Resume Question

[sumbunny]

Hi! I have a question for you all. My husband has stayed home with our children since 2001. They are now in school all day, and he is looking for a job. The problem has been with a gap in his work history. Are there any HR folks out there that can help me with this? How would you list this on a resume? Any help would be greatly appreciated. He is looking for warehouse/driver work. Thanks in advance!!

 

[jolary03]

Hi,
I happen to be in almost the exact situation. I have been told to just tell the truth. He was home with the kids. List anything he may have done while being the at home dad such as, boy scout leader, coaching and that sort of stuff. I think that says a lot about a person.
Good Luck!

 

[Tinijocaro]

I had a 12 year gap in my employment history. I just got hired as a music teacher last week. The superintendent did ask the other person on the interview committee about the gap, luckily, she knew that I stayed home with my kids all those years so she told him, and he said he thought that was great that I did that.

I did teach private lessons during those 12 years, and lots of performing in professional orchestras, so I was not totally out of the loop, I just wasn't teaching in a public school. I did include that stuff on my resume.

I would suggest looking for anything he's done during his time off that relates to his field, putting it on the resume, and I don't think there's any harm in explaining in the interview about the gap. If you don't say anything, there will be questions, as in my case.

 

[Tinijocaro]

Me again- I would not list SAHD on the resume, but I would think in a cover letter, a VERY BRIEF mention about it would explain it, without going overboard.

 

[Babboo]

Any time I read a resume and there is a gap I would like to see the candidate explain the reason for the gap. Better still is if the candidate can include ANY personal experience (remember, it doesn't have to be compensated experience) that is related duing the "gaps" would be more preferred. Include education / classes during this gap - any related activities will suffice so long as they are associated with the desired position or line of work.

Try, as best as possible, to present as few inactive gaps as possible - but certainly as a SAHM / SAHD returning to the workforce will have some periods with no activity.

 

[Micca]

I was a hiring manager for many years, DW still is. She just happened to mention today that when looking at a resume, she looks for gaps in employment. I wouldn't see a problem with stating that someone stayed at home to raise children for a period of time. I'm sure there are some people hiring that would see that as a big positive. If they see it otherwise, you don't really fit in there anyway. Good luck.

 

[Rence]

The Chronological Resume was the defacto standard for many years - but today there are a number of alternative Resume formats - you may want to do some searching on-line and some reading up on different ways to put a Resume together - some are skill based/competency based as opposed to a chronological listing of employment history.

With this type of Resume the gap would be less obvious - you are not misrepresenting anything - you are just structuring the resume so that it highlights the positives and demphasizes the gap.

The Chronololgical is the most common, but it has been around the longest - but there is also the Functional, The Targeted, The Skills Based and many others - I just googled "Resume Formats" and found lots of ideas.

I always view a Resume as a brochure - you pick want you want to highlight. The purpose of a Resume is to get the job interview. Everything on a Resume must be factual and accurate but you get to choose what you put on the resume and how you put it on the resume. A resume does not necessarily represent a full and complete work/education history.

 

[MAKmom]

Have him list it a Domestic Engineer who worked as a contractor.

 

[LuvTigger]

Me again- I would not list SAHD on the resume, but I would think in a cover letter, a VERY BRIEF mention about it would explain it, without going overboard.

I review resumes and conduct interviews for my office, and I agree with this advice. While I do look for gaps in work history, if the other experience looks good, we still consider that person, but we will ask for details during the interview on what they were doing during that time. However, it does help to have some kind of brief explanation in the cover letter.

I have seen a number resumes with gaps, and I am more likely to consider interviewing someone who has mentioned that they stayed at home, went back to school, or whatever the situation may be, because there is less guesswork than someone who doesn't mention it at all -- but I agree that it should be in the cover letter and not the resume.

I am a strong advocate for a very BRIEF cover letter. Reading a cover letter gives me a glimpse into the applicant's personality, and generally speaking, if the cover letter is interesting, the person usually is too. I suppose it depends on the workplace, but I am personally not only looking for someone who can do the work, but also someone who can fit in and who has a good attitude. Good luck!