Earlier today, as I sat down in front of my laptop to start working, I marvelled at how quiet the house was and how I was currently sipping a coffee that was – miraculously – still hot.
The contrast to the past few months of homeschooling – much the same as all those months of the same back in the spring of last year – was vast.
For much of the past 12 months, as well as getting my own work done on time and handed in, I have also battled with 5th class maths, SeeSaw passwords, Reading Egg log-ins, Senior Infants Irish (which to me, being Norwegian felt like trying to understand double Dutch). I have, in between trying to respond to e-mails and meet my own deadlines, also made what felt like 10.000 lunches and snacks, overseen countless projects on anything from Antarctica to WW2, corrected spelling sheets, had press conferences and meetings over Zoom and Google Meet and Teams, listened to reading homework, photographed and uploaded what has felt like millions and millions of art projects, negotiated sibling fights, taken more walks than I care to remember, just to get us all out in fresh air, and all this over and over and over again for months on end.
I am not alone – we have all fought the same fight, and been in the same crazy trenches. For the most part, as studies have shown, the burden of homeschooling, often combined with holding down our own jobs, fell on us mums. And guys, when we look back at what we have accomplished and survived during these past 12 months, I think we need to realise just how flipping capable and resilient and amazing we are. And how any employers or future employers need to realise this too.
Recently, a US mum updated her CV to reflect just this – her unbelievable accomplishments over the past year – and her message is going viral.
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“I recently updated my resume to include my achievements in the last year and last line read,” wrote Megan Drye Harper, “I achieved all of this while homeschooling a Kindergartener, keeping a 3-year-old entertained and nursing a baby between Zoom calls in my NYC apartment. Now, as we head back into a normal existence with childcare, imagine what I can do for your company in 2021.”
Can we get an AMEN?!
Us mothers are masters of multi-tasking. I mean; we kids of have to be—our families depend on us.
In Ireland, like in most other developed countries, research has revealed that when the pandemic hit, the mental load of motherhood exploded. We took on the brunt of virtual education and childcare as schools and childcare facilities closed practically overnight.
What this means, mums, is that we have more of less spent the past year being responsible for full-time education, full-time childcare and our full-time jobs.
If things need doing, you can bet a mum will get it done. And so you would think that any employer would be dying to get a mother on his or her team.
“I’m in basically every mom tech/start-up Facebook group that exists,” Megan Harper points out. “Someone asked the other day if they should tell the potential employer they’re interviewing with that they’re a mom. Being a mom is a strength in the workplace not a weakness!”
Needless to say her post resonated with mums across the globe.
“I love these resume additions,” commented one mum. “Big fan of always talking about my children too, test that culture early!”
“100%!! Multitasking like nobody’s business!! There is no college course for that,” added another.
Another woman wrote: “I’ll add every single mom I work with. Now Including myself. What a year!! We can do anything we propose! Anything!!!”
