My wife will be returning to the workforce after almost six years of full time mommying. What’s the best/proper/smartest way to list the last six years of her working life? I’m sure there’s lots of folks here who have gone through this. Tips, resources are appreciated.
I would address that she spent six years as a full-time homemaker in the cover letter, but not the resume. I don’t want to disparage full-time moms by any means, but it isn’t employment; I wouldn’t list it as such.
For example:
“I am currently looking to rejoin the workforce in an X position. Previous to my six years as a homemaker, I held a position at Y company in Z position…”
This way, you address the long-term lack of employment (so the hiring company doesn’t think it was six years of crack binging, or whatever) but focus on the professional history in your wife’s resume.
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am so excited to return to the work force where I won’t have to deal with temper tantrums, poo poo heads, self centered behavior and chronic whining that I will work for free.
Signed,
A mom.
List any volunteer or community-service activities she may have done. While Mr. Genghis was home with our wee ones, she did a lot of volunteer organizing for various Church functions. Organization, communication and software skills all came into play, and she described how each non-paid position used and/or strenghtened these skills.
Since she has a large gap in her work history, your wife should consider writing a functional resume (scroll down for sample) instead of a traditional chronological one. Functional resumes highlight skills and education over work history so they are useful for people reentering the work-force or changing careers.
Shirley Ujest, you should meet some of the poo poo heads with whom I work.
I’m not sure that a functional resume is the right way to go, as she graduated from college shortly before she got pregnant and her career never really got started. She has a specific career path in mind, one that will require a graduate degree. So, I like the idea of explaining the career gap in the cover letter, but then I worry that the long gap on the resume will prevent her from getting through HR screening.
You might want to think twice about that… the functional resume does not really require a lot of formal education or career experience to make it sell, which is its great virtue. (I got my job with one, though I did have a lot of formal education. That shouldn’t be allowed to step on my point though.)
I’d imagine a stay-at-home mom would have quite a lot of useful skills that could be used to help fill out such a resume. 
Sounds like she’s got the standerd “Beginner’s Resume” problem: too little content to draw from.
Still, I think the cover letter is the place to address the jobless period. Make sure this letter is concise and well-written. It’ll probably weigh more than the resume. It will explain her transition from mommy to worker and why she want THIS job with THIS employer, and what relevant skills she brings to this employer.
The functional resume is still her best bet. She’s got mommy/houshold management skills that can be coded as time management, initiative, research…etc. She needs to address the mommy time as time spent improving some kind of skills an employer would need. She’s not applying to a mommy position, so diaper changing, dinner fixin’ and nursing won’t have a lot of relevance, but then a lot of job skills don’t translate well to different careers.