Tuesday 14 April 2015

How Previous Jobs Trained Me For Parenting

Recently I got to thinking about how much my role of mother is similar to jobs I've had in the past. Has my choice of work been a subconscious effort to train for parenthood? 
P.A. to a manager who wouldn't make his own coffee: within 6 weeks I had him trained to walk to the espresso machine outside his office door and press the button himself. Not unlike potty training in a way. 
P.A. to a machinery salesman: basically this consisted of doing things someone else wanted done. As any mother knows, this is what a lot of the job of mother boils down to. The children want dinner, so you make dinner. The children want to go to the playground, so you go to the playground, ...
Photographer of lorries: now this job has been especially helpful in my current role of mother to three boys. I know A LOT MORE than I ever though I would about lorries, especially bin lorries. In two languages, I might add. This was one of my more fun jobs and it impressed the kids no end when they heard that I used to earn my living by being around lorries all day.
Perfume sales assistant: this is where I developed a good nose for scents, a very handy skill to possess when you have babies in nappies. Not so much of the floral tones around here these days though. 
Credit card sales: a very short lived career for me but it did give me a good grounding in how to tell white lies. And when you have children, you tell quite a lot of fibs 
International health insurance claims officer: it was here that I learned how to tell when someone is lying to you. I fear that this is a skill I will need more and more as the boys grow older. 
Teaching English as a Foreign Language: given that I have ended up as a mammy to half-German children, this stint as a teacher has come in very handy in bringing up English-speaking children in Germany
International project manager - this is relly where the boundary lines blur. Without a doubt, my current paying job has been the most helpful of all in equipping me for motherhood. Making sure a huge job gets done and to the customer's satisfaction involves getting people to do things they don't necessarily want to do and within a certain time frame. White lies, juggling roles and prioritising activities are all part of motherhood and project manangement. But there are days when I am in a meeting giving orders and setting aims and I find myself thinking, this is just like trying to get the boys to clean their room.

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11 comments:

  1. Wait! People who sell credit cards tell fibs!!!! This is a great post and highlights why people shouldn't be concerned about putting parenting on a CV.

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    1. I'm afraid they the hide the truth from you to a certain extent Moderate Mum.
      Parenting is definitely loaded with transferable skills as well as making people into much more efficient employees. It will be all over my cv if I ever start to look around for something new.
      Thanks for popping by.

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  2. This is great! I've never considered how my previous roles have assisted me in motherhood! Love it! Glad to have found you via #twinklytuesday

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    1. Thanks! Glad you enjoyed my post. Isn't #twinklytuesday great?

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  3. You're really dishing the dirt on the workplace here, who knew!

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    1. Just being honest :)
      Thanks for popping over for a read.

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  4. Haha this is great. I feel that hour jobs have been a lot more helpful than my own have however thinking about it, my current role as event manager has definitely helped me in being able to organise a great birthday party for Zach! Two successful ones so far :) thanks so much for linking up with #twinklytuesday

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    1. I reckon pretty much every job has some element that can be transferred to parenting, and vice versa.
      As Zach get older and can tell you more about what kind of birthday party he wants, your skill will come into to even better use, no doubt.
      My 4 year old wanted "a soldier birthday" when he was turning 4. Even my 6 year old had the sense to know that that might not be every parent's idea of the kind of party they want their child to attend. It is issues like this that will put your skills to the test Lisa :)
      Thanks do much for hosting #twinklytuesday.

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  5. What a great post.]Love your career insights into being a Mum! Previous jobs are definitely relevant to parenthood. I used to work night shifts and that definitely helped with sleep deprivation, just as studying in Spain and getting used to late nights, early mornings and massive siestas was also great training! I often think though that parenthood also helps see the workplace in a totally new light too though...talk about parent/child relationships at times ;-) #brilliantblogposts

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    1. Thanks. And yes, you are so right about seeing the workplace in a new light! Sometime it is laughable how alike situations can be.

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