Returning to the work-force after being a stay-at-home mom?
Continuing my discussion of working mothers from a couple of weeks ago (which incidentally resulted in an interesting discussion on law.com's Legal Blog Watch), I am mentioning here an article I saw in the WSJ Career Journal on what to do with your resume after staying at home with a child.
The article advocated being very forthcoming on your resume when you have stayed at home for a period of time raising a child. In fact, instead of leaving a gap, which could give a firm or company pause, the idea is to include your experiences as a stay-at-home parent. The article mentions Carol Fishman Cohen's advice, co-author of the book, "Back on the Career Track," which is to say, "I made the decision to stay home, and now I can't wait to get back."
I constantly tell my candidates that the purpose of a resume is to answer a potential employer's questions and of course, to sell yourself. The more questions an employer has, the more likely a resume is to end up in a trash basket. Employers read resumes in seconds, not minutes, and gaps are bad, even if there are reasonable explanations for the gaps. "Gap Moms" (or Gap Dads) shouldn't apologize for their commitment to their families, but rather make a notation in their resume that explains the time that they took off for their family's sake. I am eager to hear opinions on this advice.
The article advocated being very forthcoming on your resume when you have stayed at home for a period of time raising a child. In fact, instead of leaving a gap, which could give a firm or company pause, the idea is to include your experiences as a stay-at-home parent. The article mentions Carol Fishman Cohen's advice, co-author of the book, "Back on the Career Track," which is to say, "I made the decision to stay home, and now I can't wait to get back."
I constantly tell my candidates that the purpose of a resume is to answer a potential employer's questions and of course, to sell yourself. The more questions an employer has, the more likely a resume is to end up in a trash basket. Employers read resumes in seconds, not minutes, and gaps are bad, even if there are reasonable explanations for the gaps. "Gap Moms" (or Gap Dads) shouldn't apologize for their commitment to their families, but rather make a notation in their resume that explains the time that they took off for their family's sake. I am eager to hear opinions on this advice.
Labels: career success in the law, legal job search, women in the law, work/life balance
posted by The Travel Chick at 2:32 PM
1 Comments:
Women (and men) who have a resume gap do not really have a choice. Leaving a large unaccounted for block of time on a resume sends up major red flags to an employer. I always jokingly tell candidates that in the absence of an explanation, employers will infer that a gap mean that you were institutionalized during that time.
All kidding aside, I think women who drop out of the work force are in much better shape if they indicate some of their volunteer activities during their "break". Having some CLE programs to list is not a bad idea either (and in many states, a requirement of maintaining your license.)
My wife, who just went back to work after a 7 year hiatus, did a lot of volunteer work while she was focusing on child rearing. She is not a lawyer and the volunteer work was directly relevant to her current job; but lawyers can do the same (e.g. volunteer to do some legal work for a non-profit that needs help, etc.) I think staying connected somehow does ease the transition.
Post a Comment
<< Home