Do i mention child at interview stage?

A_little_stressed!!

I have a child who is nearly 3, Do I mention this in my interview? Or on a 2nd interview after I have already impressed? Or leave it and somehow drop into coversation when I start?

Please help, I don't want to seem deceitful, or ashamed of him!

P.S I have childcare completely organised

fengirl_2

No reason why you should mention the child at all!

A_little_stressed!!

Someone at one of the recruitment agencies saw me with my son. I said hello, then walked on, will they pass this on to employers? Should I bring it up that he saw me?

duchy

Are you male or female ?
Somehow I suspect female...can't imagine a man asking that question....can you ?
If asked about children -then answer but unless it's a question that they would need to ask a man too then they can't ask-it's sex discrimination.
Would you consider a man to be decietful in an interview if he didn't mention his kids or ashamed of them ???
Wait to be asked-actually they shouldn't ask at all but if they do just say you have a child and reliable childcare-that should be it. Don 't elaborate unless asked to.
Good luck with the interview

CarolynH

They shouldn't ask, and you don't have to mention it.

duchy

A_little_stressed!! wrote: »

Someone at one of the recruitment agencies saw me with my son. I said hello, then walked on, will they pass this on to employers? Should I bring it up that he saw me?

Eh ?
So what if they do...and I doubt they gave it another thought to be honest
Your son isn't a dirty little secret-most of the workforce have children !!

cazziebo

What Duchy said!!

This really isn't an issue. The person interviewing may well have children too.

I had this dilemma when I went back to work 15 years ago. I am a single parent with two children. I did consider mumbling about supportive husband etc, but decided just to be upfront about it and it really wasn't a problem.

hope you get a good job soon!

Evie82

I found that having children worked to my advantage with finding work.
The agency I used realized that my skills as a mum could be used as a selling point on my CV.
Most of the applications I had to fill in required me to state my circumstances, such as having 2 children and not working due to being a mum.
At interview most employers just mentioned that they saw I had children and asked about childcare.

I would think as having children is part of who you are, they will probably want to hear a little about your family life.

Oldernotwiser

Evie82 wrote: »

I found that having children worked to my advantage with finding work.
The agency I used realized that my skills as a mum could be used as a selling point on my CV.
Most of the applications I had to fill in required me to state my circumstances, such as having 2 children and not working due to being a mum.
At interview most employers just mentioned that they saw I had children and asked about childcare.

I would think as having children is part of who you are, they will probably want to hear a little about your family life.

Sorry, I disagree with just about all of this. It's many years since I've seen an application form asking for details of your personal circumstances and asking about childcare at interview is an absolute no no! Why would an employer want to know a little about your family life? What if you don't have one?
If you haven't been employed for many years then you may have to do the best you can by talking about the organisational skills needed in childraising but it's really scraping the barrel and employers know this. Better to be able to talk about how you've kept up your work based skills whilst at home, or developed new ones.

therealdessie

I have to say that I have had questions in my mind before in hiring pregant women or those who have recently given birth, as to whether they would struggle to fit in the pressures of work and raising a family - I find people are often very forthcoming about mentioning their kids. I never turn anyone down on that basis but I do make a point of getting their assurance that childcare wouldn't be an issue for them (plus I can sell them on childcare vouchers being part of the remittance for the job).

cazziebo

therealdessie wrote: »

I have to say that I have had questions in my mind before in hiring pregant women or those who have recently given birth, as to whether they would struggle to fit in the pressures of work and raising a family - I find people are often very forthcoming about mentioning their kids. I never turn anyone down on that basis but I do make a point of getting their assurance that childcare wouldn't be an issue for them (plus I can sell them on childcare vouchers being part of the remittance for the job).

Do you also get assurance from 19 year old males that they won't turn up for work with a hangover? It's applying the same set of assumptions!

And my experience has told me to expect more issues with hangovers and young males than women with children....

My only concern when recruiting is finding the best person for the job. As someone said on here recently, some people are just unreliable, nothing to do with whether they are parents or not..