Mom Skills to Include on Your Resume
Moms are highly skilled people that have many abilities and characteristics that employers wants.
Moms have so many skills that are transferrable from motherhood to the workplace.
And, yet, people who are moms still run into situations where the fact that they are a mom is seen as a strike against them in the workforce. And it’s nothing short of ridiculous!
All this proves to me is that there are still people in hiring roles and positions of authority that need the dots connected for them when it comes to the value of hiring a mom. So, let’s connect those dots!
In this post, I’m going through skills that every mom has that can and should be put on their resume to highlight their competence and capabilities for any position.
Adaptive to Change
Whether we’re talking about the first night of being a mom after your baby was born or after you adopted your child, or we’re talking about adjusting to the various developmental stages a child goes through from birth to young adulthood, moms have to adapt to change on a regular basis. Not only is it crucial to Mom’s survival, but also to your child’s.
How does this relate to the workforce?
On a macro level, many businesses are constantly evolving, and on a micro level, it’s common for employees to experience unexpected situations throughout their day. Your ability to adapt to change as you’ve learned through being a mom is that you’re used to dealing with the unexpected. And this actually leads to the next skill of problem-solving!
Problem-Solving
When you’re in a constant state of change and dealing with unexpected challenges, you then become really good at problem-solving on the spot! Whether it’s handling a change to the schedule and having to coordinate child care, helping your child academically when they’re struggling in school, addressing bullying concerns with the neighbor kid, or mediating fights between siblings. The list can go on and on.
How does this relate to the workforce?
It doesn’t matter what the employer’s business is or what type of positions we’re talking about, everyone encounters problems at work. And employers want to hire people who aren’t afraid of proactively thinking of and applying solutions. They don’t want an employee who is constantly shrugging their shoulders and saying “I don’t know what to do” and passing the buck to their co-workers or managers. That doesn’t make for efficient operations and productivity, and moms are known for being efficient and productive!
Fast Learner
Oh, lady, I could go on and on about this one!
Before you became a mom, you didn’t know how to be a mom. I don’t care if you were a nurse in a neo-natal unit or a Kindergarten teacher, or a babysitter for 30 years….nothing can prepare you for being a mom other than being a mom. And when you did become a mom, you had to hit the ground running!
Taking care of a newborn is different from taking care of a thriving 8-month-old baby, which is very different from parenting a toddler. And none of that looks anything like caring for an 8-year-old or an 11-year-old. And then the teenage years… are a whole other ballpark. And at no point do you get an instruction manual for any of this. Which means you have to be on your toes and learn the ropes pretty quickly, otherwise your house will be in complete chaos. And that makes you, my friend, a fast learner.
How does this relate to the workforce?
The less time your manager has to spend on training you or walking you through changes in your responsibilities, the more time they have to dedicate to other areas of the business and, again, the more efficiently the business will operate. It’s that simple. No one wants to explain how to do the same thing 10 different ways or times because the employee just isn’t getting it, so the quicker a person can pick it up without missing a beat, the more smoothly everything else will run.
Ownership
You might be thinking ‘Gayle, what do you mean by ownership because I’m not applying for a leadership role’. Leadership roles, like supervisors and managers, do require a great deal of ownership, but it’s not just reserved for those positions.
Ownership is your ability and willingness to take responsibility for something without having to be told.
For instance, if you know that your performance has been lagging and it’s affecting your overall productivity, then ownership would be you initiating a conversation with your supervisor about it with some possible action steps you can take to course-correct. Not taking ownership would be you knowing that your performance is suffering but waiting for your supervisor to bring it up to you.
Another example would be seeing the mountain of work stacking up because your co-worker is out of the office sick, and instead of just leaving it for them or your supervisor to deal with, you roll up your sleeves and help to cover for your co-worker.
As a mom, you are already used to doing this, right? You’re Mom. You get stuff done. You’re the one ensuring your kids get to school on time, making sure their homework is completed, overseeing doctor’s appointments, sports registrations, etc. No one has to tell you to do that. You just do it.
How does this relate to the workforce?
We’re all adults here, right, so it’s super annoying to supervisors if they’re constantly having to tell their employees what to do when the employees can clearly see what needs to be done.
If your co-worker is out unexpectedly, it might be tempting to just let them deal with the pile of work waiting for them when they return to work. But if that negatively impacts everyone else’s job or, worse, clients, then it’s really not the right approach.
Leaders want employees who at least ask “how can I help” or who say “I’ve got this”. And moms are accustomed to quickly assessing a situation and realizing what needs to happen, so this is something you should showcase on your resume and in your interview.
Self-starter
Being a self-starter is similar to taking ownership. You don’t wait to be told what to do. You assess the situation, determine what needs to happen, and then you just do it without being prompted. You’re also someone who doesn’t have to be constantly reminded to complete assignments or projects before the deadline.
Again, this is the life of a mom. You run the day-to-day of your household. If you don’t do it, then it’s probably not going to get done. Put it on your resume!
How does this relate to the workforce?
Similar to taking ownership, your supervisor (or future supervisor) doesn’t want to have to hold your hand and gently walk you through your job indefinitely so that things will get done. And they won’t do that either. There is, of course, your onboarding and training period when you first start, but after that, most employers expect you to take the reins so to speak. People who consistently fail to be self-starters often find themselves in their supervisor’s office, being talked to about their underwhelming job performance.
Organized
As moms, we all have those days when we feel like everything is chaotic and nothing is organized. But even if this is how you feel most of the time as a mom, you’re still most likely way more organized than many other people!
We maintain calendars, schedules, notes, and spreadsheets to keep everything straight when it comes to caring for our kids. And we even have physical organizational systems in place to sort laundry, toys, sports gear, old clothes that our kids have outgrown, etc. So even if you think you’re not the most organized person, as a mom you are still organized and are able to juggle multiple responsibilities at once because of it.
How does this relate to the workforce?
Well…the more organized an employee is, the easier it is for them to stay on top of all of their responsibilities.
For instance, let’s say you’re a financial analyst and the CFO wants to have a meeting with you to talk about where the company’s money is going. You have reports that show the total expenses per month, what those expenses are, if those expenses exceed the budget, etc. You’re an organized person so not only do you know how to create and pull this report, but you bring it with you to your meeting with the CFO because you know that they are going to ask specific and detailed questions.
You don’t know that information off the top of your head, but you don’t have to because you have your trusty report that you built. This, in turn, not only gives the CFO the answers they need but makes them feel confident in your capabilities to do your job.
Another example is if you’re a client-facing employee. Let’s say you’re a patient registration associate at a doctor’s office. The patient comes up to you to check in for their appointment. Your desk is a mess. There are random papers all over the place. You take their insurance card to make a copy and you somehow misplace it. And their updated patient paperwork ended up mixed in with another patient’s paperwork.
Not only does this cause concern about compliance issues, but do you think that the patient or the doctor has much confidence in your ability to do your job and maintain the patient’s privacy? That would be a “no”.
Detail Oriented
As moms, we know that there is so much about taking care of kids and running a household that lies in the details. Our ability to notice and remember details allows us to hold all of the information about our kids, their schedules, their health, their grades, etc., and to recall that information at the drop of a hat.
How does this relate to the workforce?
Almost every job posting I have ever seen calls for the ideal applicant to be “detail-oriented”. They want someone who pays attention and who notices the small but important things that can easily fly under the radar.
When an employee doesn’t pay close enough attention, that’s when things fall through the cracks, and over time, those things add up and become a big deal. But because you’re a mom, you will easily catch those details, ensuring that all pertinent information is captured, all processes are followed appropriately, etc.
Research
When you have kids, you encounter many things that you’ve never dealt with before. You’re constantly looking up weird symptoms and medical conditions your child has and how to treat them. You’re looking into preschools and how to teach your child to read. You’re looking for the best way to handle your 3-year-old’s temper tantrums. You’re researching the best swim schools. As your kids get older and you’re trying to help them with studying and school projects, you’re looking up information on the subject at hand. The list goes on. Motherhood makes looking things up and researching almost second nature.
How does this relate to the workforce?
Well, in the most direct way, if you’re applying for a research-based position in a lab or a reference support position like a library clerk, you’ll be able to tie these skills to the position pretty easily.
If you’re applying for a non-research-based role, this is still a skill worth including on your resume. It shows that you’re willing to acknowledge when you don’t know something and that you take initiative to learn more about the topic so that you can address the issue appropriately.
It also gives you the opportunity to talk about other skill sets, like technology. If you regularly use certain search engines, databases, or social media sites as part of your research, this allows you to add these skills to your resume.
Mom skills, like advocacy, should be put on your resume.
Advocacy
Advocacy is such an important skill and an important part of motherhood that is often overlooked! As a mom, you advocate for your child’s health and well-being in a variety of ways.
Has your child ever been sick or had unexplained symptoms that the pediatrician brushed off? Most moms don’t just forget about it because the doctor insists that it’s nothing to worry about. What do we do? We make note of the symptoms and when they appeared, we research possible causes, and we keep following up with the doctor or get a second opinion until our child’s symptoms are taken seriously.
We advocate for our kids at school. If they’re having trouble academically, we talk with the teacher about ways we can help our children and we look into supplemental education resources. If your child ever struggled with reading, you probably looked into something like Hooked on Phonics or some sort of educational game for your child to do at home to strengthen those skills.
If our children are being picked on by a classmate, we advocate for them then too. We talk with the teacher, the principal, or the other child’s parents to try to come up with a solution so that our children are safe when they’re not at home with us. That’s being an advocate for your child.
You’re looking out for your kid and protecting them in ways that they aren’t able to do so for themselves yet.
How does this relate to the workforce?
In a direct way, this is an important skill to list if you’re applying for a job like a fundraiser, social worker, social service aide, teacher, nurse, elderly care provider, pastoral associate, patient care coordinator, supervisor, etc.
In an indirect way, you can tie this skill that you’ve honed as a mother to your willingness to speak up when there is a concern and ensure that the job is done correctly.
There are so many relevant skills that we have as moms that can be applied to jobs outside of our homes and families. Just because other people may not easily recognize them doesn’t make them less true or important. Use your advocacy skills to advocate for yourself and to show your capabilities to employers by promoting your mom skills in a high-quality and meaningful way on your resume.