We’re excited to continue our journey into spotlighting some of the unique skills stay-at-home moms have! We hope this series will encourage stay-at-home-parents who may be interested in entering (or re-entering) the workforce to consider how the work you’ve been doing is valuable to employers! If you haven’t already, be sure to read the first two parts of our series, Transferable Skills for Stay At Home Moms and Stay at Home Mom Skills to Add to a Resume.
Today’s post is related to yet another special skill moms have: communication.
Communicating with your kids
Is there anything more challenging than trying to communicate with a mini human? As children grow into young adults, they are eventually better able to use logic and reasoning. However when they are younger, it takes a special skillset to be able to communicate in a way that is direct but kind, especially when the end goal requires an action on the part of the child. If you have ever:
- calmly knelt down to a child’s eye level to communicate with them
- effectively stopped a toddler’s tantrum mid-screech by practicing empathy
- been able to get the kids to clean up without (excessive) complaining
- taken more than one child into any store, anywhere (and left with items still on the shelves and the groceries you actually need)
- convinced your kids to leave the playground on time
...then you are a very effective communicator!
In the workplace
In the workplace, written and verbal communication plays a vital role in the success of each employee and the company. If employees are able to successfully communicate with each other, it increases team collaboration and cooperation and boosts overall productivity for everyone. As a Mom, you effectively communicate every day - whether it’s mediating between the kids, tactfully discussing concerns with the teacher, or cheerfully talking with the doctor’s office on the phone (hiding in the bathroom away from the loud chaos at home, of course).
Collaborating with other adults about ongoing projects or upcoming plans is another example of great communication skills that can be utilized in the workplace. Whether it’s working with other parents to organize a carpool for the kids, coordinating snacks for sports teams, or brainstorming the logistics of a local meet-up - it’s all communication and it all applies here!
A final note on communication:
If you have used email or text messaging to communicate in any of the above situations (or others), you can add both written and verbal communication skills to your resume! Stay tuned for a new skill soon!