"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.

Me too stat, it's a shame that it's being shouted down in misattributed outrage.

CVs aren't the scorecard of a life and neither should it be.

Judging it as some kind of sum and total value of a man, or woman's life, identity and worth will always create a situation where cvs will fail to measure up.

And in this context, anyone's practical cv focused advice can be viewed as a horrendous and evil attack on women / mothers.

Which is very limiting. Limiting to debate and limiting in terms of generating any practicable advice.

Which is a shame.

I can understood and agree with the broader point about societies attitude towards women, especially mothers and their worth.

But this cannot be lifted wholesale onto a thread about cvs. There's overlap obviously, but the cv is not a mirror to this debate, and the wider debate cannot be projected wholesale onto a two page cv.

I think what this person was saying, is if you clean your own bog, look after your own kid and make yourself coffee, you can't call yourself a cleaner, nursery nurse and barista and put it on your CV.

This is the paragraph that Yolo wrote that is apparently so awful.

Best CV I saw was a SAHM list her time spent at home as a nanny/housekeeper like it was a paid position. I thought it was a genius way to handle an absence from the workplace. Made no mention that they were her kids although I knew full well they were.

If someone put down full time mother or listed parenting as an accomplishment I would call them, ask them to remove that from their CV and resend it to me. I'm not able to see another woman make sure a huge mistake like that.

I think what this person was saying, is if you clean your own bog, look after your own kid and make yourself coffee, you can't call yourself a cleaner, nursery nurse and barista and put it on your CV.
Exactly.
I give lifts to people and I decorate my house and I did my garden at the weekend.

I don't say I'm a taxi driver, decorator or gardener on my CV.
They are part of life.

I don't see what so difficult. Most people have been totally fine with people choosing to SAHP. They're just pointing out that people who work are till full time parents and SAHP is not a job.

Please don't put 'ft mum' down. It will irritate the fuck out of any mum who WOH. I don't stop being a mum because I am at work!

Wellthisisshit - precisely.
This thread is about how to put together a cv to give the optimum chance of gaining a position.
If a few posters want to turn sensible responses, from people who know what they're talking about, into an 'attack on mothers' then frankly they're missing the entire point.

Start your own thread about how undervalued you feel, and how incredible you think your skills in the home are if that's what floats your boat. It's not relevant here

And that last paragraph isnt an attack on anyone. When I worked part time I would frequently spend my days at home managing toddlers, refereeing squabbles, playing imaginative games with them while also paying bills, rustling up a home cooked dinner and volunteering for events at our local school. Sometimes that was hard work but NOT relevant to the workplace

Honestly if it's obvious that they were her own kids then I don't think that's genius at all - it's a good example of what many of is have been saying about looking after your own family not being the same as a job where you have to work to and abide by someone else's standards.

I've not read the full thread but I have seen "career break to raise family" on a few CVs.

I imagine a lot of SAHMs are involved with the PTA, NCT etc or other volunteer activities so make sure you include those. If you are the treasurer of your local NCT branch, put that one your CV. Similarly if you are a school governor. Any volunteer activities illustrate that you are keeping your skillset up.

Agree statistically and if it isn't clear they were her kids I'd suggest it's lying

Yeah, do noooooot put years as a SAHP on your CV as 'nanny/housekeeper'. For every employer who will think it is 'genius' there are at least 50 who will think it shows poor judgement and, if it's not made clear it's her own kids, a misrepresentation of it as though it actually were a job.

And if it's the more recent job is be asking for a reference which would make it all come out in the wash anyway!

For every employer who will think it is 'genius' there are at least 50 who will think it shows poor judgement
And it raises questions about what else you've selectively embellished in your CV/application.

Full time mum bugs the hell out of me. Plenty of other ways of wording it

If anyone thinks resumes are not embellished I have a bridge to sell you. My job is to find the best person for the role. Getting through the first hoops is really hard. I would ask for the number of resumes that were not sent to me where the person wasn't currently working. There were lots and I often raided that pile to find amazing employees.

There is a lot of bias in recruiting. It's hard to stay blind but in trying I've found some fantastic employees.

People show off their skills, yes. There's a certain amount of talk the talk.

But saying you're a nanny etc when you are not is a lie. I can't say I'm a counsellor because I give pastoral advice to students because I am not a counsellor.

BUT I'm of the view anyone who flat out embellishes is heading for losing respect in the workplace when they get hired and can do Jack shit (at worst) or a botched job (at best). I've worked under people who were very good at prattling on to the right people and write a decent letter but I don't respect them and have moments where I question how the hell the got the job.

I also get put off by obvious flat out embellishment/lies. Yes, everyone stretches it a bit, it's kind of natural, but "Nanny/Housekeeper"...nope. More than anything that shows no respect or understanding for what those jobs really entail.

One I see a lot is "childminder" when people mean "casual babysitter" - childminder is a regulated role requiring registration and inspection and vast amounts of paperwork. It is not the same as babysitting. And actually, if you're misusing it when you're applying for a job in childcare then it shows me you haven't researched or understood the roles in that field.