Be Sure To Add 'Mom' To Your Resume

Photo by: Staff

A year ago it was time for me to venture back into corporate America after three years spent working for the most demanding boss on the face of the earth: my son.

I learned really quickly that getting prospective employers to find you interesting after devoting yourself completely to a free-loading child takes clever maneuvering.

There is an unspoken resume protocol in America. While it is customary to boast of your mediocre piano skills and that you speak “conversational” Tagalog (no one would really know unless you are applying for work in the Philippines), you must never ever call yourself a “Mom”. Ever!

Especially if you have young children. It can and will be used against you.

Though at first I was wary of the idea, I eventually decided my degree in “Mom” was a key reason someone would hire me. When you have just worked for a boss that calls on you at all hours, who frequently tests your danger reflexes and throws food around when he’s mad, you gain a certain fortitude. You develop a patience and mental clarity that is second to none.

Recently, I got into an interesting conversation with a woman without children. She wrote an article on Blogher discussing the need for women to get past motherhood as a political qualification. Many women, men and moms support this view. I encourage my visitors to read her article here.

It discusses a troublesome trend among educated, experienced female political candidates. The problem? They are using their Mom credentials to pander to the lowest of the low: other Moms.

This got me thinking. What if being a Mom is the only job a woman is allowed to do? Does that mean she is not worthy of representation in her government? If being a Mom is not considered an asset, what is the fate of the majority of women in the world with ”just-a-mom” on their resumes?

With such disregard for Mom experience, I began to consider the bleak outlook of women in third world countries. Many have sharp minds, common sense and heroic survival skills yet lack access to educational and career opportunities. This type of thinking would automatically disqualify them for roles in their government based on a “lack of experience”.

That is presuming their government actually has established qualifications for it’s lawmakers. America’s candidates need only a bucket of cash and a faulty moral compass to qualify for most offices. I don’t see how possessing Mom skills do any more harm than the commonly accepted requirements of the job.

We all know the private sector works differently. The job-filling process is much less subjective than filling an elected office. There are substantive qualifications an employer looks for in a new employee. But it’s worth noting that many of today’s women have extraordinary skills enhanced by their experience as Moms.

Others will not know the greatness of that experience unless we tell them. I cannot think of a better and more efficient way to pass along the message than on our professional resumes.

Every letter I sent out in my job search contained this paragraph:

“Since relocating to California in 2007, I have tended to the responsibilities of my young son. It is my hope that my decision to exit the workforce to fulfill my parental responsibilities can be viewed as an asset. It represents a consistent pattern of responsible decision-making throughout my entire life.”

Sixty resume submissions and 8 interviews later, I found a humble, decent paying job in the midst of a recession. It has been a perfect fit for my long-developed professional skills and the efficiency I honed while working for my son.

If placing “Mom” on my letter was a liability my new employer did not seem to think so. After sifting through 350 applicants to fill that one position alone, he said it was probably the best cover letter he ever read.

Heather writes about ‘Motherhood and Other Offensive Situations’ at Ultimate Outcasts.