Career Mom

This past Sunday M and I drove up to the city to meet some friends for brunch. One of my friends recently had a baby. She had left her job to care for her child but said she was looking for ways to keep her resume from getting stale while she was out of work. It got me to thinking. In case you haven't noticed, I'm out of work. Meanwhile, my resume is--aside from a handful of freelance projects--slowly festering.

Mind you, I've never been terribly career-oriented and therefore not at all that concerned with what people see when they look at my resume. But at the same time, I don't want to look like a behind-the-times fossil who has had zero growth while staying at home with my kids.

So I started to wonder if being an out-of-work mom really is detrimental to your career.

I mean, does a hiring manager really care what you've been doing for the past year or does it depend more on your ability to spin it to your advantage? For example, I personally think being a full-time mom is quite a feat. It's incredibly challenging and requires a level of multi-tasking, patience, conflict resolution, and household management skills that most of us are rarely ever faced with while at work. Frankly, between you and me, I think it's a hell of a lot easier to hold down a desk job than it is to be a full-time parent.

I get that it's probably not kosher to list "Mom" as a job description on your resume. But why couldn't you mention it in a job interview or in a cover letter? Look. I've hired quite a few folks over the past several years. And I can tell you some of the best employees--and managers--have been those (men or women) with kids. They were dedicated to their jobs, completely trustworthy, and capable of juggling a number of tasks with relative ease. (For the record, some of the worst employees I've ever had were "go getter" twenty-somethings with big egos, big demands, and in desperate need of a reality check).

And frankly, if a hiring manager is going to think less of me for taking time to be with my child, then I highly doubt it's the right company for me. Let your parent flag fly! Don't be ashamed to say, "Well, the reason I have an employment gap between this year and last year on is because I took time off to take care of my baby. And it was, by far, one of my most challenging and rewarding career moves. I can now multitask with my eyes shut, deal with the most recalictrant of people, function on minimal sleep, manage a budget, coordinate events, and roll up my sleeves and get dirty like no body's business."

I say, if you have the time and desire to freelance or volunteer, go for it. But don't kill yourself. And don't do it simply because you're worried you might not be as viable to a hiring manager when/if the times comes. I've known women who took off five years from work and were able to return to the work force with a little bit of fancy footwork. Remember, and this is just a hunch from someone who is admittedly not very career motivated, it's less about what you've done than how you sell yourself.