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How to Talk About What We Learn From Motherhood |
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Written by Michelle Yozzo Drake
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 Generations of women have been successfully running the home-based business we call “the family”. They have had to utilize all of the skills needed to address the same issues that Fortune 500 companies struggle with. I know, I’m coaching those executives. Here are some suggestions how to communicate to your prospective employer that skills learned at home are certainly translatable in the workplace. Remember, this is in addition to your education and previous work experience. So, go ahead, tell your stories and remember to connect the outcome to an advantage for your prospective employer.
Interviewer: Do you see yourself as having strong sales/negotiation skills?
Answer: Have you ever negotiated with a four-year- old over why Oreo cookies are not a breakfast food? Successfully selling those eggs over the Oreos takes a sales master! Negotiating with a vendor over the price of their products or services is a piece of cake
compared to “selling” bedtime to a toddler or curfew to a teenager.
Interviewer: We need someone who has a proven
track record in project management.
Answer: What most people would call “entertaining”, my family called a family holiday meal. A seven course meal for a crazy extended Italian family of about 35 people was what the “moms” in my family put together. They did this without drama and with a process that has been replicated for generations. My sisters and I are the keepers of the process now— masters of managing a project whose customers are highly critical and vocal.
Interviewer: This job requires excellent risk management skills. Is this an area of strength for you
and why?
Answer: The art of baking bread, taught to me by my Aunt Giovanna Yozzo Fanelli (Aunt Jennie), yielded a surprising class in risk management, crisis management and plan-failure recovery. As I made loaf after loaf of bread (according to Aunt Jennie’s half Italian/half English instructions) and failed every time, I had to learn how to push past my fear of failure and create new plans to minimize my risks of future bread-baking failure! Hours of work sometimes yielded sub-par results. My ultimate victory (at least 20 loafs and 80 hours later) was the title of Bread Maker in my family’s eyes. I got the job! And when Aunt Jennie died at the ripe old age of 96, she left her pans to me. All companies want employees with the ability to learn new skills and the right attitude to forge ahead relentlessly toward success.
Interviewer: An essential component of success in our organization is the ability to cultivate strong teams and leaders. Can you give me an example of your strength in this area?
Answer: Have you ever watched two strong women putting out a holiday meal for the family? My mother Mimi and Aunt Marie were masters at leading and following as they consistently put out a quality product for their customers (35 family members and a few stragglers). The big news is I never remember a moment of tension in either of their kitchens—but there was always a lot of laughter!
Interviewer: We function on a strict operating budget—can you?
Answer: My mother-in-law used to take her 12 children (my husband is number NINE) to the beach on the ferry every Wednesday because kids ride free that day when accompanied by a parent. She knew how to work a budget. Examples like that guided me during my family’s lean years when I was sewing shorts for my two young sons out of my husband’s old shirts—and during the first crucial years of my businesses when break-even was only a dream.
Interviewer: You would need to manage a very diverse group of individuals.
Answer: My sister and a few of my sisters-in-law have new “blended families”. With divorce rates and remarriages at an all-time high, there are new things today’s mom has learned. Creating a family with kids from previous marriages and new ones with new husbands takes a lot of hard work and effort. No wonder the idea of running a newly merged company is child’s play for the mom that has balanced issues with siblings, half-brothers and step-sisters.
Interviewer:This can be a stressful environment with crisis management being a much needed skill.
Answer: From lost blankies and spilled milk to lost championship ball games and emergency room runs—I absolutely learned how to handle a crisis!
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