job/resume advice (former SAHMers)

[nowa]

Ok People shit is getting real over here. I just randomly found a job posting that seems perfect for our current situation. It's a temporary gig but it gets my foot back in the door and could set me up to strike out on my own one day which I think will be good. Blah blah. Anyway, I'm trying to update my resume and I was wondering if anyone had any pearls of wisdom regarding how they treated the SAH gap in your resume.

Right now mine is arranged in chronological order with the most recent job first so it's pretty obvious. I can't decide if I should leave it that way and just address the gap in my cover email or change the format of my resume as well.

[dizzycooks]

Everything I've read says to address it briefly, "I left to stay home and care for my kids while they were young and planned to return to work when X. They are now X (in prek/elementary/whatever you want to be your reason they don't 'need' you) and I am following through with my goals. I look forward to Y with your company and doing Z in the years to come."
I've also heard you should have a less than 5 minute elevator speech about what you did and why while they were home. If you did something siginificant in the industry you are entering, point it out, otherwise leave it alone and don't try to make MOPS treasurer into a CFO position

(This is all coming from someone who has no experience with this....)

[nicolewi]

I have no advice. Wondering the same thing for someday in the future. I hate that we have to try to fudge around or minimize a few years SAH as if it's some shameful secret. I realize that's how it is, but I don't really understand WHY it is still that way.

[chatterbox]

No advice, but good luck! Hope you get the job

[nowa]

Thanks dizzycooks. That advice feels right to me. It's not like they won't realize you haven't had a job in awhile eventually anyway. But I'm still not sure my resume effectively conveys my experience from my working yeas, though it did get me my last job.

I hear ya nicolewi.

Thanks @chatterbox. I hope I do to! We could really use the $$ right now and I'm ready to be using my professional training again.

[penguingrrl]

I'm on the job market too and address my gap in my cover letter by saying I have been minimally employed for the past eight years due to family commitments and am looking to return in a permanent capacity.. A friend from HS is in HR and is very high up in a major company so I asked him how best to address it and he said he sees people who are open about it in their resume all the time and it never hurt them at all in his experience and recommended I do that.

[Deleted]

Good luck nowa sounds like a good opportunity!!

I would probably address it very briefly in the cover letter and make sure my resume is detailed enough to convey specific valuable skills, experience and qualities that are desirable for the position. I think a good employer (the kind you would want to work for) wouldn't bat an eye or inquire much further than your cover letter about the gap. They will probably be more interested in what you did when working and what you plan to do for them.

[aggiecyd]

Doing a random fly-by for this, but your situation sounds like where I was a few months ago. I found a job on-line that fit perfectly with my skills. It was originally a temp position, but has turned permanent.
On my CV, my work experience is also chronological. Above my last place of employment listed, in the same format, I just put the dates & "Stay-at-home Parent." That's it. I didn't have a cover letter.
It's a large, national company and no one said anything about the gap. (I was out for almost 3 years).

[NandaB]

Aug 4, 2015 9:56:10 GMT -5 aggiecyd said:

Doing a random fly-by for this, but your situation sounds like where I was a few months ago. I found a job on-line that fit perfectly with my skills. It was originally a temp position, but has turned permanent.
On my CV, my work experience is also chronological. Above my last place of employment listed, in the same format, I just put the dates & "Stay-at-home Parent." That's it. I didn't have a cover letter.
It's a large, national company and no one said anything about the gap. (I was out for almost 3 years).

I wonder if it really matters if you do this or a cover letter? Does the industry make a difference? I was solely a sahm for 3.5 years, but started subbing this school year (I was a teacher) not only did I want to get back into the swing of things, I thought it would be good to have something in that gap. (besides moms club president, lol)