On a typical weekday, Meesha Chang is doing what countless other New Yorkers in between jobs do: endlessly perusing LinkedIn and other sites for open positions, her laptop like an inanimate appendage. Her last job, a highly coveted creative consultant position within the cultural department of a tech giant, is almost certain to attract the attention of most hiring managers. However, there is one significant detail in her application that she knows could repel some potential employers: her 5-month-old baby, Lucia.

Lucia is Chang's daughter with her fiancé, John. Round-cheeked and wide-eyed, the infant is a pleasure at home — but what about in the next cubicle over?

For the past two months, Chang has been applying to any and every position that matches her vast qualifications, but unlike her competition, she's applying with Lucia in tow. Her ideal plan is to bring her infant daughter with her to her new office every day. "I'm being very transparent about my situation," she explains. "Lucia's name has equal billing on my résumé." She even lists her daughter's qualifications — "quiet, observant nature and positive attitude" — on her résumé and in her cover letter in hopes that companies will see Lucia as not just a caveat, but an asset. She's even brought Lucia along to interviews, once in person and once over Skype, with the newborn cooing in the background. The hiring managers greeted Lucia awkwardly, unsure of what to make of the mother-daughter duo, Chang recalls.

This may seem like a pretty unconventional, maybe even bizarre, strategy for job hunting, but in Chang's view, there's no viable alternative. She prioritizes her career and motherhood equally, and she doesn't feel it's fair to have to choose between the two. "One of the most challenging things about becoming a mom for me is figuring out what kind of mom I am and can be to my child," Chang says. "I always thought I would be the kind of mom to get straight back to work. Having a child now has changed everything." For her, that means bringing her baby to work, which, to her, is not such an outlandish request.

Chang is fully aware that she is fortunate to work in a field that could accommodate babies at work and senior enough in her career that she feels comfortable making certain demands of potential employers. And she is more than grateful to have John, who helps with both baby and financial duties, while she job hunts. "I know not everyone is in this position," she acknowledges.