OT: On my resume, what should I put for the MOTG years?!??!

agrace

Ack! What do I put since my last job (Fall of '07) I have been a MOTG. There is a sizable gap. Anyone had any experience in this?

Thank you in advance for your help and letting me veer wildly off course of fashion for a moment.

Thanks!

16 years ago

General

11 replies

Latest reply was from shana

Maya

Veteran

Do you really need to put anything? I just put my work in order from most recent to most distant, going back about 5 jobs. I have a gap from March-November 2009, which is after my graduation date of 2008. I got around this partially by not putting the month in, but I realize that's not an option for you since it's a matter of years and not months. But my theory is, if they want to know, they can ask.

Also"

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/.....umegap.htm

16 years ago

marianna

Veteran

I wouldn't put anything. If they ask you in the interview, just tell them the truth! Also, lots of people have gone through periods of unemployment recently so I don't think it will look weird.

16 years ago

agrace

Active Member

Thank you both. Maya, that link is really helpful. I immediately changed some of my dates to reflect the years (2003 - 2005 for example) and that helped a bit. In my cover letter, I am just going to mention that I have been primarily at home these last couple years.

Thank you and anyone else, please keep any advice coming!

Thanks again!

16 years ago

Anonymous

I agree with your plan to address the absence briefly in your cover letter and simply set forth your employment history in the resume.
I took two "MOTG" breaks in my career and that is how I dealt with them on paper. My last search was more than a decade ago, but if anything it seems employers today are more accustomed to looking at candidates with non-traditional career paths.
Best of luck with your search!

16 years ago

shana

Veteran

Ugh, I have the same dilemma except my gap is MUCH longer than yours! I did send out resumes looking for jobs last year when my husband was laid off. It didn't seem very professional to put it in my resume but then the huge gap looked really odd. Luckily for me, I've been working on a part-time graduate degree so that covers most of the gap (although I look like a VERY slow student). For many positions, no one actually looks at the cover letter or the resume gets passed along to hiring managers sans cover letter so I do think it is important to address it in the actual resume. Perhaps the best way is to say something in the objective section of your resume? So something like, "After taking time off to raise a family, I am seeking..."

16 years ago

Kristine

Veteran

I don't think there's anything with leaving the gaps. If you had anything during that time that was career related (seminar, classes, etc.) you could list that in the right area.
If you haven't had the chance, maybe you could find something like that now to show your seriousness about getting back into the field. Update your skills, network, etc..

16 years ago

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

I agree with Shana, it's worth mentioning in the resume. I know from experience as a recruiter that not all cover letters get read, especaillywhen people have hundreds of resumes to flip through in a day. The objective section is a good place for such info, and personally I never batted an eye if people included info like that in the work experience section either. The explanation for the career gap will be readily accepted by most hiring managers no matter where it's placed.

16 years ago

Sihaya

Veteran

The truth is that for most people, the MOTG years have provided them with *more* experience and emotional maturity and leadership skills than just the job alone. When I work with people on their resumes, I encourage them to find any specific volunteer or leadership activities (or whatever is important for the specific job you're applying to) that they can highlight for those years if they have them. Else, leave it be.

16 years ago

Kari

Veteran

I agree with Sihaya - I would not recommending listing this information on the resume, and I would definitely think about listing some volunteer activities during that time as long as you can connect skills and experience to the job that you are applying for. But my perspective is that personal information that isn't related to the job - or your ability and qualifications to perform it - doesn't belong on the resume. If you're asked to explain that gap during an interview/phone screen, you can disclose what you did during that time, but try to keep the focus away from personal matters - your job is to sell yourself, and if you get the job you can always choose how much personal information to disclose to your colleagues.

Here's a great blog post from a resume-writing site that addresses and advises about this issue. The same blog had several more posts on preparing to re-enter the workforce and survival tips for moms returning to work that seem useful.

There's also a helpful interview tips article specifically for moms returning to work on Monster.

Another tip - I can't remember where I read this, but I came across an article recently talking specifically about older workers who have been (or are worried about being) laid off and have difficulty jumping back into the job market not because of their age (which would be illegal discrimination by the employer), but rather because they have not kept their job skills up to date. The article recommended that the #1 best thing that older workers can do to remain viable candidates for employment is to make efforts to keep skills current by taking classes or training programs (even occasional classes at community college.) I think the same could definitely apply to a stay-at-home mom who is preparing to return to the job market.

16 years ago

Isabel

Veteran

Hi agrace, I agree that you don't want to necessarily putanything on your resume, besides stay -at -home mom. But in a cover letter, it is extremely important to show some activity that kept you up to date in the area of your field.

If you are going into retail or fashion, then tell them of following and reading fashion blogs to stay up to date. Or reading ...have you done any reading that would be relevant have you learned any new computer skills. Did you volunteer at school or pre-school ? What did you do ? You don't want to list every task but you want to be general in your cover letter that you did things. Then if you get an interview, you can always "joke" around that you really learned about following a budget or prioritizing tasks to keep every one on schedule, etc.

This is very common today - so most people don't look at it as dropping out anymore.

GOOD LUCK

16 years ago

shana

Veteran

I suggested putting it on your resume because of my own personal experience with this issue last year. One of the recruiters who received my resume, asked me about the gap right away. I mentioned that I stayed at home to start a family. She basically said, OK fine and then we moved on to other topics. My impression is that it's not a big deal BUT it certainly is a question that people will have. I've had TONS of volunteer experience (including leadership positions, awards etc) and as I said, grad school experience that covers the gap and yet it was still the first question that she asked. Sure, it's easy to explain in an interview and redirect to your relevant experience or skills but we're talking about getting to the interview stage first! This is not an easy feat in today's economy. My feeling is that without any explanation at all, my resume is more likely to be overlooked. Like Isabel said, leaving the workplace temporarily is quite common these days so there's no reason to hide it.

16 years ago

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