During your divorce, you might be faced with several challenges; you might even have to find a new job. Whether you’re changing careers or you’re reentering the workforce after being away a while, you’ll eventually have to sit across the desk from a job interviewer. While you might think it’s a good idea to tell him or her that you’re going through a divorce (or that you’re obligated to tell), your Raleigh divorce lawyer might suggest that you keep that information to yourself.
What Your Interviewer Can’t Ask
Some questions are totally off-limits during job interviews, so it’s a good idea to know which you shouldn’t be answering. Most interviewers are very familiar with what they can and can’t ask, but it never hurts to be prepared.
Questions about marital status and family status are prohibited under federal anti-discrimination laws. Interviewers cannot ask things like:
• What does your wife do?
• Will you be able to find reliable child care if you work for us?
• How will your husband feel about these work hours?
• Are you divorced?
• Do you receive child support or alimony?
A Rock and a Hard Place: What to Say
If your interviewer does ask you those questions, you can tell the interviewer that the question isn’t relevant and you’d prefer not to answer or you can go ahead and answer it; that’s up to you.
However, you are not required to give any information about your marital status to a potential employer. Even if these questions are asked informally or as part of ordinary conversation, you don’t have to feel compelled to answer them.
Why Not Tell Your Interviewer about Your Divorce?
Although it’s illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of marital or family status (meaning whether you’re married or have kids), that doesn’t mean that it never happens. Your Raleigh divorce lawyer may advise you to keep your divorce and personal life separate from your work life in order to save you from the hassles associated with mixing the two.
