Adidas exec adds 'Mom on Maternity Leave' to her LinkedIn, calls it 'hands down the hardest job'
University of Michigan grad Jocelin Shalom has held many jobs — from social media coordinator at the Art Institute of Chicago to, most recently, senior manager of communications for Adidas. But none have proven so difficult as the one she just added to her LinkedIn: “New Mom on Maternity Leave.”
“This is the hardest job I’ve ever had, and the one I’m most proud of,” Shalom writes, on a post that’s earned close to 500 likes. “I’m confident these experiences will make me a stronger, wiser, more courageous, and more creative employee when I go back…Learning lessons of endurance, patience, compromise, efficiency, resilience, creative thinking, courage and vulnerability.”
For the Portland, Oregon, executive, the move was every bit as loaded as it seems. “I updated LinkedIn with my newest job, Mom, because we need to talk more about decent parental leave in this country,” Shalom writes. “Grateful adidas not only has a 6 month maternity leave policy but encourages and supports you in taking it.”
The move, an unusual one on a site dedicated to networking, has garnered the attention of moms across the web — who have praised both Shalom’s creativity, and Adidas for allowing its employees to take six months off. In a post on WorkingMothers.com, author Audrey Goodson Kingo writes that Shalom is proof that “happy moms are fiercely loyal employees.”
In the comments below Shalom’s post, many have weighed in to echo her thoughts. “Truth!” writes Katie Hegarty, whose LinkedIn lists her as the director of Northwest Sales at Bustle Digital Group. “Absolutely! I completely agree!!!” adds Elismary Acevedo-Suarez, head of business program management at UTC Aerospace Systems. “Congratulations & welcome to motherhood!”
Not everyone, of course, was so welcoming of the post. Others weighed in to explain that many women aren’t lucky enough to get six months of leave after having a baby (the U.S. remains the only industrialized country without mandatory paid maternity leave). “You’re so lucky!!!” wrote one. But another mom took it a step further, saying she mentioned the job in her resume.
“When I decided to reenter [the workforce], I listed the time as a ‘Parenting Sabbatical’ and included the skills I’d learned, like time management and ‘working with challenging personalities,'” writes Lynn Elyse, whose LinkedIn mentions marketing and sales at Ledge Society. “I figured if a potential employer didn’t see value in my decision, then it wasn’t the right fit.”
Underneath the comment, Shalom (who couldn’t be reached for comment) weighs in again to applaud the decision. “Way to go putting it on your resume!” writes Shalom. “I agree that if it turns a potential boss off, it’s not a job I want.”
Adidas’ team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on their employee’s statement, but the website mentions the chance for employees to take up to six months of parental leave, with the first 10 weeks of it paid. Shalom’s post comes on the heels of a report from Forbes that projects LinkedIn to be the “next big social network,” calling it a “force to be reckoned with.”
If powerful statement’s like Shalom’s continue, Forbes may just be right.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade just had a baby — here’s why she captioned the picture #skintoskin
Chrissy Teigen had the best response to troll who tried to mom-shame her about breastfeeding
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