Anthony Haynes writes: By way of contributing to International Women’s Day, I’d like to recommend an article on a key topic — the perception of pregnancy in relation to recruitment and job application.

In the article published by Fast Company, Jen Watts Welsh — who is evidently and expert story-teller — reflects on her experience of becoming pregnant:

I found myself at three months pregnant ready to make a professional move but realized my timing was lousy. Impossible even. I’d loved my latest experience and coworkers, but felt I’d grown as much as I could within my role and the company at large. I was ready to start looking for my next challenge. But job searching takes time, and I’d be lucky to find an opportunity by the time I was six months pregnant, and who would hire me then?

Like many pregnant women, I internally shrugged my shoulders and accepted my fate. I would stay put, I told myself. Use this time to figure out my next move, take my maternity leave, and start interviewing when I became hirable again (i.e. after the baby was born).

But then she changed her mind — and her behaviour…

Jen Watts Welsh’s story, and her reflections on it, have implications for employers, recruiters, and candidates (whether actual or potential). I commend it to you!

You can find it here: https://www.fastcompany.com/90304455/heres-what-happened-when-i-interviewed-for-a-new-job-while-heavily-pregnant

PS My thanks to Anth Mckeown, our Business Development Manager, for alerting me to the article.