How do I present my career gap on my resume?
For mums looking to return to the workforce after time out to raise children this is a common question I hear.
Whilst times are changing and employers are becoming more enlightened in their recruitment practices, there’s no denying that a stigma still exists and that finding employment after a major career break often takes hard work and persistence.
What advice do I have for mums in this position?
Own your career break and do not apologise
If you can be confident about your career break, your reasons for taking one and your excitement about returning to work then you are more likely to inspire confidence in your employers.
Employers get nervous when they see that you are nervous or when they see that you are trying to hide your career break. This can lead them to think that you are not 100% certain about your return to work and that you’re a flight risk.
So, you need to do the inner work before you even approach an employer with your resume. Make peace with your career break. It was a great decision that enabled you to focus on your family and it’s a totally normal thing to do. According to Hays Sixty-four per cent of female and 29 per cent of male workers in Australia and New Zealand say they have taken a career break.
In your time off you probably gained new skills and will likely return to work a more productive employee (my empathy, organisation and strategy skills have shot through the roof since becoming a mum).
Focus on your skills, not your time off
Your resume does not have to start with your career break and then work backwards in reverse chronological order. The first page of your resume is valuable real estate, and some employers won’t get beyond it. If you spend all that time focused on your career break, then they might not get to the most relevant skills and experience you have from before your break.
I recommend the following headings:
Professional summary
Key skills – make sure they are tailored to the job description and don’t just list the skills, provide brief evidence as to how you developed them
Relevant professional experience – this is where you put the relevant work you did before your career break or it could also include volunteering or consulting you’ve done whilst you’ve been on your break
Career break – simply state the dates and the reason i.e. to focus on raising young children. If you did voluntary work or travelled during this time you can include this (I once had a client who moved to Spain, settled her family and learnt the language during her “break”)
Other experience – if more than 10 years old just list job titles and dates
Education – the positioning of your education section can vary. If you did a PhD while you were on your break then a) you were not a career break and b) your education section should be at the top. You can contact me for some advice if you’re not sure.
Professional training, memberships and associations
Hobbies and awards – only if relevant or interesting (not reading and socialising)
There is no cookie-cutter approach to resumes though. Your experience and situation are unique. If in doubt you can contact me for a free resume review.
Be honest with yourself about your gaps
Depending on the duration of your time off, things may have moved on in your industry. New technologies or methodologies may be used. If you’re not sure about this, then consult industry blogs or LinkedIn groups and speak with your network (you should be doing this anyway) to find out. You could consider taking a short course to plug any gaps you may have. Not only will this ensure you have more up to date skills, but it also signals commitment to employers (you wouldn’t go to the effort of doing a course if you weren’t sure about your return to the workforce) and it will help your own confidence.
Target the right employers
There’s just no denying that some employers are just more forward thinking than others, some, like Deloitte and Accenture, even have targeted return to work programs. You should consider targeting your applications to these sorts of employers.
How do you find out who these employers are?
Mainly, you need to be asking around. Speak to other mums to get their insights, contact your old colleagues to see where they are now and get the lowdown on what they’re hearing in the marketplace. You could also check out websites like Flex Careers, which partners with employers who offer flex friendly (so one would assume family friendly) recruitment policies and benefits. As well as the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) which recognises, through its citation, employers that are committed to achieving gender equality in their workplace.
Don’t rely on your resume
As you’ve seen, getting over the career gap on your resume is about so much more than your resume. It’s about developing your own inner confidence around your career break and targeting the right employers with your resume.
But my final point is that you should avoid relying on your resume too heavily. In any job hunting situation you should be spending just as much time on networking activities – reaching out to people you know, having coffee chats with former colleagues or approaching people doing work you’d find interesting. This is even more important when you’re returning to work after a career break.
If you take this approach you can present your career break, swiftly and with confidence, and express your enthusiasm for returning to work before anyone even takes a look at your resume. And you can suss out if an employer is the right one for you before you go the effort of making an application. See my previous blog post for more info on why networking is an essential part of any job hunt and how you can do it even if it makes you anxious.
I hope this article has helped you overcome your fears about presenting your career break on your resume. The important thing is not to feel any shame. Your break is part of what makes you, you. But it’s not the only thing. Keep focusing on what you have to offer and make sure the right people know about it.
Denny