General Forums >> General Discussion >> To tell or not to tell that you have children?
To tell or not to tell that you have children?
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Posted 6 months ago I landed my dream job! It is everything that I wanted and I worked hard to get it and surpass other candidates. The only thing I am worried about is that I never mentioned that I have a 19 month daughter. I have had her set up with a wonderful child care provider and super supportive husband who also works full-time. Throughout the whole interview processes I never saw the need to mention it. Any advice? It seems as though family member of mine are surprised that I never mentioned to my future employers that I have a child. Did I do something wrong and how do I approach the situation with my new employer? |
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| Posted 6 months ago If they didnt' ask you then there was no reason to bring it up, I suppose. Just like they probably didn't ask if you're married or dating or whatever. It's your personal life. Once you start work, your co-workers and managers will get to know you on a personal level and then you can talk about whatever you'd like to share. During the interview process, they just needed to talk about you from the professional perspective. I think you'll be fine. :) Daniela
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| Posted 6 months ago Hey BusinessDevGirl: Lucky you! You landed the perfect job. Now, regarding your question. I don't think you had to say you have kids -- or offer any other kind of private information -- unless someone directly asked it from you during the interview process. Now that you're starting work, as you get to know your co-workers and managers, you'll learn personal information about them, as they will about you. Once you have that photo of your kids on your desk I think it'll be all pretty self-explanatory :) |
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| Posted 6 months ago My only question is, what happens if your child(ren) get really sick or in an accident and end up in the hospital? An employer would be more apt to give time off if they knew you had kids, but if you lied or withheld information, they may begin to have trust issues with you. |
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| Posted 6 months ago As long as they didn't ask you if you had children then you are fine. I had interviews where they asked me to tell them about myself. I always start off with "I'm the mom of two wonderful girls and a husband in the military. He gets out in 2 years and will open up a business here in town. I'm very lucky to have a network of friends to help me out with my kids when he's out to sea." Then I embelish if I get the vibe I need to, other than that I go into my hobbies. If they didn't ask you anything like then I really wouldn't worry. If they say something like "you never mentioned you had a baby" then I'd just tell them they didn't ask and you didn't think it made a difference with your job perfomance. |