Anyone jobless for a long time before?

NO, it does not make you look bad if you are on contract. reason being the climate for employment in banking is such that most operational headcounts in banking are contract. just because they can... operational positions are contract because they are dispensable.

I just went for an interview at a bank for a strategic position, I did not get it though it was a long and nice interview, interview made me feel like i sure get the job. Anyways.. in our conversations, the entire team is outsourced to Accenture.. which is very rare and in my opinion, my 1st time seeing this.
In my dept, this ops team is internal and the staff is perm. So this bank went to the extremes to outsource the entire dept as a service.

1 thing to note is not to dwell on the fact that you are on contract, cos HR or the hiring mgr will start to shortchange you, like offer you smaller increment just for the fact that they are doing you a favor by considering you as perm staff for their role. I would tell them to F off..!
contract or not, its a company HR strategy not your fault!

I quit my job some mths back n found out I was pregnant recently.

I got shortlisted for interviews. Should I disclose my pregnancy? If yes, when should I disclose?

1) when discussing job opportunities with recruitment agencies?
2) during interview with the company?
3) when actual offer is made by the company?
4) after signing letter of employment with company?

Any difference to the above if the role is perm or contract?
Or should I even consider contract positions? Thanks.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I quit my job some mths back n found out I was pregnant recently.

I got shortlisted for interviews. Should I disclose my pregnancy? If yes, when should I disclose?

1) when discussing job opportunities with recruitment agencies?
2) during interview with the company?
3) when actual offer is made by the company?
4) after signing letter of employment with company?

Any difference to the above if the role is perm or contract?
Or should I even consider contract positions? Thanks.

You should just disclose because realistically there is no point in hiding. If a co. is ok with you being pregnant, nothing will change even if you disclose. If a co. is not ok, you will never get past the probation period or hit the "safe" time frame set by MOM without your belly & your many MCs and medical claims being found out first.

They might even get pissed off with your hiding and terminate you with 1 week notice during probation saying they found you unsuitable which will be well within their rights. This will make it worse as you will be jobless and no medical cover right when you need it most.

As for contract jobs it wouldn't even make sense for the co. because if they offer a 1 year contract it really means you can only serve intermittently 8 months with lots of MCs and remainder 4 months you get paid for free. They will terminate you with no payments and short notice just like any contract job the moment the found out they have been "conned".

Thanks for yr response.
I am not intending to hide the pregnancy but rather, when is an appropriate time to disclose.
I don't want to waste time going for interviews either, if the co is not open to hiring pregnant ladies.
As for contract roles, while I am not expecting the co to pay maternity benefits, I can understand it doesn't make sense for the co to hire someone who will be away for a few mths.

In other countries, candidates are not obliged to disclose their pregnancy because companies should not have any forms of discrimination. Candidates usu disclose at Pt (3) when actual offer is made. If the offer is withdrawn, there is clear sign of discrimation and co may even invite lawsuits. If candidates disclose earlier than Pt (3), discrimination is harder to prove.
But here, it appears we are "conning" the co if we don't disclose the pregnancy early, when in the first place, co should not practise discrimination at all.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for yr response.
I am not intending to hide the pregnancy but rather, when is an appropriate time to disclose.
I don't want to waste time going for interviews either, if the co is not open to hiring pregnant ladies.
As for contract roles, while I am not expecting the co to pay maternity benefits, I can understand it doesn't make sense for the co to hire someone who will be away for a few mths.

In other countries, candidates are not obliged to disclose their pregnancy because companies should not have any forms of discrimination. Candidates usu disclose at Pt (3) when actual offer is made. If the offer is withdrawn, there is clear sign of discrimation and co may even invite lawsuits. If candidates disclose earlier than Pt (3), discrimination is harder to prove.
But here, it appears we are "conning" the co if we don't disclose the pregnancy early, when in the first place, co should not practise discrimination at all.

i think u can understand why they dont really want to hire pregnant ladies. legal or not, i think dont waste each other's time. ideally, u shld tell them during the interview. one thing, you can find out what the role demands of you. not just short-term, you have to consider if the job is suitable for you after u give birth. does the job require lots of OT? is there flexibility to work from home on some days? does the company has health insurance coverage for your newborn child?

I understand though I don't think it's right to discriminate.

Another way to look at it, hiring a pregnant lady now vs hiring someone who will be pregnant say, one year later, the effect to the co is actually (almost) the same.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I understand though I don't think it's right to discriminate.

Another way to look at it, hiring a pregnant lady now vs hiring someone who will be pregnant say, one year later, the effect to the co is actually (almost) the same.

You should disclose before going for teh interview, dont waste each other's time. And frankly as a mum of 2 toddlers, most co are not open to hiring preggies as they need to put in a plan B when you are on maternity leave or decide not to come back.
Tehy would most rather hire another person 70% fit for the job and spend effort training that then a preggie..

Sorry.. its teh truth.. and I have interviewed as a preggie internally in my own co before.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for yr response.
I am not intending to hide the pregnancy but rather, when is an appropriate time to disclose.
I don't want to waste time going for interviews either, if the co is not open to hiring pregnant ladies.
As for contract roles, while I am not expecting the co to pay maternity benefits, I can understand it doesn't make sense for the co to hire someone who will be away for a few mths.

In other countries, candidates are not obliged to disclose their pregnancy because companies should not have any forms of discrimination. Candidates usu disclose at Pt (3) when actual offer is made. If the offer is withdrawn, there is clear sign of discrimation and co may even invite lawsuits. If candidates disclose earlier than Pt (3), discrimination is harder to prove.
But here, it appears we are "conning" the co if we don't disclose the pregnancy early, when in the first place, co should not practise discrimination at all.

I don’t think there’s any point in lamenting about the moral aspects of pregnant discrimination or how great other countries are, only thing that counts is cold hard reality.

In terms of when to disclose, I would say best time is before you actually head down physically for the interview. If you leave it till later those that are not OK with pregnant ladies would have written you off and it would be a waste of both party’s time & money for the interview.

As for springing them a late surprise only when signing the job offer, that’s a big NO NO. It has the I am out to screw you guys written all over it and it will just invite retaliation leading to a termination from probation within a couple of weeks of you starting work.

Roughly what sort of career level are you at now? For e.g. Clerical/Blue Collar <3k, Exec 3-6k, Snr Exec 7-10k, Mgr 11-20k, Snr Mgr >20k? Roughly speaking from experience for Exec & Clerical level type of jobs most companies are very unwilling to hire pregnant ladies as these are mostly operations and administrative duties that require continuous coverage. If you are more manager or snr manager type there are many companies who are willing to accept you going off for maternity leave as they tend to view the hiring as more long term and strategic.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

My opinion, I have ever been in a 1 yr contract when I 1st started my career, it sux and I feel bad when I am in it, then the economy was also bad. I was in a 1 yr contract, renewable but I decided not to renew as contract staff in the company was treated like 2nd class citizens, with a different namecard.
continue to apply to perm, your history with contract job would not be a factor, I dun think the job market is very bad. I have recently found a perm job, but I have close to 10 yrs exp.
It boils down to how well you did in the interview.
But in the event you do not find a perm job, dont be dishearten, you can paint the "contract job" in your resume as close to your career goals as possible and be sure to highlight your achievements, dun need to remind or inform the interviewer you were previously on contract.

When first starting out fresh from uni, contract jobs are not too bad as well as they can equip you with out-of-classroom knowledge and experience and make you ready for the workplace...you can try it out and if don't like can leave it without being named a job hopper since it is a contract job afterall..

Me myself got a contract job for my first job too...and i left after 2 years, renewing the one-year contract once as the HR did not seem keen to convert me into perm...but who gives a damn as i was equipped with industry knowledge and set me off to perm job with a much better pay..

To think of it, it is pretty stupid for companies to offer such contract jobs and equip your contract staff with so much knowledge..as they ultimately will leave once the right opportunity comes up...it is like grooming someone's kid for free :P

hi all, would like to get some advice. recently started a new job in nov, but i realized it was not what i had expected and enjoy. pay is ok but not learning much with little to do. the only reason i took up my current job was because of office politics in my previous job, where i was forced to leave. i only worked at my previous job for 1yr and my current for 1mth plus. I would like to change job again but am afraid i would look like a job hopper with no commitment. what is a good way around this? should i disclose my current 1 mth status? tot of quiting w/o a job but everyone say it is not advisable. i am only 23 yrs old, local uni grad.