Resume for Stay at Home Momma After 11 Years, HELP!!!

Yes you do!

http://suite101.com/article/step-by-step-guide-for-creati...

Of course you have skills.... you just have to figure out how to work them correctly.

Do you volunteer for the PTA or teachers? Help run the copier, laminator, fax, printing, etc... Help with fundraising for your school? Organize events for the PTA.. EX: fall party, silent auction, game day, etc.

Do you budget your own finances? Do you plan your own travel?

Being SAHM is a full time job and it is difficult to get everything written on a resume just perfectly. I too... as a business owner and potential employer would not read resumes with "family CEO" or cutsey names.

Be real and be yourself. Look at all you do, jot it down then start brainstorming ho you get it all on 1 page of a resume!

NETWORK.... it is amazing what falls into your lap simply by letting friends know that you are looking. Someone somewhere might get your name and referral and you are good to go. Network....

Good luck to you.

I would recommend finding the closest Workforce Center in your city and contacting them to see if they can provide resume and job search help. Here is the website:
http://www.twc.state.tx.us/dirs/wdas/directory-offices-se...

First, don't worry about the gap in your employement. You have a very good reason for it, so it is not going to hurt you like a person that's just been out of a job for 3 years. 1/2 of the people I've hired have been SAHM's looking to re-enter the workplace and they have been my best hires ever.

I second avoiding the cutesy title as a means to add validity to what you've been doing over the past 11 years. Simply state in italics you were a SAHM. That will tell them more about your loyalty, values, and commitment than anything. Then followup with any work or educaiton experience you had prior to being a SAHM.

Now, I know I will be attacked for this next part, but I want to give you my insight as a mother who has worked outside the home for the past 13 years, and as an employer who has hired about 12 people over the last 4 years (mostly women.) Listing your domestic engineering skills as job experience can and may come across as insulting to many people who will look at your resume. Simply because I have have had to do most the same things while holding down a 40-60 hour work week. Kids to karate 3x a week and dance weekly in the next city over, ortho and medical appointments for a SN kid weekly/monthly, volunteering with the PTA, church, charity organizations, and as club leaders, soccer, sports, football, wrestling as either a coach or supportive parent. THAT SAID, I have a tremendous respect for the SAHM - because I know how taxing it is because you never, ever get a break from it! I get to come to work for 8-10 hours/day - 5-6 days a week, and one of the toughest roles of a SAHM is the non-stop 24-hour interaction role. But I know that, all moms who have spent any time with their kids know that, and we recognize that when we see the SAHM on your resume. Being a SAHM is a job I could never, ever do well.

DO play up all the volunteer work you've done over the past 11 years. List the committees you've headed, the organziations you've helped. Offer references from those organizations so they can verify what you've done. Volunteering often means more to me than a paying job because it shows committment. And many of those skills will carry over to what you are planning to do now.

Good luck & hold your head high!

I think that Krista's link had some good information, but I would caution against coming up with some cutesy title for your SAHM years and try for the combination resume where you list things like volunteer or part-time positions. Any resume that I received that said something like "Family CEO" or something else silly would land in the reject pile.

What did you do before you took time off? Are you going back into the same field? Do you have any old contacts?

I have hired people with resume gaps before. As someone with a say in hiring, I actually prefer a chronological resume even with gaps. Otherwise, I have to go through and piece together a time line and then figure out what you're trying so hard to cover. When I finally piece together the gaps, I will ask what the candidate did from x to y. Time off to raise your family is a perfectly reasonable answer. As are things like "I took a generous inheritance and traveled for a year" or "I was on an amateur golf tour" and other interesting things I've heard from candidates. With 11 years off, I would expect to hear things like "I volunteered in the classroom X days a month, coordinated fundraisers for the PTA, wrote a newsletter for a charity" etc. to show me that you still have some marketable skills, know your way around a computer, and did something outside of your responsibilities at home.

I think that with such a long time off, your best bets will be for warm intros (introductions into positions where you know someone) so work your network. Take whatever you have to take for now and then when you have some more recent experience if what you're doing is a poor fit, then search again later.

As the article mentioned, put together a couple of different versions of your resume, post both and see what one gets you inquiries. You may also want to hook up with an employment agency who can work with you on best crafting a resume and getting you in to see hiring managers.

I attended a workshop today and they covered this exact topic. Have you done any volunteer work throughout the years? This can include PTA, soccer teams etc, fundraising. Have you taken any classes on computer skills, learning programs etc? There is no need to have certification the goal is to be proficient.

Do a functional resume, not a chronological one. You can also do a Chrono-functional combination. Use a reverse chronological order.

Good Luck!

I am taking a course in portfolio development right now. As part of a portfolio it is recommended you include a chronological record of work and life experience. In this record you can include such life events as buying a house, travelling, running a household, planning a wedding, volunteering,organizing a carpool, or anything else that illustrates skills you possess. You'd be surprised at the skills you have. Google it for examples.

What job sector are you applying for???
Once you know that, you can tweak your resume to highlight those skills/experience which the position is looking for.
ie: If you are looking for a job at a school, then you'd show your experience with children etc. If you are looking for a job in the IT field, then you'd need to highlight any experience in that field.

I just wanted to wish you lots of luck :)