Maritial Status: Single, No Answer... OR??? need advice

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Sol
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2018 9:55 pm

Maritial Status: Single, No Answer... OR??? need advice

Post by Sol »

Hello,
I am looking for advice as to what to put for * Maritial Status *. Search provides the following options: Marriage Pending, Married, No answer, Other, Seperated, Single and Single with Partner. I am in a long term relationship, but before COVID I was OK with moving as a Single if necessary , with the hope of sorting out visits etc. Since our lives changed in 2020, COVID has moved my relationship to the next step and this fall we got our Common Law Marriage Certificate. He is not a teacher or a US citizen. I am aware our Marriage certificate my not be recognized around the world and the recruiting fair will be quite competitive this year. I am worried that if I change my Single status to any of the 4 options: Married, No answer, Other or Single with Partner, my application would be overlooked. I feel, especially this year, that having a non- teaching trailing spouse( partner) is not favorable. I feel uncomfortable saying *Single* as I am no longer willing to relocate without him in 2021. I do not want to be judged before given the opportunity to interview. I know transparency is important, but my current thought is to remain Single and if I receive a strong interest from a school, I would then share my relationship status( am I lying?). I realize that holding a Common Law Certificate may not be considered a legal Marriage in some countries, but our papers will be considered legal in others. I truly appreciate your advice! Perhaps adding * OTHER *would be more truthful, but is it still a risk?
Thank you for your thoughts.
marieh
Posts: 212
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2013 11:33 pm

Re: Maritial Status: Single, No Answer... OR??? need advice

Post by marieh »

If I saw you had listed yourself as "single' and then found out you were not in the interview, I would almost certainly no longer consider your application. Part of that is the lack of transparency and the other issue (which is the biggest) is that my country has very specific restrictions on spouses. I truly don't understand why you wouldn't just be upfront and say "Other" or "Married".
buffalofan
Posts: 350
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:08 pm

Re: Maritial Status: Single, No Answer... OR??? need advice

Post by buffalofan »

Need to be up front, there are lots of different country-specific regulations for this. In some countries there won't be any issues, but lots of countries do not recognize common law marriage. Further, even if you made your marriage legal, some countries will not allow a wife to sponsor a husband for a dependent/spouse visa (they will only allow the reverse situation).
sid
Posts: 1392
Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:44 am

Re: Maritial Status: Single, No Answer... OR??? need advice

Post by sid »

I have to agree - be up front.
My country wouldn't recognise a common law marriage. If you went through the interview process and only revealed your partner afterwards, you would have wasted my time and yours. We'd end our conversation with a bad memory associated with your name. What's the point of that?
A recruiter would also be likely to report the issue to your Associate, who might be annoyed. What's the point of that?
Thames Pirate
Posts: 1150
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:06 am

Re: Maritial Status: Single, No Answer... OR??? need advice

Post by Thames Pirate »

I think "Other" or "No Answer" may be better options. I am not a recruiter, but an "other" means you have the opportunity to explain or ask questions before you get into an interview that wastes everyone's time. They will know the rules of their country more than you will, so they might be able to better help you navigate. If someone judges your "other" or "no answer" responses, do you really want to work for that person anyway? It's not like there is only single/married as an option. You could also put single with partner, though that might keep you out of countries where your common law might be accepted but simply being attached might not.
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