Five Skills To Add To Your CV Once You’re a Mum

Chances are you’ve nailed it in your career and you’re looking forward to some down time caring for your baby. The good news is that baby wrangling has a different kind of intensity to it, that doesn’t really compare to the stress or busyness of working full time. The bad news is, there really isn’t much down time when you’re looking after a baby. But you can rest assured you’ll keep some skills so finely honed as a parent, that you’ll be able to add them to your CV.

Planning & Time Management

Think about all the things you need to do to keep you and your baby fed, clean and happy. Throw the other household chores into the mix, like grocery shopping and laundry, and you’ll find that your day is pretty full. With the needs of your baby at the forefront, you’ll learn to plan your day and manage your time like a boss.

Problem-solving Skills

While you might be solving different problems than those that come up in the office, having kids presents all sorts of issues that need to be resolved. From making sure they get enough tummy time, through to sleep training, weaning and juggling a return to work. By the end of your maternity leave you will have flexed those problem-solving muscles pretty consistently.

Communication Skills

There will probably be times where you feel like you haven’t had an adult conversation for a lifetime, but your communication skills will be sharp. You’ll need to learn how to communicate with your baby in different ways so you can understand what they want and provide what they need. You’ll also need to keep communicating with your partner, even when you are too tired to even say hello. Your communication skills will only get better as you find new ways to interact with your baby and partner.

Negotiation Skills

Negotiating over a dummy or some extra screen time seems like a doddle compared with those contracts you were used to negotiating at work, but babies and toddlers are masters at persistence. You’ll also learn to stand firm in the face of extreme tantrums. Those pesky business men don’t know hard ball like you will have dealt with after 12 – 18 months of parenting.

Financial Management

When you’re a full time employee and one of a couple, your disposable income means you’re as flush as you’ll ever be; and your money is yours to do whatever you want with. Once you’re on maternity leave you suddenly have less cash and more expenses. There is no greater financial challenge than managing more expenses with less resources – once you’ve mastered managing the household budget, you’ll be able to meet any financial challenge.