Interview Soon - Should I Mention Surgery?

zom247

zom247

zom247

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Joined
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Wilt of the Shire
I've got an interview coming up shortly for the role of postman. However, I've got knee surgery planned for the end of September and the doc reckons it will be 4-6 weeks before I'm fully mobile. As you know mobility is a pre-requisite for a postie so should I mention it at the interview or leave it and mention it only if I'm offered the position? I like to be as up front as possible in interviews but I'm sure if I mention it in the interview then that'll be the end of my career as a postbox stuffer before it's even started.
 
I can't comment on the legality, but I think if I was your new boss I would be MASSIVELY annoyed if the first thing you dropped on me was something like this a few weeks into your new job....
 
You're probably not getting the job.

If you tell them, they'll wonder about your abilities to do your job as well as why you're looking for a job before the surgery. This screams "sick pay pls".

If you don't tell them, you won't make the probationary period for the reasons listed above.

Start a job that involves a LOT of walking and then 4-6 weeks off for surgery on the very limbs you need to use on a daily basis? no chance.

Sorry if this is a bit blunt, but as someone who's seen this a million times, it will not end well for you. Your best bet is to find an income elsewhere and then apply once the surgery is done and healed.
 
Have you spoken to your consultant about it? Is going into full-time walking around carrying post after six weeks going to cause you further issues?
 
why not mention it and ask that any start date, if you are offered the job, be deferred until after you've recovered from the operation - then you're being upfront with the situation and you're offering a way to mitigate it

I mean it isn't like you generally get offered a job and start right away, most people have at least 1 months notice to give to their current employer plus the hiring manager might well be spending a few weeks doing interviews etc..
 
As long as you are up and about for the Christmas deluge, will they care when exactly you start? I'd tell them unless you want your new career to start on a very sour note.
 
Same as everyone else is suggesting. If you start your job, and within the first month need 2 months off for surgery, plus some sort of phased return to work. Your employer is hardly going to want to keep you around considering you're in probation.
 
I decided not to go for the job in then end as there seemed no point due to the operation. I would have probably mentioned it in the interview if I'd gone though. TBH I don't really need to go back to work but after almost 2 years since I last worked I'm really starting to miss the interaction with others - there's only so many games you can play :). Hopefully the op will be a success so I'll be able to start job hunting again in the new year.
 
I don't see what harm there would be in applying and being up front with them about not wanting to start until after the operation/recovery. Worst case scenario you just get some interview practice but on the plus side maybe they'd be happy with a start date later on and you get the job or perhaps, if they need someone quickly, you make a good impression regardless and they remember you/keep you in mind next time they're recruiting. If it isn't too late and you feel like it is a job you'd want then I'd apply. :)
 
I was in this exact same position in 2013 and was upfront with them about it. I interviewed successfully but was placed on a "reserve" list for the next batch of vacancies. I found something else in the end, turned them down when contacted and didn't bother re-applying.

Being a postman is still a job I want to do at some point in my life while I can still physically do it.
 
Royal Mail have thousands of people queuing up to be a postie. It's a job which offers a good pay to qualification ratio and good overall package. I doubt they would have been interested in hiring on the basis of starting someone further down the line when they are ready.
 
Still should have gone for the interview and mention it. At the very least it's interview practice for another job you may want in the future.
 
BDEE said:
Royal Mail have thousands of people queuing up to be a postie. It's a job which offers a good pay to qualification ratio and good overall package. I doubt they would have been interested in hiring on the basis of starting someone further down the line when they are ready.
Click to expand...

seems like they did just that re: the poster directly above you ref: the 'reserve' list he mentions
 
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