When Homemaking is Your Only Credential

Job Hunting After Staying at Home

I recently went to a job interview—the first in four years. As soon as we sat down, I had a gut feeling about how it would end. You could say the experience was…awkward. I haven’t been in the workforce in years, and the way my four-year “stay-at-home” gap landed in that interview room, it was as if I’d been asleep since my last job. But being a stay-at-home mom is hardly what I’d call a nap.

For four years, I’ve worn many hats in our household, serving as a teacher, manager, driver, chef, and even a bit of a crisis manager. I once asked ChatGPT to turn my stay-at-home role into a résumé—just out of curiosity—and the list it produced was impressive. If only the stigma surrounding stay-at-home parenting didn’t cast a shadow over that résumé.

The Real Skills Behind Stay-at-Home Parenting

Here’s what ChatGPT gave me, a list I could truly put on any resume:

1. Budget Management: Overseeing our household budget, tracking expenses, and paying bills.

2. Scheduling and Coordination: Planning family activities, appointments, and events—often involving complex logistics.

3. Childcare and Education Support: Not just supervising but guiding my child’s education daily.

4. Meal Planning and Preparation: Ensuring my family eats balanced, nutritious meals.

5. Household Maintenance: Organizing and even handling routine maintenance and repairs.

6. Transportation Management: Managing drop-offs, pick-ups, and other transportation needs.

7. Conflict Resolution: Mediating the many sibling and family disputes with (hopefully) lasting peace.

8. Crisis Management: Handling those inevitable emergencies and unexpected challenges.

9. Personal Assistant Duties: Managing schedules, appointments, and personal tasks for each family member.

10. Event Planning: Coordinating birthdays, holiday gatherings, and other family celebrations.

Each of these is something any hiring manager would look for in roles from project management to executive assistance. Yet somehow, these skills are sidelined as “life skills” instead of actual job qualifications.

The Stigma of “Not Working”

There’s a stigma that exists around stay-at-home parenting, especially when re-entering the workforce. It's as if people think you haven't been "doing anything." Yet, the irony is that employers are hiring for these same skills, under titles like Project Manager or Team Coordinator. When we do it as stay-at-home parents, though, they’re chalked up as “soft skills” or “things we all do.” It’s almost laughable if it weren’t so frustrating.

These skills are not just useful—they’re essential, transferrable, and downright crucial to maintaining order in any organization. The management, planning, and multitasking I juggle daily are far from trivial. There’s a misconception that household management doesn’t have the same “real-world” application. But in any other context, these tasks would be valued. They’d come with a salary, a job title, a little recognition, and dare I say some paid time off!

Why It’s Time for a Shift in Perspective

So, why not embrace the title of Household Manager or Family Operations Specialist? My “gap” years have been anything but idle; they’ve prepared me in ways a corporate job never could. It’s high time that job applications and hiring managers start to recognize the value in these roles. They’re more than capable of transferring to roles that demand project coordination, critical thinking, flexibility, and leadership. Believe me, having to herd a bunch of tiny humans around is really no different than “managing” adults.

Let’s encourage employers to broaden their perspective, to see stay-at-home parenting as credible experience, not a time-out from life. If the world can accept titles like “Chief Happiness Officer” or “Growth Hacker,” then maybe it’s time to see “Household Manager” and “Family Operations Specialist” as the true accomplishments they are.

Reflections on Being “Qualified”

At the end of the day, qualifications aren’t only about ticking off industry-specific boxes. Being “qualified” should include a person’s full experience, from their education to their paid work and, yes, even the unpaid, behind-the-scenes work of managing a household. The skills I’ve developed during my “time off” are the ones that make people resilient, empathetic, and adaptable traits that any team would be lucky to have.

Maybe next time, I’ll just hand them this list.