Interview Soon - Should I Mention Surgery?

[zom247]

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.

 

[Lopéz]

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....

 

[Diddums]

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.

 

[Caged]

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?

 

[dowie]

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..

 

[TJM]

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.

 

[Semple]

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.

 

[zom247]

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.

 

[dowie]

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.

 

[Fubsy]

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.

 

[BDEE]

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.

 

[Hades]

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.

 

[dowie]

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.

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