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How to Write a Standout Resume When You鈥檙e a Stay-at-Home Parent

Written by 糖心vlog官网观看 Staff 鈥 Updated on

Learn how to integrate your time as a parent and discuss your transferable skills on your resume.

[Featured image] A stay-at-home parent with curly brown hair sits next to a young child, reading a storybook.

Being a parent is an immense responsibility that requires a great many skills. Beginning your job search after taking time to be a stay-at-home parent often means translating that experience in a way that helps hiring managers understand it. Whether you鈥檝e been a full-time parent for a short period or a longer stretch, there are ways to highlight what you鈥檝e learned, done, and accomplished on your resume.听

Although attitudes about career breaks鈥攕ometimes called career gaps鈥攆or full-time parents have not always been supportive, they have been shifting in recent years. In fact, taking time away from a career is more common than it might seem. LinkedIn, the professional online platform, even instituted a way for users to add a career gap to their profiles in an effort to 鈥渕ore positively represent鈥 time spent away from work.

In this article, we鈥檒l go over how you can highlight the value of your time as a stay-at-home parent on your resume and other ways to strengthen your application materials as you prepare to reenter the workforce.听

What should your stay-at-home mom resume include?

When you鈥檝e been a stay-at-home parent, the resume you write will largely resemble a traditional resume, which conveys your unique story. Choose the most appropriate resume type based on what you want to feature: a timeline of your work, your biggest skills, or some combination of both.听

You should include required resume sections, such as header, experience, education, and skills, and consider whether optional elements, such as a resume summary or resume objective, can help frame who you are and what you鈥檙e looking for. As you reflect on your working history, determine how far back you should go in terms of experience.听

How to discuss your time as a stay-at-home parent聽

No matter how much time you鈥檝e spent away from the workforce, you can list your time as a stay-at-home mom or dad on your resume as part of your experience. Consider these stay-at-home mom resume examples.

1. List out your experience.

It鈥檚 important to quantify your impact where possible鈥攖hat typically means detailing the effect you鈥檝e had. Start by thinking about what you鈥檝e done as a parent. How did you stay organized? How did you handle conflict resolution? How did you manage any household budgets? Make a list of your different responsibilities.听聽

2. Identify key skills鈥攁nd how to discuss them.

Once you have your full list of parenting tasks, begin identifying the transferable skills you鈥檝e developed鈥攕uch as problem-solving, communicating, and planning鈥攁nd write them down. It鈥檚 important to tailor your resume for each role, so spend time reviewing job descriptions, noting any required or recommended skills that may help you better align your overall experience and skill set with that company鈥檚 needs.听

The language you use to discuss your experience and skills is also important. Key action words can help express both what you did and the impact of those actions in a more direct and digestible way.听

3. Add your time as a stay-at-home parent to your experience.

Now that you have an idea of what you鈥檇 like to highlight, begin building an entry for 鈥渟tay-at-home parent鈥 on your resume. Depending on the type of resume you choose, you鈥檒l add this information to different sections.听聽

  • On a chronological resume, which outlines your working history, you鈥檒l list this information under the 鈥渆xperience鈥 section.听

  • On a functional or skills-based resume, which focuses on skills over experience, you鈥檒l discuss the skills you鈥檝e gained and strengthened as a result of your full-time parenting.听聽

How do you professionally say you were a stay-at-home mom on your resume?

You can use a variety of terms, including full-time caregiver, family manager, or organizer, to describe your time as a stay-at-home mom. Then, you can list the experience and skills developed during your time as a stay-at-home parent that relate to your chosen job title. In doing so, you can showcase the transferable skills you possess for future job opportunities.

Stay-at-home parent experience samples

When you list your experience on a chronological resume, it鈥檚 a good idea to title what you did (stay-at-home mom, stay-at-home dad, or stay-at-home parent), the nature of your parenting (self-employed), the dates of your full-time parenting, and the location.

Under that information, create a bulleted list outlining your major tasks and impact, calling attention to transferable skills where possible. Let鈥檚 take a look at two different samples.听

Stay-at-Home Mom聽

Self-employed, 2018鈥攑resent (Atlanta, Georgia)聽

  • Managed schedules for two children under the age of 10, organizing competing appointments and activities聽聽

  • Oversaw weekly grocery budget, reducing overall spending by 8% over two years

  • Created a local parenting group on Facebook that currently features over 60 members;聽 planned meet-ups and collected resources and tools to feature each week聽聽

Stay-at-Home Parent聽

Self-employed, 2020鈥損resent (Cleveland, Ohio)

  • Oversaw remote schooling for three children (ages 5鈥11), adapting weekly to changing requirements and working one-on-one to identify needs and stay organized聽

  • Volunteered with the PTA, arranging meetings, communicating needs, and problem-solving on matters of curriculum and budgets

Other ways to strengthen your stay-at-home mom resume

Other resume sections may be worth including or expanding on. Let鈥檚 go over additional ways you can strengthen your resume as a stay-at-home parent.听聽

Resume objective聽

A resume objective explains your larger career goals, including what you鈥檙e looking for. It鈥檚 a concise section that typically sits between your header and experience or education鈥攄epending on which section you list first. It can quickly outline your needs and goals to a recruiter. You can mention your time as a stay-at-home parent or leave out that information since a recruiter will see it elsewhere on your resume.听聽

Savvy marketing associate turned stay-at-home mom who is eager to find a part-time marketing strategist role where I can apply my four years of research, communications, and problem-solving experience.听聽

Project manager with four years of experience. I recently refreshed my knowledge and skill set by completing the Google Professional Certificate in Project Management, and I鈥檓 keen to find a mid-level web developer role at a leading creative agency.听

Relevant work experience

It may help to include any freelance or volunteer work you鈥檝e done as a full-time parent. Any experience you鈥檝e gained during your time away from the traditional workforce can show recruiters the effort you鈥檝e put into your personal and professional development.听

Skills development聽

Professional development doesn鈥檛 stop simply because you鈥檙e not in an office full-time. List any courses, certificates, or programs you鈥檝e successfully completed in an effort to strengthen your skills, and add any new skills you鈥檝e learned to the 鈥渟kills鈥 section of your resume.听

Education

If you鈥檝e finished any schooling, such as a 产补肠丑别濒辞谤鈥檚 or master鈥檚 degree, while parenting, add that information to the 鈥education鈥 section of your resume. List any new degrees you鈥檝e earned, or create a separate 鈥渃ertificates鈥 section for any Professional Certificates you鈥檝e completed.听

Additional advice for parents re-entering the workforce

Your resume is likely not the only thing that needs to be updated when you鈥檙e beginning a job search after parenting full-time. Let鈥檚 go over some other tools and resources that you may want to consider.听

Identify what you鈥檙e looking for.

Moving back into the workforce doesn鈥檛 necessarily have to mean a full-time role. Whether you鈥檙e looking for full-time work that promotes work-life balance, part-time work, or freelance work, take time to think about what you need as you begin your job search. It may also help to research jobs that are in demand or jobs that tend to be more flexible. A resume objective may be a useful section to add on your resume, explaining what you鈥檙e seeking.听

Refresh your professional presence.听

Sites such as LinkedIn are an excellent鈥攁nd highly visible鈥攚ay to tell your professional story. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date by adding a new photo, refreshing your headline, and revising your 鈥淎bout Me鈥 section.听

Connect with your network.听

Word of mouth is a powerful resource, as are job referrals. Consider who in your network might be able to help you connect with new opportunities鈥攖hese can be former managers or colleagues, mentors, or friends. As you identify interesting roles that catch your eye, you may even want to consider reaching out to a recruiter on LinkedIn to introduce yourself.听聽

Strengthen your skills.听

If it鈥檚 been some time since you鈥檝e been part of the workforce, consider strengthening your skills (and industry knowledge) by enrolling in a professional certificate program. These are a relatively short way to develop career-ready skills while learning about the latest developments in an area of work, such as marketing, data science, or business. Once you successfully complete a professional certificate, you can list that information on your resume.

Next steps to prepare your stay-at-home mom resume

Learn all about resume writing with the University of Maryland鈥檚 course Writing Winning Resumes and Cover Letters on 糖心vlog官网观看. Enroll for free to gain important tips you can apply to revising and strengthening your resume.听聽

If you鈥檙e looking to hone your job skills, explore a Professional Certificate from Google, Meta, IBM, Salesforce, and more on 糖心vlog官网观看. Learn about in-demand areas such as project management, UX design, data science, marketing analytics, and sales.听

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