A couple of days ago I decided that it was time to go look for work. I’ve been playing Mom for the last 18 months as we moved back to the US, bought the house/car/etcetcetc and
haven’t done much in terms of ‘work’ ‘cept for volunteering at the kids’ school, watching CourtTV and hanging out on the SDMB.
How should I address my 18 months of so-called idleness on
my resume? I know that this will be an issue, but how would you address it? In the resume? in the coverletter?
Let it be the hook to make them call me? I need an answer asap. thanks
If you are using a chronological resume, simply list it as you would any type of employment. Just because you didn’t punch a clock doesn’t mean that you can’t approach the work you did with some dignity and give it the most credibility you can. For example:
1998-2000 Full-time Parent - # small (?) children
-or-
1998-2000 Parenting and Community Work - volunteer position in local public schools, PTA, sports organization, etc. (whatever work you did)
-or-
1998-2000 Full-time parent, plus community work involving…
Include this information under the title “Work History” instead of “Employment History.”
Or avoid having to make a big deal of this at all by doing a functional resume where you emphasize your skills, accomplishments and training (in relation to the position you are seeking) over your past employment.
You can find examples of functional resumes from any search engine.
The fuctional resume idea is a good one, though employers also want to see some sort of work history. This can be titled “Relevant Work Experience.”
You don’t need to include dates; I was able to hide a few long periods of unemployment simply by giving my dates in years. Thus if you worked at job A until January of 1996, and didn’t work until December of 1997, you give Job A as 1995-1996 and Job B as 1997-.
If you were home raising the kids, say that. Don’t try to come up with some sort of cute euphemism. The employer will see through it immediately, and it won’t look good.
Remember – resumes are not what get you hired. It’s more important to write a good cover letter and to give a good interview. Employers scan over resumes to see if your work history supports what you have said in your cover letter.
A good cover letter is positive, indicating to the employer both your strong interest in the job and your ability to handle it. It should be businesslike, but you should write it in such a way that the employer will take a liking to you (people ultimately hire because they like you, not because of your credentials; credentials only get you an interview).
Never start out with the usual mealymouthed supplication ("Please consider me for . . . " “I saw your ad and thought I might be able to fill the position” "I am writing to inquire about the possibility of . . . "). The words “might,” “think,” “believe,” and “may” should not be in the first sentence. Don’t mention you read their ad; they can guess that.
A better opening is something like, “With my three years of experience as a chicken plucker, I have developed the skills necessary to help your company as a duck plucker.”
Stress your problem-solving ability and don’t be afraid to list the type of accomplishments that don’t fit neatly onto the resume. Make them like you and you’ll get the interview. Come across well in person and you’ll get the job.
I do this for a living (also review other’s resumes)
what we look for ON the resume are skills first, gaps second.
so, list your skills out front, then under a heading called "experience, list your experience in reverse chronological order. INCLUDE your volunteering, do NOT include the mommy thing.
so: 1999 - 2000 Community Activist,
duties: helped organize informational sessions for variety of community issues. assisted in publication and descimination of materials and information…
or the school thing: Teacher’s assistant helped with monitoring student behavior, tutored specific students in subjects such as…
see???
Many thanks for the ideas. I finished the resume which first concentrates on technical and management skills and successes - then moves on to job specifics. I did add in the parenting/volunteer stuff which I could not, in all honesty, call community activism. I wanted to stress the fact that my kids needs took precedence over my career. The preteen barbarians have never lived in the US before; they needed some academic tutoring to bring them up to speed in the American educational system. They also had some significant life skills gaps which aren’t always easy for those of us raised in the US to understand. 911 what’s that? pay telephones? traffic lights? what’s life like as an African American in the deep South? I did not mention that they needed a strong sense of stability because Mr Kiffa is still living in Africa as he works at a post that doesn’t accept families.
Hopefully, my resume will be enticing enough for an interview.
For anyone reading this: Functional Resumes are really annoying to anyone who has to read a lot of resumes. When I was a recruiter, I used to read 1000’s of resumes, and I’d throw the functional ones away. It makes us wonder what you are trying to cover up. Best way is to list skills and accomplishments in a short paragraph at the top, then employment history, then education and other stuff.
Good luck, Kiffa. Don’t treat the parenthood thing like anything you need to be ashamed of or hide, and in your interviews don’t overjustify.
Regarding the sentiment not to include the line “i am responding to your ad”, I actually always start with something along those lines, but making reference to speciffically what magazing or website or paper the ad was in. This doesn’t so much have to do with getting hired, but it does help employers figure out how to best spend thier want ad money. I guess its more of a courtesey than a tactic, but at the same time, courtesey is a solid job skill.
from Mali
before was Central African Republic
before that was Sudan
before that was Malawi
before that was Congo/Brazzaville
A bunch of other countries stuck in between …
Obviously I love Africa - and you???
The name Kiffa refers to beads made by women in the Kiffa
region/village in Mauretania for special occasions such as weddings etc. Each is made by grinding down other trade beads to get solid color glass powder which is mixed with spit [ugh] and remelted into the unique Kiffa designs. Each bead is unique.
kiffa, kiffa, kiffa,
she’s our MPA,
if she can’t keep us well,
then we’ll go to Doctor J!
Good luck, sis. I don’t think you need to worry about a relatively small gap in an impressive work history. I have a question that’s a bit off topic, but since kiffa has finished her resume, I might as well ask it: What’s the difference between a CV and a resume (or is there no difference)? I have a CV (which I haven’t updated for the past several years). From what I’ve heard in this thread, it sounds like it has much the same information, such as educational and employment histories, technical skills, and publications. Are CVs an academia quirk?
