~and it just gets better~

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The other day when UT called me for an interview, I forgot to ask when they want to have the position filled....I normally don't ask this but with my current big-belly situation, I am asking up front because honestly, I don't want to waste my time & gasoline if I don't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting the job since I cannot be available for employment until around March 3, 2008.

Today I decided to send an email to the lady who called me to inquire specifically on this matter.

I wrote:

We spoke a couple days ago to schedule an interview for the Administrative Coordinator I position for External Scholarships. I had meant to ask you what the target date is to have the position filled and my reason for asking is because I would likely not be available for employment until approximately March 3, 2008. I am due to have my first baby on or around February 5, 2008 and while my prior employment contract ended at such an inopportune time, I still have a need to be employed up to my due date and plan to take a shortened Maternity Leave.

I have had a few interviews over the past couple months and I have both shared & withheld this information prior to the interview, but ultimately both scenarios have worked against me.

At this point, it is my preference to share my situation and timing constraints ahead of time so as to not waste anyones time going through the interview process if my availability will be a hinderance to securing the position.

I am extremely interested in becoming part of the University of Tennessee team and hope that I can still be fairly considered for the position.
Her reply:

Thank you for your honesty. We do hope to fill the position within the next 2 to 3 weeks and in fact just as soon as possible. Although a March 3 start date would not be impossible for us it does, to be quite truthful, put you at a disadvantage in the interview process. Given that we have a very strong pool of candidates and given that we would like to have someone in the job two weeks after we complete the interviewing next week, it may well be best if we don't do the interview. Again, I thank you for your honesty.

At this point it's almost comic relief for me...I am officially giving up the job search until Ethan busts his way into this world...there is NO point in me going thru all this BS and getting pissed off over and over again...it's getting old and I'm quite sick and tired of it.

While I will not pursue any sort of legal action, mainly for my own sanity and financial reasons, I am quite curious...I DO wish however, that I had a really good friend who was an employment attorney because to me, this sure walks a FINE line when it comes to discrimination. For example, if I weren't PG and I interviewed for the position and was given a job offer and then tell UT that I have a signed contract w/my current company which requires me to give 4 wks notice (as opposed to the normal 2 wks), what would they do??? They would have already extended the offer!!! The only reason that this method doesn't work for me is because PHYSICALLY it's quite clear that I'm about to squeeze out a little human creature at any point in time. Food for thought!

On the bright side, I can sleep in longer on Thursday, save some gasoline and won't miss any work hours. There...that's my positive thought for the day!