I’m doing up a resume today and need a bit of help please. How do I add stay at home mum on my resume for the second time? A few years ago I was a sahm, then I worked for a while, and now I’ve been a sahm again (for many different reasons). How can I add it to my resume creatively? Thankyou
7 Replies
Isn't it sad that staying at home to look after your own kids is considered a bad thing in the HR world. Parenting 24/7 is the most grounding thing on earth and you learn how to prioritise, to be resourceful, problem solve and control frustration. It should not be considered a "gap" but here we are, 2024 and people wonder why women are choosing not to have kids.
Yes!! This exactly!! Thankyou!!!
It's been a gap for as long as women have worked. But most employers don't care. Just put that you were a stay at home mum. It's not like you were fired and blacklisted. The break in employment is a choice that lots of employers understand is a point in time thing
I guess it depends on your career choice, for jobs that constantly change and need employees to be up to speed with all the changes then huge gaps out of the industry are a bad thing, it would be like re training someone from new. Hair, nursing, teaching, childcare, all the trades, etc etc.
As someone who's just been through the hiring process, I just want succinct fact points about who you are and what kind of skills you have that can be applied to the role! Please don't try to be creative lol, I got very excited seeing a resume come through for a person who had over 15 years experience as an Executive Household Manager until my colleague pointed out that this was a cutesty way of saying stay at home mum. We chose not to proceed with that particular applicant, not because she had been a stay at home mum (she'd have had loads of transferrable skills for this role) but because she presented this fact in an ambiguous and slightly disingenuous way.
Keep it straight and simple. A brief explanation in the introductory section is perfect, something like "after taking some time off to raise my children, I am ready and eager to get back into the workforce".
Yes at my job we also avoid those resumes with wanky, "creative" made up job titles like the plague. We'd much rather people be honest and say they were a stay at home mum. One of our most reliable workers is a mum so it's not off putting.
That's how many mums were/are told to put it down as! Worst thing you can write is home duties and you can't leave gaps on your resume. Its been long enough since I was a stay at home mum that I start my resume from the first job after so its not even on there at all.