Career Coach Q&A: Am I crazy to start a job search while pregnant?

Joyce E.A. Russell, vice dean at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business and director of its Executive Coaching and Leadership Development Program, answers reader questions. Excerpts:

Looking for work/starting a new job while pregnant

Q: My husband and I want to start a family soon; however, because my current job is time limited, unless we wait over two years, I will be either looking for a job while pregnant or starting a new job while pregnant. I'm not really sure how to approach the situation. Do I just say we will figure it out? I know it's illegal to discriminate against someone who is pregnant, but I worry that it will put me at a disadvantage. What considerations would you say are most important? Am I crazy to consider job hunting while pregnant?

A: Great questions and ones that many women think about. Today, the work environment is much more understanding about women and families than in the past, although still much more needs to be done. I would say you should just plan your family as you want (in terms of timing) and then look for firms who are more receptive to women and parents.

There are definitely differences among companies in this regard. Often, there are publications about the Best Companies for working mothers to work for. Start there and look at firms that are more receptive or have policies about working at home, maternity and paternity leave, child care, etc. You did not say what your career area or field is, but that may also make a difference in terms of which industries are more receptive. I also would do what I could to get the job (good resume, cover letter, interviewing, etc). Then, depending on your situation at that time, you can bring up the issue of family.

Q: I am about 10 weeks pregnant with my first baby, and I have some anxiety about telling my employer. It's not because I don't work in an understanding place - I do, and will get eight weeks paid maternity leave - it's just that it's nerve-wracking in general! Plus, I work in a small subset of a larger department, so my boss would be without me for those eight weeks. How do I get over this?!

A: Many women might say to just wait to let them know since you are only 10 weeks along. There is time. Since you are worried about the eight weeks you will take off, why not try to figure out what might be needed to be done for them to get along without you? Is there some way to break up parts of your job to others during that time? Can someone assume some of those responsibilities?

While it is not your responsibility to figure all this out, it sounds like you have a strong sense of commitment to the firm and want to make sure they are OK. So, since this is your personality, maybe thinking through some options to make your time away easier for your boss right now might make your own anxiety level go down. If you have a good relationship with your boss, you could also have that conversation soon, but I would still have thought of options for your boss so you can share those with him/her.

We often believe no one can survive without us, and yet somehow they do.

Q: I am nine months pregnant and have a job interview prior to my anticipated due date. Other than the commonly asked question of "When can you start?", do I need to address anything else?

A: An employer may ask when you can start and you need to think about your answer to that question. I am a little confused about why you are doing these job interviews at such a late stage of pregnancy. Why not wait until after your baby is born and you are ready to start working? Or are you planning on working right away after your baby's birth (within a few weeks)?

If you are not going to work for several months, you may want to just wait to interview. If, however, you are going to start working soon after your baby's birth, and the job field you are in necessitates that you interview now, then you will need to at least answer when your start date would be. An employer's primary concern is when you can start working and whether you will be 100 percent committed to the job.

Changing payment/commission terms

Q: I have been unemployed for months. Recently, a friend offered me a job at 100 percent commission, trying to get his product into stores. The product has no branding or marketing, and I generate my own leads and build relationships, etc. The problem is so far I have put in over 30 hours and no sales. I have provided the company owners with tons of valuable feedback from my efforts. I also suggested they put money into marketing and raising awareness of their product, which they don't want to do. I would much rather be paid an hourly rate, but they would rather pay only on completion of "deliverables" - i.e., sales. How can I successfully negotiate a change to the payment/commission terms? If not, what can I do for me to be successful at this?

A: You identified one of the biggest concerns with relying on 100 percent commission. I think you need to renegotiate the deal with them since they have not provided any branding or marketing and you are doing that job for them. Is there a middle ground between 100 percent commission and 50 percent with a base pay for all of your other efforts? Is there a way to indicate how successful you have been at increasing awareness of their products (via social media and website analytics)?

If you could show them some metrics on how you have increased awareness, this might help. You may not get 50 percent, but you need to start there to try to get any movement off of the 100 percent commission. You probably won't get them to move to an hourly rate since they started at 100 percent commission. So, you will have to decide what percentage you must have before you look elsewhere. Can you collect some competitive data of what other firms do in terms of their sales folks? Are you networking with others in a similar field to gain more ideas for marketing and selling? Also, you could think of a staggered plan -- this year move to 75 percent commission and a base pay, next year move to 50 percent commission and base pay, etc. Usually, the moves are the other way around - starting with more base pay first and eventually moving to more commission, but I am suggesting the reverse since they already started you at 100 percent commission.

Most importantly, what is your backup plan if you can't get them to move on the commission at all? Do you have other job options? If the finances are critical, then you need to think about your best other options.

• Russell is vice dean at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business and director of its Executive Coaching and Leadership Development Program. She is a licensed industrial and organizational psychologist and has more than 25 years of experience coaching executives and consulting on leadership and career management.