Occasionally, women who have stayed at home for a number of years to be a homemaker and mother ask me how to handle the “gap” in their resume. I tell them that there is no gap. They have served as the:
Chief Operations Officer (COO) of the home, responsible for:
- operations and maintenance of the home,
- capital improvements (remodeling),
- purchasing, budgeting, financial management, and marketing (representing the family’s interests and reputation inside and outside the home),
- managing subcontractors (plumbers, electricians, appliance repairs, yard workers, etc.),
- field operations (activities related to hobbies, sports, and places of worship),
- human resource management (inspiring and motivating family members to be productive and actively responsible),
- personnel training (raising the children with a strong sense of values), and
- environmental management (greening the home & family worldview).
Building a safe, stress free family organizational culture. Making the home the most desirable place in the universe for the family and raising offspring to become adults of strong character is a boundaryless (24/7) full time responsibility. Serving as a homemaker is much like running a small business. The multidisciplinary wisdom and management experience acquired is applicable to virtually any workplace.
If you agree with the above characterization of a homemaker, you may feel free to use it without attribution. What do you think?
Dr. Lloyd Stebbins 