Announcement

Collapse

Facebook Forum Migration

Our forums have migrated to Facebook. If you are already an iMSN forum member you will be grandfathered in.

To access the Call Room and Marriage Matters, head to: https://m.facebook.com/groups/400932...eferrer=search

You can find the health and fitness forums here: https://m.facebook.com/groups/133538...eferrer=search

Private parenting discussions are here: https://m.facebook.com/groups/382903...eferrer=search

We look forward to seeing you on Facebook!
See more
See less

So....tell me all you career wizards out there...

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • So....tell me all you career wizards out there...

    How would you handle a resume with a near 10 year gap in employment due to child-rearing? I'm getting together a CV.

    I've done lots of volunteering in the classroom and such, but that always seems lame to me on a CV or resume. What's your opinion? I've almost resigned myself to the idea of returning to school as a job on-ramp. Recently, a near perfect job position appeared nearby - so I'm tempted to apply. It's a science education enrichment center literally down the block from my house. And the international corporate headquarters touts the "local connection" of it's employees. So tempting. I don't want my *embarassment* of raising my children to hold me back now.

    Advice please.
    Angie
    Gyn-Onc fellowship survivor - 10 years out of the training years; reluctant suburbanite
    Mom to DS (18) and DD (15) (and many many pets)

    "Where are we going - and what am I doing in this handbasket?"

  • #2
    Most places understand that raising kids involved more CEO work than the average CEO. Include the volunteer work, make sure you're up to date on the trends and if you get an interview, reference the journals.

    Jenn

    Comment


    • #3
      Angie,

      I would go for it, and go ahead and list the volunteer work you have done at the schools. It sounds like it wll mesh well with the job you are interested in. I am not a career guru by any means, but I think that by listing the volunteer jobs you have done as you would a paid job, and describing them using the oh-so-popular "action words", you will let the interviewer see what you are capable of and give them a jumping off place for questions, etc.

      When I interviewed with the supt. of schools for the job I currently have, I mentioned that although I hadn't taught full time for 11 years, I had spent time educating in some form, either in or out of the classroom, during each of those years. He asked me "If you love education so much, why has it taken you this many years to come back?" (which I thought was a little belligerent, tbh) but I began to answer, saying that during the years that my children were small, I thought it was important to be with them, especially because my husband was gone so much. I didn't even get through the first sentence before he nodded and waved his hand dismissively. It was almost as if he had to ask, even though he knew ahead of time what my answer would be. Now, this guy is pretty old-school, and to be fair, it was the day before school started, so he had lots on his mind......but it was kind of a jerky way to ask the question! I lived through it, though. I had worried about the gap on my resume, too, and figured that I would have to address it at some point. My thought was that if they had a huge problem with the fact that I stayed home with my kids, the job probably wasn't going to be a good fit for me anyway.

      Go for it. It sounds perfect!

      Sally
      Wife of an OB/Gyn, mom to three boys, middle school choir teacher.

      "I don't know when Dad will be home."

      Comment


      • #4
        It sounds like a great job Angie - and YOU would be a coup for that kind of center. It could be a great way to make it work for both of you. They land a PhD, and you land a job even though you've been out for 10 years.

        I agree w/Jenn & Sally -- list the volunteer work, use the "big words" to make it sound applicable, and go for it!

        Comment


        • #5
          I agree with the above. I think an additional way to address and explain is in the cover letter. That gives you more latitude than the resume format, IMO, or another angle. You probably thought of that already but I'll second it as an idea.

          It sounds interesting and like a great fit for your skills and interests. Let us know how it goes.

          Comment


          • #6
            And organize your resume by skill set rather than chronologically. (Maybe you already did that.)

            Good luck!
            Married to a hematopathologist seven years out of training.
            Raising three girls, 11, 9, and 2.

            “That was the thing about the world: it wasn't that things were harder than you thought they were going to be, it was that they were hard in ways that you didn't expect.”
            Lev Grossman, The Magician King

            Comment

            Working...
            X