I'm having a heck of a time getting my resume and cover letter done for my dream job. There's a giant 9 year hole on my resume and I'm having trouble covering the hole and writing a letter that makes "wiped snotty noses" look like a great asset. How do you turn the skills acquired while parenting into honest to goodness high quality job skills?

What kind of job?

Writing curriculum for a tech company. It's kind of funny that I'm having trouble writing while applying for a writing position.

If I were the one reading the letters, the question I would have is if you did any volunteer or other unpaid work during that time period that is important to the position. Think of it like a college application where your extra curricular activities mattered, too.

If it's writing curriculum, then 9 years hanging out with kids is an asset, right?

Also, it's not that unusual these days for women to go back to paid work after being a SAHM for several years. Just explain the gap in your cover letter, and again at the interview. They would just want to know that you didn't take nine years off because you were addicted to coke, or something.

Focus on the parts of your resume that are relevant to the job you're looking for and ignore the rest. Why do you have to pre-emptively explain anything? If they want to know, they'll ask. A coke addiction is probably not what they'll assume.

No, coke is way too expensive for the unemployed.

I agree, there's nothing mysterious about the gap. And hey, even though it would be EXTREMELY illegal for a potential employer to consider this, they may assume that because of your 9 years of stay-at-home-momming , there's less risk of you wanting more kids and, consequently, taking leave or quitting altogether.

Leave the gap and then if they ask be honest and tell them you were working the streets.

As an HR nerd, I agree with wookiee. You don't have to expain unless they ask. Also, you can structure your resumé non-chronologically, with your most relevant experience first.

My other advice would be to keep it short, short, short. Make your cover letter readable in thirty seconds. The hiring department will love it.

I wouldn't recommend ignoring the gap. I'm not an HR nerd like CJRW, but I screened resumes and hired several positions in my last job. A long unexplained gap would make me wonder if you'd made a typo (bad bad bad), or were embarrassed about what you'd been doing, or left a long-time position on bad terms. It also just says to me that you're not thorough and/or not anticipating obvious questions very well. I don't want to have to call someone to find out about the missing time.

As to how to spin nine years of parenting, you don't have to put it on your resume, but I would definitely mention it in your cover letter, along with a couple relevant skills you might have built during that time (e.g., managed tight schedules and competing needs from demanding "clients"; responded quickly and nimbly to changes in plans; worked creatively within a budget; planned, coordinated and oversaw activities...) It shouldn't be too cute, but I always admired a person who could explain how their skills transferred from one industry to another. It told me they were thinking not just about the job responsibilities, but actually about how to be successful in the position.

Also assure the person that you've kept abreast of your field, including any professional memberships, conferences, classes, etc. and, like sadie said, inform them of any volunteer activities you did during the last nine years. Those are all things you can include on your resume.

One thing you can do ahead of time is think about the functionality of what you were doing for those 9 years. You weren't driving kids around and going to doctor's appointments, you were coordinating schedules and taking the lead to ensure that all members of the team met deadlines. You can do it with anything. You weren't playing video games with your kids, you were engaging them in structured, competative activities that allowed you to role model and coach them through socialization skills, rule following, turn taking and anger management. You didn't make lunch, you researched changing nutritional information and incorporated your findings into your daily tasks. Even if they never ask about the gap in your resume, re-assessing what you were doing for those nine years in terms of functionality will give it more value. You will present better as a future employee if you feel like you have always been working in a valued capacity.

Like Kathy said, only 3 minutes later.

Yeah, but your examples were so much better! I especially love the video game one.

Thanks so much - these are fantastic ideas!

Does stain removal count as chemistry? Dang, you guys are good.

Also think about the things that you have learned as a consumer of curricula as a parent - how essential it is to look with the eyes of a novice who is depending on the written word to convey key ideas. Those damn worksheets with the bad directions that made your kid confused and you irritated are prime examples of why technical writing is not for the faint of heart!

Agree with CJRW (insert secret HR nerd hand shake here)... about keeping things short and sweet. When I did recruiting we used to hang up the 6 pagers for nerf dart practice and anything too over the top for our industry (video resumes, etc) usually get swept out too.

I think Lalena & Kathy gave some great examples about how to handle those questions that come up in the interviews.

I would think if you have read any related about industry shifts, etc would be good to have in your interview repertoire.

Good luck! Keep us posted.

Hi GG! I was wondering if you would chime in!

I was reviewing applications a few months ago, and I saw a 12-pager. 12! Four for the cover letter, 8 for the resumé. I nearly went bonkers. His cover letter began, "I have recently retired from my lifelong career, and I am now looking for work with less responsibility". That's what you get from a former VP who's applying for an Administrative Assistant position, no?

But back to the topic at hand: Kathy and Lalena are also right about explaining the gap if you're asked. I'm just of the opinion that an up-front explanation doesn't need to go in your resume or cover letter. But those are excellent ways to translate your parenting skills into the work environment.

Okay, I'm done nerding it up here. Off to bed!

CJRW - let me tell you how eternally happy I am I don't have to that any more... Phew. 12 pagers! I would be tempted to call and just leave a message that said "...really 12 pages, really??!" click. Freakshows.

So trim the resume/cover letter and lose the references from my preschool teachers - got it. Thanks!

I sometimes have to screen applicants for similar jobs. If you expect to be in a corporate environment with multiple ongoing projects, your experience as a mother is definitely something you should be willing to talk about in an interview. An employer is going to want to know they can give you a job and expect that it gets done - period. Your time out of the workplace has lost you some experience, but in its place you have demonstrated you can handle responsibility, manage time conflicts, and work with jobs that have competing priorities. In addition to examining your professional qualifications, you can be sure that anyone in the hiring chain that has kids will understand these things and appreciate them.