"Ful time mum" on CV- yes or no?

[likeababyelephant]

I just received a rejection from a job a spent ages tailoring my CV for and writing a very good cover letter for. Only to be told there were others with better skills/more experience. This is for an HR entry level job btw.

I can't help but think that it's because I put "full time mother" on my CV. But I would expect recruiters to seek to diversify their workforce, especially as it's an HR job. Are they discriminating against mothers or something?

Should I omit this information from my CV. I feel like I have better/more skills as a mother than I did before I had DD.

I think people will assume multiple children spaced a few years apart

When did you do your post grad, and how long for?

tiger yes, I would recommend just keeping it to the 'career break for caring responsibilities' on your CV. Then in your cover letter you can say something like 'after taking a break to care for my family, I am excited to return to the workforce as a (whatever)'.

As previously mentioned, employers care about only two things: a) that the break you took was voluntary rather than because you couldn't get a job or were in prison; b) in the case of a break this long, what you have done/are doing to bring your skills up to date and prepare for re-entry.

I did several PG courses (PgC, PgD) and a level 5 teaching qualification in the last 7 years. They were all PT so I suppose that fills the gap, but I do realize that no employment experience for such a long time will rule me out for many jobs at the first hurdle

One more thing I home educated ds (and am still doing so, but hoping to get him into school, hence thinking about employment) so would I mention that?

I recruit new graduates and while I am happy to see that someone organised a university ski trip for 200 people (and I take my hat off to them) I'm not that bothered if they are a regular member of the netball club.

Likewise if you were while being a SAHM, voluntary organiser of a playgroup with 50 on the roll, or volunteered every day at your child's school with XYZ responsibilities, or were a Rainbow leader taking 30 5-6 year olds away camping, I might be impressed. If you got your DCs to school and nursery every day, don't bother putting that down.

"Mother" as achievement is a slap in the face to those who want but can't have children just as Full Time Mum makes working mums cringe.

I think I'd probably put caring responsibilities until you started the courses, then have the dates of your courses in the education section of it were me.

Most likely someone seeing that will think ' had a couple of kids, off til they started school then decided to retrain' which is a fairly normal pattern to see

The thing is, this 'full time mum' will be competing with many 'part time mums' who raised their kids and worked while OP was at home with the kids.

Who would you prefer to hire for their 'time management skills' - a mum of 4 who hasn't got any work experience because she's apparently 'a full time mum' or a mum of 4 who just got on with it and worked full time/part time/term time and juggled work with childcare?

'Juggling' work and childcare sounds precarious. I wouldn't put it like that on a CV, even though it might be true. A more focused approach is better is it not?

The assessment went well. I'm calmer now. However, I didn't mean that achievements such as having children should be put on a CV, it is an achievement but obvious not one that anyone wants to know about.

I've done a huge amount of voluntary unpaid work whilst caring for my son. I've amassed a lot of skills and certificates too. But it matters not, this unpaid work and help I gave. I didn't get a paycheck at the end of the month. (I tried him with child minders and it never worked out because they couldn't cope with him).

Elendon I'd happily look at voluntary work for a new graduate - often it's hard to get paid work at that level. So voluntary work in schools is often TA type work etc.

Voluntary work is entirely different and often belongs on a cv.

Elendon
The assessment went well. I'm calmer now.

Well, good for you. Nice backtracking as well, I see. I suppose you don't have to try and wreck someone else's life and career, now yours is going slightly better.

Maybe next week if you're feeling low, you can go round to the OP's and burn down her house. After all, she's only a bereaved young mother trying to find work. Her ability to get help should definitely be subject to your moods.

Good luck with your hunt for a placement, OP. I know it's more of a problem for you now, but if I can give you some hope for the future it's that I also took an extra year to do a degree (because I switched from one subject to another after the first year, not because I had a baby) and noone has ever asked me about why it took me 4 years to do a 3 year degree in nearly 20 years of working.

Exactly groupie. For every SAHM who claims they've got better at time management, conflict resolution etc, there'll be a woman going for the same job who's also been raising her young kids while working

It's how you phrase it. I had 20 years in recruitment before career change to fit round my kids. I wouldnth necessarily put full time mother on CV personally. I'd be more inclined to put "career break" and the add details underneath if you wish. Good luck

Put 'caring' or 'career break' or anything, but don't fall into the Mummy Trap of banging on about how you 'learned organisational skills' or 'domestic management' because you come across as a loon. Or someone obsessed with babies/motherhood at the expense of a personality.

I'm a hr director.
All mums are full time mums surely. I think you mean stay at home parent.
I'm looking for relevant experience when I recruit. I would remove it from your cv. It's doing you no favours.

If you've recently completed your degree you'll have loads of relevant skills. When I'm hiring interns all I'm looking for is something that demonstrates work ethic (e.g. part time job or previous job before degree) and what they've covered in their degree. Oh, and no typos. A typo free CV will already put you head and shoulders above most applicants. Don't forget to really tailor your covering letter, show you have done your research on the company by telling them exactly why you want to work there. It's a numbers really game so keep plugging away, you'll get one soon.

In your case op just put student. That's your current occupation

YY alpanini, I am astonished by the number of cvs with typos which land on my desk. Easily done but so off putting

Recruiting at the moment for very highly paid and qualified twenty-somethings. Haven't seen an error free cv yet. Not so many spelling errors, but random switches of tense or verb agreement halfway though a sentence are endemic.

Neither mother nor father nor any other cared is appropriate on a CV.

Career break from Year X to Year Y is appropriate on a CV.

I put full time parent to cover the long gap when I wasn't working and filled in a few years with various voluntary responsibilities.
Not sure what the problem is with defining it in such a way - it means exactly what it says, that I have been parenting full-time as opposed to those who work full-time and use childcare.
Anyway, so far it hasn't stopped me getting on the courses I want to - interviewed by men and women and no comments made. Job applications start next year so maybe things will change then.

@robinia if you use childcare you are still a full time parent. When your kids are at school you are still their parent.