Should you be penalized for having a gap in your employment record?
If you are making an important decision about returning to work after being a stay at home mom , chances are you’ll need to dust off that resume and do some rewriting. There is no denying returning to the workforce outside the home can be difficult when you have been busy raising your children for the past few years. It can certainly be challenging rewriting your resume because of the significant gap in your employment record.
The best course of action in addressing this gap would be to use the functional format on your resume. This will highlight your skills and abilities rather than focus on the gap in your employment history. You should also capitalize on the things you have accomplished while being a home. Focusing on your volunteer efforts will be your best strategy for filling the unemployment gap. Skills acquired during your time at home, such as communication, organizational skills, event and fundraising planning are all marketable skills. The trick here is to turn your at home skills into viable workplace skills, which in turn will place less importance on the gap. One thing you should never do is be apologetic for the gap in your employment history. You will have to address it on your resume or in an interview, but putting a positive light on why you chose to stay home and raise your family will always be better than trying to justify it to a prospective employer.
Interestingly enough, there seems to be some controversy amongst stay at home moms returning to the workforce debating whether or not you should divulge you have been home wiping mouths and bottoms for the past few years. The consensus on this way of thinking, is that your prospective employer might be less apt to hire you knowing that you have small children, need childcare, dependability issues and so on…Many professional resume writers recommend that you include a SAHM (stay at home mom) status in your work history. This also makes sense because after all, as a stay at home mom you have learned to multitask to perfection. You have no doubt learned to adapt well to stressful and demanding situations and a whole slew of other attributes a company would find desirable. If you are at a loss on how to begin or how to compose this section of your returning resume, there are several services that can help you. Olivia Rivet of Rivet’s Resume specializes in writing resumes for stay at home moms returning to the workforce. As former business woman turned stay at home mom, she takes great pride and pleasure in helping woman turn their stay at home skills and talents into marketable and viable qualifications for the workplace. In showing a prospective employer the skills you do possess from being at home, you will also be showing them you are ready to use those skills and talents in the position you are applying for.
