I am starting my job search this week for a new job (a part-time one to begin with) after 20 months being out of the world of work due to having breast cancer and carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands.
I was wondering if other BCC members could possibly give me any interview tips on how to approach the subject of my breast cancer with prospective employers or whether I should mention it at all. Is it a good idea to mention it voluntarily at all or not?
Thank you very much indeed.
Dancing
I’ve just started a new job while in the middle of chemo, but because of the baldy thing and the fact that I’m not able to commit to full time and still have hospital appointments I felt I had to tell them.
They will probably ask why you’ve been out of work for the last however many months, gaps in the CV tend to bring up that kind of question, so you need to know how you’ll answer.
You, and they (whoever they might be), should remember that they cannot discriminate against you when it comes to the job and who they offer it to.
It also depends on how you find the job. If you find one you really fancy via a recruitment agency, you might find it helps to discuss it with the agency. In my case I told them and asked them to mention it to the recruiting company who wanted to interview me so that it wouldn’t take them by surprise. That worked really well, and when I spoke to someone in a phone interview (in the afternoon of FEC4 when I was very woozy!) they were brilliant. They actually wanted to take things further in spite of the cancer, so that was good because I wasn’t hiding anything and they STILL wanted to talk to me.
Does that help at all?
That post was a wonderful help choccie thank you very much indeed.
Hi Dancing,
Choccie’s post was really great and I just wanted to reiterate from a prospective employer’s perspective - when interviewing, an honest discussion from the person being interviewed has made those of us interviewing view them with a lot of respect. I have also been interviewed for posts, and taken that approach. Have got two senior posts following breast cancer dx.
Hope all goes really well for you - look them in the eye and be matter of fact about it!
good luck
monica xx
I’m concerned myself about looking for work once all the treatment is over - I think you probably would have to be upfront about it, I intend to play it down a bit in interviews so that they dont have to think “but what if it comes back and we’re stuck with someone on long term sick” (bit cynical like that) - I’ll say they got it early, no node involvement, cut it out and clear, just choose to have all the other chemo/radio treatment to mop up any errant cells and make sure it doesn’t come back.
I’m hoping this will work for me and I’m also thinking part time too and I dont think I’ll go back into being an IT Sales Account Manager for a long time yet, too stressful for me and unlikely to get part time in a proper full on sales role.
Thank you also for your posts monica and El Katrano they too have been very helpful and informative.
El Katrano, I don’t think you even need to go into that much detail. Just a brief “I have had treatment for BC, but that’s all done with and now I’m getting back to normal, just waiting for my hair to grow back” or words to that effect.
Don’t know about you, but before I got hit by this I didn’t know anything about nodes, didn’t even think about recurence and certainly didn’t know that recurrences happen with BC. So brief is best, I reckon. Any more detail than that might be a bit scary.
Good point CM I knew because of my Mum and bowel cancer. I’m a b*gger for TMI - my OH is always telling me not to go into too much detail as it can alert people to things that perhaps they hadn’t even thought of - I suppose its because I think about everything that I assume everyone else does… I’ll learn at some point 
I SOO know what you mean!
thank you again everybody for your wonderful help and advice, I think I will take the approach of being matter of fact about my bc but not going into to much detail about it.
Thanks again everybody.
i got a new job just at the end of my treatment and didnt mention breast cancer at all… i obviously had to divulge it on the occupation health form but didnt mention it at interview as it was really behind me in terms of treatment.
after i had the job i did mention it to most of my colleagues just so that it was in the open.
i work as a breast care nurse and didnt want my diagnosis to influence whether they felt i was capable of remaining objective in my job and that was really why i didnt mention it. its never been an issue though.
good luck with the job hunting
Am interested in the comments, as my contract is up at the end of this year and am wondering what my chances will be. Glad to hear its not impossible.
S
How do you get around being out of work for so long though - I was looking for a job when I got diagnosed, so I’ll have a glaring hole on my CV. I’d prefer NOT to have to mention BC but don’t know how I can explain away being out of work for so long.
if you were a stay at home mum or a house wife or even unemployed then you wouldnt be working for a while and could cover it by saying something like not currently employed… they will usually be more interested in the skills and attributes you have got rather than the ones you havent or that it wasnt recent.
lots of people take time out to bring up their family or care for dependants, some people dont want to mention these at interview either for fear it would put off a prospective employer so i think getting round it by being vague is perfectly acceptable if thats what you would prefer to do… time off for personal reasons, redundancy, unemployed, travelling, personal development etc could just be covered by one short wee sentence and then go on to say how fab you are at your job.
good luck xx
Lulu: “lots of people take time out to bring up their family or care for dependants, some people dont want to mention these at interview either for fear it would put off a prospective employer so i think getting round it by being vague is perfectly acceptable”
Speaking as an employer who has interviewed folk for years, I would strongly NOT suggest a ‘vague’ approach.
Many years ago, I was always told to assume that an applicant who had months/year missing or a vague period on a CV was probably hiding a prison sentence. I *always* ask about these missing months - and assume the worst if folk will not be honest with me.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with having family responsibilities, being unemployed or being ill for a while. A prospective employer can no longer ask about one’s past sick record at an interview, although it is possible to withdraw an offer if the applicant’s state of health means that they are unable to do the job applied for.
Hi all
I wonder if you can help me? I had a lumpectomy on 04 April followed by a further op on 09 May to get a clearer margin. I’ve so far had 9 weeks off work and don’t really feel ready to go back yet physically or probably more importantly emotionally. Have radio planning appointment on 16 June which will be followed by 3 weeks or radio. In your experiences do you think I will be able to work on a part-time (phased return to work) basis throughout radio or will I be too tired. Dreading going back to work but guilt is now setting in too! Help! Please.
Lynn x
hi swift, DONT FEEL GUILTY!!! ive currently done 12/20 rads. went back 2 work part time the week before they started and still am working afternoons only.(thru choice can i add,love my job) am lucky in that my employers are great and have said many times, if im not up to it a particular day,then not to go in.also,working at a school meant i had last week off due to hols.BUT,i have been very tired and needing a nap in the afternoons occasionally(if the kids let me)am a liitle sore too but trying to get on with things for my own sanity if nothing else. really didnt want to be home all day when kids at school. everyone is different and u honestly dont know how rads with affect u till u start.good luck and dont put pressure on yourself, ive since heard the se,s can last for weeks after last treatment(ooeeerr!) love alex xxx
Everyone is an individual. Some people get through with minimal side-effects, others get a bit steamrollered, so I’m afraid there’s no way anyone will be able to tell you whether you’ll be able to work or not.
As you are undergoing active cancer treatment you come under the disability discrimination act (I think this is it, I’m a bit fuzzy-headed at the mo) so your employers have a responsibility towards you.
I think you might find the EMPLOY information worth reading, I’m sure someone will be able to point you in the right direction.
The more difficult thing to cope with is the emotional fall-out from a cancer diagnosis. What’s your HR department like? Some companies are excellent, others are atrocious, most are in the middle. They may be able to offer some support, but a lot of that depends on the level of pressure and stress in your job.
Good luck, and keep posting, there is lots of emotional help and support from all the lovelies on here.
CM
x
Hi Swift16
Here’s the link to BCC’s publication The Employ Charter that Chocciemuffin refers to, hope you find it helpful. If you need further information regarding this please do phone the helpline here.
Jo, Facilitator
Thanks Jo, I knew you or one of the team would step up!