How to Write Resume After Being Stay-at-home Mom

As a stay-at-home mom, you deserve the perfect resume.

We both know you can do it all:

Manage, delegate, communicate. Plus, you know how to bend space-time, bilocate, and do ten different things at the same time!

You've got everything it takes to succeed.

So, what's the problem?

First, the hiring manager doesn't know this.

Second, how do you put stay-at-home mom on your resume and land a job?

Not to worry!

You're literally 5 minutes away from your kickass stay-at-home mom resume!

This guide will show you:

• A stay-at-home mom resume better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write a stay-at-home mom resume that will land you more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a homemaker resume.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for a SAHM to return to the workforce and get any job you want.

Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It's fast and easy to use. Plus, you'll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.

Sample Resume for a Stay-at-Home Mom Returning to the Workforce—See more templates and create your resume here.

Thinking of a career change? We've got you covered:

• Career Change Resume Example and Writing Guide

Trying to prepare a resume with no work experience? Jump right in:

• No Work Experience Resume Example and Writing Guide

1

What's the Best Format for a Stay-at-Home Mom Resume?

Let's start with the basics.

As a stay-at-home mom, your organizational skills are beyond compare. That's a fact.

Now you need to prove them to the hiring manager.

How?

For starters, lay your resume out in the reverse-chronological resume format.

It will help you keep your stay-at-home mom resume nice, clean, and easy to follow.

Wait!

But what about the so-called functional resume format? The internet is full of advice about how it can help you hide gaps in employment.

Listen:

Don't try to hide anything. Honesty is the name of the game.

Just think about it:

If you know that the functional resume is for those who want to hide something, you can be sure that the recruiter knows that too!

They'll immediately assume you're hiding something. And that's exactly what you'd be doing.

That's why it's always better to explain your career gaps rather than hide them. More on that in the following sections.

Now that you know what resume format is the best for a stay-at-home mom, just remember:

1. Use white space wisely, and do not squeeze in too much information.
2. Don't go too crazy with your fonts. Stick to the resume-friendly ones.
3. Write simple headings.

And:

Export your stay-at-home mom resume to a PDF file—it will keep its original shape on all computers, mobile devices, and operating systems.

All good?

Great!

Let's move on to the first section of your stay-at-home mom resume.

If you're in two minds about the format your "return-to-workforce" resume have a look at The Best Resume Format for Your Needs or laser in on Combination Resume Template and Examples .

2

Stay-at-Home Mom Resume Summary or Resume Objective?

Listen:

A good resume must be like a YouTube bumper ad—it must leave a lasting impression in seconds.

So, how to make sure your resume will pack a wallop?

To paraphrase a famous line:

Start with an earthquake.

Craft a smashing summary of qualifications for your stay-at-home mom resume.

It's the first thing the recruiter lays their eyes on, so it better be good.

If your professional experience is truly impressive, go for a resume summary. As the name suggests, it's a short summary of your work experience that matches the position you're after.

On the other hand, if your experience is limited, stick to a resume objective. In other words, 2-3 sentences explaining why you're a perfect fit for the position.

"It all looks so wonderful," you think, "but I've been a stay-at-home mom for the past two years, for Chrissake! And it's all about professional experience... How do I even start?"

First off, don't get distracted by your employment gap.

Second, look back to when you were professionally active and take it from there.

Here's what a stay-at-home mom resume summary may look like:

Stay-at-Home Mom Resume Sample—Summary

right
A dedicated teacher and translator with 8+ years of professional experience. Successfully prepared mid-schoolers for language certificates, with average scores of over 80%. Eager to leverage her superb communication and organization skills as an English teacher.

To write a good resume summary you need to:

1. Focus on the job you're applying for.
2. Be specific about your experience.
3. Show your achievement(s).
4. Back whatever possible with numbers.

For a change, take a look at the wrong example:

wrong
A stay-at-home mom, and a former teacher. Wants to join the school in the role of an English teacher. Great organization skills.

No information about the candidate's track-record. Nothing specific about her experience. No mention of achievements. No numbers to back things up. That's an F minus.

Remember:

Show your best professional side from the very start! You likely have 299+ other candidates to beat!

Here's what a stay-at-home mom resume objective may look like:

Stay-at-Home Mom Resume Sample—Objective

right
Outgoing, dependable teacher with 2+ years of tutoring experience. Developed a unique teaching style based on storytelling. Seeks to leverage language and communication skills as a junior English teacher at Anytown Junior High School.

wrong
Seeking a position at your school as a junior English teacher. Skilled at teaching. Outgoing and dependable.

The first candidate is very good at marketing herself. The objective she wrote presents strong personal traits, blends in experience, demonstrates achievements, and shows the benefit for the school.

The other candidate may also have a lot to offer. Who knows? It just doesn't show.

Plus, this is the section where you might want to mention being a stay-at-home mom.

It's not obligatory. But if you feel like it, just add an extra sentence.

It could read something like: "Spent the past 3 years being a fully engaged parent—now eager to return to pursuing a full-time career."

And remember:

You can just as well leave such explanations for the experience section. More on that below.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building aprofessional resume template here for free.

When you're done, Zety's resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

Not sure how to write your stay-at-home mom resume objective or summary? Jump right into one of our guides: Resume Objective Examples and Writing Guide and Resume Summary Examples and Writing Guide  If you prefer to keep your summary short and punchy, see: Resume Headline (Title) Examples

3

Stay-at-Home-Mom Job Description for a Resume

Remember?

Your resume must be like a YouTube bumper ad.

You only have 6 seconds to make it click with the recruiter.

And the experience section of your stay-at-home mom resume is exactly where the click happens!

This section calls for special care and attention.

So, how to get it right?

Reply to a specific job ad!

Long gone are the times when a generic resume did the trick.

Most recruiters use the so-called ATS (Applicant Tracking System) software which screens resumes for keywords.

What keywords?

Most likely, the ones used in the original job posting. That's exactly why you need to be specific.

Pro Tip: Looking for a job as a stay-at-home? Here's an article with ideas on 20+ jobs for stay-at-home moms.

Let's assume you're looking for something you could do remotely.

Here's a sample job description for an outreach specialist who can work from anywhere:

Responsibilities:

• Perform outreach to website owners, bloggers, journalists, major media outlets, and influencers
• Build outreach email lists for content promotion campaigns
• Create content with outreach and PR potential
• Pitch and place content with top-tier publications via networking and relationship building
• Research and test new PR and link building tactics
• Track and report progress to managers and clients
• Improve site rankings and increase brand awareness through outreach and digital PR practices

When describing your experience, make sure it mirrors the employer's requirements.

Here's what your experience section may look like:

Stay-at-Home Mom Resume Sample—Experience

Junior Outreach Specialist

Best Media, New York, NY, January 2015-June 2016

• Performed outreach to bloggers and influencers with the success rate of ~80%
• Built, maintained, and updated email databases of up to 5K entries each
• Created content for 3 different PR and marketing campaigns
• Continuously researched and tested new PR and link building tactics that increased e-mail response rate from 8 to 20%
• Tracked and analyzed progress and effectiveness of campaigns and reported to managers on a weekly basis

Now this resume for a homemaker reads like a resume for a C-suite moneymaker.

Plus, each bullet point lists an achievement. It basically tells the recruiter how well you are able to perform your duties.

Here's the deal:

To nail your stay-at-home mom resume experience section, stick to these guidelines:

• Use resume action words to highlight your skills.
• Describe your experience in terms ofachievements, not responsibilities. In other words, show how well you're able to carry out your responsibilities.
• Use numbers wherever possible to back things up.

Simple, yet effective!

Now—

It's time to address the elephant in the room: gaps in employment.

How to Explain Gaps in Employment on a Stay-at-Home Mom Resume

You're creating a resume that has information about your jobs from before you became a stay-at-home mom. So, add your experience as a stay-at-home mom to the resume just like you'd add any other position: add a job title, dates, and your achievements.

Explain what was going on, and focus on the skills you learned that may be relevant to the position you're seeking.

Here's an example:

Stay-at-Home Mom Resume Sample—Gaps in a Resume for Stay-at-Home Moms

June 2016–June 2018

Spent two years parenting a baby daughter. Now, eager to return to pursuing a full-time career. In that time:

• networked with other stay-at-home moms and organized a 50+ member Facebook group for moms to swap clothes and exchange parenting advice
• set up a shop on Etsy offering handmade knitwear, and ran AdWords, Facebook, and Instagram campaigns to advertise it
• volunteered at local garage sales to prepare posters and maps

Yes—it is a gap in employment, indeed. But it's full of activities showing how productive you are!

Remember:

It's not about hiding information from the recruiter. It's about showing them that you haven't lost it!

A career gap is not the end of the world—it's just a phase.

When returning to the workforce, your stay-at-home mom resume is all about the value you can bring to the company.

Pro Tip: Are you a stay-at-home mom reentering the workforce? Your experience isn't up to par, and your flame is waning slowly? Here's a great article on how stay-at-home moms can keep the pilot light on under their careers.

And one more thing:

If you want to get a job after being a stay-at-home mom, resist the temptation to list your domestic activities in the experience section.

We both know that being a homemaker is a full-time job. But a list of chores is not exactly what the recruiter is looking for.

Still not feeling good about the gaps in your resume? Here's a guide on How to Explain Gaps in Employment

Confused about how to nail this section of your stay-at-home mom resume? We've got you covered: Work Experience on a Resume: Job Description Bullets that *Kill*

4

How to Put a Stay-at-Home Mom on Resume—Skills

A quick fact:

Stay-at-home moms have some badass superpowers.

Reality check:

You don't put badass superpowers in your stay-at-home mom resume skills section (however cool it may look!)

So, what do you do?

Let's go back, and double-check the experience section.

You don't need to scroll up. Here it is:

Stay-at-Home Mom Resume Sample—Gaps in a Resume for Stay-at-Home Moms

Junior Outreach Specialist

Best Media, January 2015-June 2016

• Performed outreach to bloggers and influencers with the success rate of ~80%
• Built, maintained, and updated email databases of up to 5K entries each
• Created content for 3 different PR and marketing campaigns
• Continuously researched and tested new PR and link building tactics that increased e-mail response rate from 8 to 20%
• Tracked and analyzed progress and effectiveness of campaigns and reported to managers on a weekly basis

If we rephrase the highlighted parts, we'll end up with a list that may look like that:

• outreach and communication skills
• database management
• content writing
• research skills
• testing skills
• analytical skills
• teamwork

See?

If you craft the experience section carefully, you will show the recruiter exactly the skills they're looking for!

Let's take it a step further, and take one more look at your gap in employment:

Stay-at-Home Mom Resume—Skills

June 2016–June 2018

Spent two years parenting a baby daughter. Now, eager to return to pursuing a full-time career. In that time:

• networked with other stay-at-home moms and organized a 50+ member Facebook group to swap clothes and exchange experiences
• set up a shop on Etsy offering handmade knitwear, and ran AdWords, Facebook, and Instagram campaigns to advertise it
• volunteered at local garage sales to prepare posters and maps

Just look at all the transferable skills you've honed during the so-called employment gap:

• Networking and communication skills
• Organizational skills
• Knowledge of social media and e-commerce platforms
• Online advertising
• Graphic design

Not bad! Not bad at all!

Now wait until you see the qualifications required for the position of outreach specialist:

• 1+ years' experience in sales/marketing/SEO or related field
• Top-level Internet research skills & ability to navigate social networks
• Strong Microsoft Office skills
• Strong written and persuasive communication skills – mastery of the English language is key
• Excellent negotiation and persuasion skills
• Impeccable attention to detail
• Knack for networking and connecting with people digitally

Oh me, oh my!

You have it all!

Now, put the icing on the cake:

Fish out the skills you'd really like to boast about, and those you may not have covered in your experience section (MS Office skills, for one.)

Add a separate key skills section to your resume, and list them.

Just know that you don't need to make a list of 20 items. The sweet spot is about 5-7 key skills.

Stay-at-Home Mom Resume Skills

• Internet & computer skills
• Written and verbal communication
• Organizational skills
• Multi-tasking
• Time management skills
• Ability to work under pressure
• Decision making
• Self-motivation
• Conflict resolution
• Leadership
• Adaptability
• Teamwork

Confused about what skills to put on your stay-at-home mom resume? Jump right in: 30+ Best Examples of What Skills to Put on a Resume

Have some valuable volunteering experience? Go to: How to List Volunteer Work on Your Resume

5

No One Adds a Hobbies Section, But It Works so Well

Listen:

There has been some serious debate going on about whether or not to include a personal interests/hobbies section in your resume when returning to work.

And the answer is:

It depends—

Ta-da!

To cut a long story short:

If your hobbies happen to be job-related—do mention them on your stay-at-home mom resume!

Now:

You might've heard that bringing up job-related hobbies could look insincere and far-fetched.

This may be true for people who are professionally active. Well, if you're entire life is dominated by work-related activities, you may easily earn a label of a "no-life."

But that doesn't apply to stay-at-home parents, housewives, or any homemakers, who—by definition—spend most of the time doing a different kind of work.

In such circumstances, profession-related activities have every right to become your hobbies (unless they're spreadsheets, of course!)

Remember:

A stay-at-home mom who finds time to pursue her hobbies—work-related or not—will always be appreciated.

This shows how self-disciplined and organized you are!

Having mixed feelings about including your hobbies and interests in your homemaker resume? Here's an in-depth guide: 20+ Best Examples of Hobbies & Interests to Put on a Resume

6

Is Your Education Section Underperforming? It Might Be

Education matters.

Or does it?

If you know how to take advantage of the education section of your stay-at-home mom resume, you will make it matter!

How?

It's simple:

Don't just list the highest level of education. Follow it up with relevant coursework, and academic achievements (GPA, major/minor, degrees, and latin honors). Even unfinished college education or high school education might help.

Here's an example:

Stay-at-Home-Mom Resume Sample—Education

right
English Major (Creative Writing Concentration) — 2016 University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) GPA: 3.5 Relevant coursework: Introduction to Creative Writing Creative Writing: Short Stories Introduction to Visual Culture

And—

If you happen to have taken any online courses, projects, freelance work, don't fail to mention them in a separate resume section!

Still confused about this section of your resume? Here's a guide with all the answers: How to Put Your Education on a Resume

7

How About a Cover Letter for a Stay-at-Home Mom?

A cover letter—

A thing of the past? Or a vital part of your job application?

Consider this:

If you were given two lottery tickets, would you only use one of them and throw the other away?

Of course not!

The same is true about cover letters:

A well-written cover letter may double your chances of landing a job. Cover letters do matter!

Plus, your homemaker resume may need a couple of words of explanation here and there.

A cover letter offers you a chance to fill in all the blanks, and add some extra information.

So—

How to get it right?

Aim for maximum content and the fewest number of words.

Think of your cover letter as hard evidence of your communication skills.

To make your cover letter stand out, it must be:

1. Well-organized.
2. Clearly written.
3. To-the-point.

If you're unsure how to do it, here's our complete guide on how to write a perfect cover letter in 8 simple steps.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Key Takeaway

A stay at home mom resume has to contain details about jobs you held before focusing on rearing children. However, you shouldn't shy away from your experience as a stay at home mom. List it on your resume, add dates, highlight additional skills, projects, and accomplishments you achieved during your time as a SAHM.

When writing your resume, make sure to:

1. Kick off with a strong opening statement (objective or summary).
2. Follow it with a meaty experience section (focus on your achievements).
3. Explain the career gap and show all the relevant things you've done.
4. Present everything in a clean, eye-catching form.

And—

good luck with your interview!

Are you writing a homemaker resume for the first time? Or perhaps you're a stay-at-home dad who needs some help? We'd love to hear from you! Give us a shout out in the comments!

How to Write Resume After Being Stay-at-home Mom

Source: https://zety.com/blog/stay-at-home-mom-resume-example

Share this post