancy either time until I got the offer...but I did mention it before accepting the offer. At that stage, it would have been illegal for them to rescind the offer, but they also would not have been legally required to offer me any sort of accommodation for leave since I would have been there for only a few months. So, they would have had a legal way to discourage me from taking the job, by simply not providing flexibility around my leave. In both cases, though, my employer was more than happy to allow me extended, partially paid, leave...so it worked out.

Fed-to-Fed where you are worried that your current job is at risk? I would do it in a heartbeat.

[Anonymous]

Yes, in your circumstances, do it. There is an OPM memo on leave that explicitly states that you can use your accrued sick/annual leave during your 12 weeks of FMLA, and I think also encourages agencies to be generous with advance sick and annual to the extent practicable.

[Anonymous]

No, never, but I'm in the Corporate world.
No paid maternity leave (and FMLA doesn't even apply), unless you've been there 12 months.
My last company, a recently hired woman took 3 weeks maternity leave. Horrible.

[Anonymous]

I just found out that I'm pregnant, very early like 5 weeks. I was hoping to start looking for another job that would be remote but now I feel stuck.

[Anonymous]

At my federal agency, we have hired people who were visibly showing at the interview (I did an interview yesterday where the applicant was at least 24 weeks along - I am 24 weeks along with my third and she was quite a bit bigger). She might well get the job, and it's a fed-to-fed move for her, so she'll get here what she would have gotten in her current gig. Possibly more, because we're more flexible than most flexible workplaces with leave stuff.

We hire for the long-term, though, as most people stay here for their careers once they're in. So a maternity leave or two isn't a big deal after 15 years.

[Anonymous]

Yes 100% if it's a transfer within federal agencies. You can still get FMLA because it's not a "new" job. You're covered under FMLA and are free to take all the unpaid maternity leave you want as a fed or to use your annual leave to replace the salary loss.