Being a Parent…The Best Work Experience You Could Have

I have interviewed many people over the years and even before becoming a parent myself, always used to think “Why does no-one ever give a parenting example when asked about their achievements/experience?".

I’ve recently been through some interview’s myself and around 60%+ of my answers were around my pregnancy/parenthood. I’ve spent almost the last 3 years of my life being either pregnant or a new parent so these experiences and achievements are the most relevant and impactful when displaying my competence.

I appreciate I am the minority here. I’ve spoken to several other parent’s about this and it’s just not commonly done. Even many of my peers across the years have found it peculiar that I encourage interviewees to give these examples when interviewing them. There’s just a sense of it “not being professional” to do so. That statement doesn’t sit well with me. How on earth can bringing a child into the world, keeping them alive and well and raising them to be a great human not be one of the hardest, testing and most rewarding job there is?!

So, I am doing my bit to talk more openly about it. To encourage the confidence to speak openly about your role as a parent and how you could quite literally do almost anything after achieving this. I honestly approach things so differently now. I have more resilience than I thought possible, my ability to problem solve whilst running on depleted is remarkable (the 4th trimester - WOW) and how I respond to the 10 million different things that cross my path and I am responsible for each day trumps any global project or team I have ever led.

This is not a competition between parents and non parents. It’s not about who is better, who works harder or has the greatest experience or achievements. It’s about recognition. Being fair. Acknowledging the role of being a parent and all that comes with it. Many parents lack in extreme confidence when returning to work after leave to become a parent. This is time well spent in so so many ways. Look at what you have achieved, with no global budget, no wider team, no annual goals and objectives, just you and your wee family.

I hope this opens your mind to maybe just maybe being more open to using parenting examples as experience next time you have an interview. Always remember - you are bloody amazing!