Elena Prokopets
Claire Briggs Webber, CPRW
Let’s admit it: running a household can be as challenging as running a business. So you have a lot to offer as a job candidate, even if it’s been several years since you have set foot into an actual office.
For those, who are ready to transition back to the workforce, we have prepared several actionable resume writing tips (unique to your situation), plus a compelling stay at home mom resume example that you can use to model your own resume.
So let’s start working on your job application!
1. Revise Your Skill Set
Maybe it’s been a while since you took a regular job, but raising kids has also given you some unique skills. Those are marketable and in-demand right now! It’s just a matter of how you present your expertise to the potential employer.
After all, as a stay at home mom, you have likely developed some transferable skills such as active listening, conflict resolution, budgeting and basic accounting, multi-tasking, people management skills, organization, research and the ultimate mom superpower – negotiation. All of them can be effectively applied in the workplace.
There are several ways to identify the skills worth putting on your new resume:
- Review your past employment history and jot down the hard skills that you’ve gained. Focus on those that are still up-to-date.
- Analyze your volunteering experience – did you get involved in any community initiatives? Helped out with some sports/church events? Assisted during school trips? All of these activities helped you gain some skills and can be listed on your new resume.
- Running a household has also taught you a thing or two, right? Perhaps, you became a pro in managing budgets and allowances, syncing everyone’s schedules, and organizing family trips. Again, these skills can be applied outside of the home.
- Started a mom blog, took some occasional freelance gigs? Absolutely mention these on your resume!
For even more ideas on describing your skills, check our ever-growing collection of resume examples for various professions!
2. Address Your Employment Gap
Of course, every employer will wonder why your career history does look that “fresh”. Instead of leaving them to wonder, you can proactively address the employment gap in several ways:
- List your SAHM (stay at home mom) experience as a job entry. Give your “position” a title (e.g. Chief Home Officer), include dates and outline the activities and skills you have gained during that time.
- Alternatively, you can describe your situation in a cover letter. State that you have been raising kids for some time, and did this and that in the meantime. Don’t go into explaining what an awesome mom you were. Instead, focus on the skills you’ve gained, plus highlight volunteering/community experience (if any).
3. Choose The Optimal Resume Format
There are three main resume formats out there:
- Chronological resumes – listing your work experience in reverse chronological order. It’s a “standard” among recruiters. Opt for this option if you plan to list your SAHM experience.
- Functional resumes – place the emphasis on your skills and abilities over specific job history. This is a more creative resume format, thus it may not be suitable for every position.
- Combination resumes – a happy combo of the above types. It organizes the information in skill themes as the functional one does, but these “themes” are backed by more detailed work history. This is a good choice for a stay at home mom resume too, but again, it may not resonate with every employer.
Resume Sample For Stay at Home Mom (Word version)
Download resume example (.docx)
Stay at Home Mom Resume Example (text version)
615 Asylum Avenue
Tampa, FL 33637
Tel: 813-426-4322
Email: glenda@email.com
Administrative Assistant with Graphic Design Skills
Experienced administrative assistant and receptionist with a track record of working in the publishing industry. Easy-going, punctual, multi-tasker, capable of working in high-pressure environments. Able to handle travel planning, telephone support, appointment bookings, vendor relationships. Have basic graphic design skills and can design marketing collateral.
Skills:
- Microsoft Office and Google Docs
- Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom and Adobe In-Design
- Amadeus Travel Booking Platform
- Project management tools (Trello, Asana), familiarity with CRM systems
Work Experience
Chief House Manager, Tampa, FL
(June 2010 – present)
- Manager to a family of two kids (5 and 9 years), three cats and one dog.
- Organized family daily/weekly schedules.
- Took care of the family budget, kids allowances and monthly accounting tasks.
- Organized family trips abroad (two times per year): researched and booked flights, handled car rentals, booked hotels and developed custom travel routes.
- Effectively multi-task during almost every activity.
- Researched and implemented various extracurricular activities for social and mental development of the kids.
Book Club President, Tampa, FL
(Feb 2017 – present)
- Started a monthly book club in partnership with the local community center.
- Hosted monthly sessions: prepared the room, organized basic catering (snacks and hot beverages) sent out an attendance reminder to all the participants, collected a membership fee (used towards catering), did basic accounting and reporting on expenses.
- Discussion leader: prepared a list of questions for discussion, moderated the sessions, organized the voting for new books.
Freelance Graphic Designer, Tampa, FL
(November 2017 – January 2018)
- Was hired to design promotional leaflets for the local bookstore. Was responsible for ideation, design and printing.
- Designed a new custom logo for the store’s website and newsletter.
- Created a custom newsletter design.
- Review my portfolio items at (link to your online portfolio)
Publishing Assistant at Medical Textbook Publisher, Tampa, FL
(August 2007–June 2010)
- Centrally maintained all author and vendor information in the company’s CRM system.
- Conducted regular correspondence with authors to receive forms and keep them up to date.
- Organized Editorial Board Meetings
- Maintained all project files and created a custom catalog system.
- Was responsible for organizing business trips for the company’s top management.
Education
The University of Tampa, Tampa, FL
B.A. in English Literature
GPA: 3.8
Debate Club President
Conclusions
This stay at home mom resume sample is written using a chronological resume format. The author openly states that for the past decade she’s been out of the workforce, however, she managed to develop some new hard skills (graphic design), as well as prominently highlights her organizational abilities and people’s skills.
Ultimately, she positions herself as a hireable candidate with a variety of skills gained both from being a mom, a volunteer and a freelancer. And you can do the same by taking time to identify the valuable skills you have and demonstrating them to your next employer in an attractive professional resume!
