This week I started editing an old resume I had in my files. The thought had crossed my mind that it's always a good idea to keep an updated resume on hand, and so that's what I started doing. Job searching for me at this point is laughable, because my schedule is already so packed. As I researched different resume styles and the no-nos that come with sending out a contemporary resume, I started thinking about job descriptions. We've all read those articles, where it details the all the different jobs that a mom does. My own mother in law once kept a running tally for a month of all the things she did, then researched how much it would cost to hire those things out or pay to have them done. The bill for one month of those services was staggering.
I realized when I was putting my resume together that I have such a mishmash of job experience that if I were to tell someone about it, they would probably screw up their face and say, What were you trying to do?
I'm not sure. I was trying to live. I can look back at the last fifteen years or more and say that I have done the following: pharmacy technician (before they had to be licensed...scary!), file clerk in a real estate office, travel agent, clerk in a furniture store, salesperson for children's and women's clothing, carhop, reporter for local newspaper, clerk in a grocery distribution warehouse, realtor.
It was a little disheartening to put all of that together. I never finished school, for a variety of reasons. I went on to get married and have four kids. Now I'm going back to finish, at the age of thirty nine, and I wonder, did I waste a bunch of time? What could I have done differently? And the answer I always come up with is nothing. Circumstances being what they were at the time, there wasn't anything that could have been changed. And so I had to conclude that what was the most important was the job description I have now, and if I included it on my resume it would go something like this:
Professional caretaker for special needs child, twenty four seven, seven days a week, barring when he's at school. Personal advocate for special needs child. Private teacher for thirteen year old boy, covering math, science, world studies, health, language arts, electronic media, art and religion. Professional caretaker for said boy, plus his two sisters. Private flute teacher. Private chef for busy family of six. Accountant for family of six. Bundle service (laundry). Teacher for girls, age 12-13, Sundays and occasional Wednesdays. House cleaning service, as needed. Writer, musician, and jewelry craftswoman. Activity planner and party planner for family of six. Professional shopper (hey, for real..someone has to know a good sale when they see one!)
And so I wrote this down, and then I thought...I do a lot.
To all those moms out there...don't sell yourselves short. Sometimes value isn't measured in dollars.
No comments:
Post a Comment