I'm yet another stay-at-home mom trying to go back to the professional working world, after raising my children.

Anonymous

September 24,2021 at 5:56PM UTC

Welcome to Fairygodboss!

We’re the largest online career community helping women achieve their career goals. Gain access to articles, jobs, events, and a supportive network of women and allies. Membership is free, always.

I'm yet another stay-at-home mom trying to go back to the professional working world, after raising my children. In addition to my children, I also helped several of my family members, for extended periods of time, that had very serious/terminal health conditions. I am not a nurse or healthcare worker, but as a stay-at-home mom, many times people look to you to take care of things because you are not "working" or in other word, "not bringing in a paycheck."

I have been out of the professional working world for about 20 years and getting my foot back in the door has been extremely challenging. Prior to that I was in a technical field for about 12 years, with a degree in a STEM field. My last 20 years have been spent child rearing, volunteering at schools and clubs, helping family members with their daily living and healthcare, and also helping my husband with his small side-business for the last 10 of those years.

How would you recommend I detail this on my resume?

How many years back should I show on my resume? If I only go back 10 or 20 years, it will not show my professional technical experience.

How detailed do I get on my volunteer positions?

Why women love us:

Daily articles on career topics
Jobs at companies dedicated to hiring more women
Advice and support from an authentic community
Events that help you level up in your career
Free membership, always

8 comments

Share your insight

Join an authentic community that helps women support each other at work. Share your professional experience or ask for advice — you can even post anonymously.

8 Comments

Join the conversation

AnonymousSeptember 24,2021 at 6:52PM UTC
If the volunteer work is relevant to the jobs you would be going after, I would feature it heavily. I think in a STEM field, one of the risks of being away that long is the risk of looking out of date. Are there any certifications or training courses you could take?
Further, I would look at your non-work experience to see if there are any skill sets you’ve learned that translate well to a work position.
AnonymousSeptember 24,2021 at 7:15PM UTC
If your field is technical and you've been out of it for 20 years, then, with love, the technical experience you have is likely not relevant now. I would take some courses to refresh your knowledge. What kind of help did you give your husband's side business? If those are current, updated skills, I would make sure that you get that across. If you weren't an employee, perhaps list yourself as a consultant?
AnonymousSeptember 28,2021 at 7:39PM UTC
Agree with this. The best hope for getting back into the workforce is going to be via a retraining/upskilling program. Unfortunately, after 20 years very few of the technical skills the original poster had are still going to be relevant. She should check with her local community college or university extension education service - some have retraining programs specifically aimed at workers who have been out of the workforce for a period of time. Some of them may even be grant-funded or offer scholarships.
ChelseaSeptember 24,2021 at 11:55PM UTC
I want to first recognize and celebrate that time you took to do all of that important work! When working on your resume, it sounds like your best foot forward is skills-based. What transferrable and useful skills can you highlight? Can you look at a non-traditional resume model (even canva has some great templates) and find one that you feel you can really highlight your skills and contributions? I would list your time working with your husband as a position also.
AnonymousSeptember 28,2021 at 3:53AM UTC
I was basically in your exact situation. The previous answers are correct. After this long, you most likely will not get a technical job. The best advice I received was to let there be a gap in my resume and address the gap in the email/cover letter. I kept all of my jobs, but condensed them down as they got older.
I wouldn't put silly made-up jobs, like "Household Engineer", in your jobs section. You probably can add your work with your husband though. You can also add a Volunteer Work section. I'd say no more than 3 entries with max one sentence each (if you really need a sentence).
You don't say exactly what you were doing, but if related to software development, it might be good to try for BA or QA roles. A technical background would be really helpful in those positions! My plan was to reach out to big consulting firms who are always looking for people to fill those roles, instead of replying to specific job postings. You may even want to focus on learning automated testing tools. It's hard to find people for those roles.
By now, the people that you used to work with could be high-level managers. Reach out to them! That's how I ended up getting a BA role after a 17yr break from coding.
Good luck!
Anne Miranda (Ortengren)September 28,2021 at 3:38PM UTC
I believe the Mom Project is currently offering a scholarship program called RISE you may want to look into. Not sure about qualifications etc. but there may be programs like this now some with corporate employers. https://work.themomproject.com/rise
Kirsten SchmittSeptember 28,2021 at 4:10PM UTC
First focus on the the job sector and types of positions that interest you. Then look at their list of qualifications. See if you need more training, online courses, certifications, etc. As an alumna, tap into the free services at the career counseling office where you graduated and speak to a counselor. It's their job to help you succeed.
Allison LaRockSeptember 28,2021 at 10:14PM UTC
Well if any day is the day for this, it’s today! Many companies are hiring and the STEM roles really are the hardest to fill in any company. I would seek something entry level in the field you want to be in. You may end up in a higher level role anyway once they see what you can do. I would put your husband’s business on your resume and the work you did there and address the rest in a cover letter. I would also utilize your network. Reach out to everyone you know. They could at least get you in touch with a decision maker.
I’d go back as far as you need on your resume to put the technical experience on. Normally, I wouldn’t say that as typical practice as usually I tell people cut it off at the year 2000+ but that’s my advice on your situation.