Why You Should Believe in Yourself Again

When a mother thinks about returning to the workforce, there’s a thought that almost always comes first.

No one will hire me.

I know this is true because this is exactly what went through my mind when I had to return to the workforce after and 18 year career "gap." I didn’t think I had any skills to offer. I wasn’t current. I wasn’t confident. I didn’t even know how I would explain the gap.

But I did have a lot to offer.  

What I didn’t understand then is that while I wasn’t in an office, I was still building skills--just not ones that came with titles or paychecks.

I had been managing schedules every day. Making decisions without all the information. Solving problems as they came up. Handling conflict. Following through when things were hard or inconvenient.

That work didn’t disappear just because it happened at home.

How Motherhood Builds Real Skills

Here’s what I learned later.  The skills I used as a mother were the same skills companies needed. I just didn’t know how to name them. Here's just a few of the things you do every day as a mom that directly transfer to job skills:

Birthday parties and family reunions → Event planning
Managing school schedules, sports, and appointments → Project coordination
Breaking up sibling fights → Conflict resolution
Running a household budget → Financial management
Making decisions on the fly → Judgment
Keeping everyone on track → Time management
Juggling multiple needs at once → Prioritization
Teaching kids how to do things (over and over) → Training and coaching
Communicating with teachers, coaches, doctors → Stakeholder management
Solving problems without clear instructions → Problem-solving
Staying calm under pressure → Stress management
Remembering details no one else does → Attention to detail
Advocating for your child → Negotiation
Handling logistics for travel and holidays → Operations management
Keeping things running when plans fall apart → Adaptability
Showing up every day no matter what → Reliability and ownership

The doubt you and so many other mothers feel isn’t about ability. It’s about years of undervaluing the work you’ve done--often by the world, and eventually by yourself.

You already bring experience, maturity, and judgment. Believing in yourself doesn’t mean pretending you’re fearless.  It means recognizing that the work you’ve done has prepared you--even if it doesn’t look like a traditional career path.

You are capable.
You are skilled.
And you have more to offer than you think.

Read additional blog posts here.