This week, I spoke to an employer about employing a mum to work part time. The role was credible and required experience. But the employer was keen to know if I thought it was accetable to offer the same rate as they would to a graduate - after all mums have been out of the worforce for a couple of years so they would probably be appreciative just to be paid.
WRONG. I very calmly responded that CareerMums encourages our users all the time to understand what they are worth and negotiate an even better rate based on their skills, experience, expertise, maturity and loyalty. And don't accept a cheaper rate because they are providing you with flexibility. It is a typical workplace arrangement and they will probably get more out of you than a full time worker.
I am amazed at the perception of a skilled worker once you become a mum. A good friend of mine and colleague, Karen Miles, once said that mums need a PR campaign to sit everyone in their place.
Parenthood enhances your skills and makes you a more tolerable, empathetic and organised person. And importantly, parenthood makes you less likely to suffer fools.
1 comment:
Mums are under estimated after they have children. People need to really analze them more for there previous skills and there biggest career challenge of all is being a mum. Being a mum shows all the qualities an employer needs.
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