Re: Hiring Practices

[Becca Price <RP51 -at- CHRYSLER -dot- COM>]

*** Reply to note of 04/01/97 15:26

Lisa wrote:
I personally encourage illegal behavior on potential employers'
parts. I tell them that I am a mom because I am not going to work for
someone who's going to discriminate against people based on sex and
family status.

I, too, am a mom, and in an interview I will frequently say "You can't
ask this, but ethically I have to tell you - I'm the mother of two
high-needs children.  My son is currently undergoing some diagnostics,
and I think this will go on for a year or so before we fully understand
what's going on.  This means that I need a lot of flex time.  I can't
guarantee you that I'll put in 40 hrs in any given week.  I *can* guarantee
that my average will be 40hrs/week or greater, and that I will not let
a deadline suffer because of this.  Some employers have had problems with
this, and I can understand and respect that.  If you think this would
not fit in well with your company, let's stop right here and not waste
any more of each other's time."

I might not be quite so bald about it, but that's what it boils down to.

I should add that I have left positions - very good ones, too - when
it became clear that the needs of my children and the needs of the job
conflicted, even when at the initial interview the employer said they
had no problems with my necessarily erratic schedule.

I should also add that I've never had anyone take that information amiss,
and that while I'm sure I've not been hired because of it, I never seem
to lack for work.

The match between employer and employee has to be a good one on both sides
for there to be a successful relationship.  OTOH, I would much rather have
the control of the situation, to be the one who tells the employers about
my situation, because that way I can also give the reassurances that I
*will* put in my time, and I *will* make deadlines.  If someone
was surfing the web and found out about my high-needs kids from one of the
news groups I post to, and dismissed me out of hand because from those
posts they made an inference that was inaccurate about my ability to meet
deadlines, we might both loose out, which would be sad.

not disasterous - for me, at this time and place, and with the current
market - but the one constant in life is change.

-becca

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