New York Lawyer
July 21, 2005

Q:
I took a year off after my first year of law school to have a baby.

I will be doing on-campus interviews this fall when I return to school, but I am nervous about how to handle my leave of absence during interviews. When interviewers inevitably ask about the year-long gap in my resume, should I be upfront about the reason, or is this none of their business? If I ask firms about lifestyle and availability of family-friendly options, will they doubt my dedication and pass on me?

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A:

They can ask about the gap, but the fact that you took the time off to take care of your baby is irrelevant to their considerations, and from a legal standpoint they can�t hold it against you. Nor, obviously, can they explore with you questions such as, "Are you planning to have more children? Will you take time off if you have more children?" and questions to that effect.

Whether they will, in fact, covertly hold your year off against you could happen but is doubtful; after all, you have returned to school, and are obviously in the game. You are not required to tell them what you did during your year off, but I would handle it matter of factly, just saying, "I had a baby last year, and now I�m back at school and actively job hunting for the summer. I�m hoping I can work for your firm." Follow up the information about the year gap with an enthusiastic statement about your work ambitions, and you can simply leave the question marks about a year off behind. Above all, don�t act guilty or like you did something "wrong."

Many applicants these days ask about family friendly options, so such inquiries, too, won�t or shouldn�t keep you out of contention. Firms know that they need to have such programs in place (even if they are just window dressing; in many firms, people don�t take advantage of these programs a whole lot since they are widely viewed as a career killer).

However, make sure to do your homework in advance. If you�re desperate to work for a place that has a reputation for killer hours, emphasizing lifestyle and family-friendly stuff probably isn�t the best way to get a job there. The more important question will be, do you want to work there at all?

There are firms out there that actively foster a reputation for being family friendly, and actually let people go part time without allowing it to ruin their careers, so if that aspect is important to you, ask around about the firms that fit that profile.

Sincerely,
Holly English