How to write a cv after a decade with no work!

[mousehousehiest]

I need help, all I have are my gcses and that's it. no work experience at all. I'm 30 now and youngest is going to nursery so I'm sorting my cv but all I have is my name and my gcses from 15 years ago.

I feel so rubbish.

I don't know what to put on a personal statement at the top because all I can do is wipe bums and kiss scraped knees.

Do you even put hobbies down anymore or is that for 16 year old kids?

And yes - do tell them that you prioritised raising a family and are now looking forward to embarking on a career.

Hobbies are boring to put on a CV unless you do something really interesting or unusual.

I’d ask again out of courtesy. If you have done it 4 yrs that’s fab.

Hobbies yes I would. Not loads of detail but gives them idea about you and might be relevant - baking, reading etc.

Could you do some courses now to put on there?

I think you would be surprised though at how normal a situation this is and how open to inexperienced staff employers can be. Often they prefer the inexperienced to the over qualified

Especially if not got much to put on I’d put hobbies. I have a hobby in common with manager who hired me and one of my hobbies was more relevant to job than I realised.

I think a simple explanation you’ve been raising family is fine with the dates. Then they aren’t wondering if you’ve been in prison etc.

Do you have any other volunteering experience - PTA, charity work, fund raising?

Have you done online safeguarding courses to volunteer you could list that.

What hobbies, OP? Have you helped run a group, eg sports or mother & baby? That would show organisational and team working skills.

You don't need to put references on a CV if you're not sure who to put yet. You can always write "references available on request". They won't ask for references until they know they want to offer you the job, at which point you can call and ask if the school alone is ok as a reference given your lack of employment. It'll be a box ticking exercise at the point anyway.

As for the employment gap, I would just put "after completing my GCSE's I chose to focus on being a full time parent to my son/daughter who was born in X" or something similar. You don't need to justify it. Be confident in your writing style, it makes a big difference to how the reader perceives you and ultimately, if your personality and passion for the work shines through at interview it should outweigh at lack of experience. Good employers know you can teach new skills to someone who has the passion and commitment to learn.

I'm an employer in the further education sector and have also worked in welfare to work. I am fine with cvs which detail parenting or caring as jobs because they are and I make sure to have some roles with school hours. Employees understand family life as most have families themselves. Just make sure you list the skills learned over that time like; organisation and prioritisation, effective time management and proactivity.

Don't doubt yourself or your potential, you have clearly got resilience and motivation.

Good luck x

Also, if you have no references it sometimes helps to write, 'willing to complete a week trial to demonstrate my skills and abilities', if this is something you are willing to do x

GCSE s

Course and school

20XX- present

Prioritised raising a family and looking forward to embarking on a career. Interests include gardening, fishing and drying fish

I am able to organise and prioritise tasks, I take time management seriously and am willing and enthusiastic to do the best I possibly am able to should I be a successful candidate.

After almost a decade as a full time parent, I am quite looking forward to engaging with customers and would work really well in a more flexible role. I am very eager to learn and think a role working from home would be well suited to my lifestyle long term. I am looking for a long term role.

what do you all think?
anyone fancy a career change as a critic?

oh dear has my dry fish stunk the place out

You'll get tons of opinions based on different industries and personal taste. I'm sure someone with hiring experience will offer suggestions specifically. But here are my few thoughts. But I think you need to add achievements. So baizcally when you say you are organised, do you have examples?you say you volunteer at the school maybe something like "organised a weekly reading circle for 20 students" etc. Also if your interests are not related to the job, put it in the end and add something what you enjoy about it so it brings some personality or alternatively if there is something practical you've learned from it. Pick specific words from the job listing and use those words and expand to explain your skills.

I am able to organise and prioritise tasks
Do you have any examples?

I take time management seriously
Again, any examples of good time management you can add?

am willing and enthusiastic to do the best I possibly am able to should I be a successful candidate.
I think this is just filler language.

would work really well in a more flexible role. I am very eager to learn and think a role working from home would be well suited to my lifestyle long term. I am looking for a long term role.
This to me reads about how you would benefit from a flexible job and not really what you can offer THEM. If you go too hard with this they could possibly worry you may require a lot of flexibility in terms of dropping work commitments at short notice etc. and I'm not sure what you mean by your lifestyle again that would be open to interpretation. I think it's sufficient to say you are flexible and therefore would enjoy a flexible role and say no more about that if you see what I'm saying?

How did the few weeks in school come about? If it was a placement, I'd also include that as work experience. Focus on highlighting the parts of school life you did enjoy and were good at.

OK so lots to work on @User1313 but isn't the whole thing just filler language? ugh!

@MrsBigTed I thought I wanted to be a teacher, tried teaching assistant (kids and tome restraints) , did the course, tried it out for a few months and saw how absolutely dire the education system was. Couldn't work it around my home life at all, so left it and had another child in the mean time.

such a shame really, I can see why teachers are leaving in droves and I'm just grateful I only paid for a ta course and didn't get myself into thousands of pounds worth of student loan debt doing a teaching degree.

I think just sentences which don't really mean anything are filler language 😊 if mentioning something you are good at or a skill it's good to back it up with examples, even if the examples aren't in a professional work-place capacity.
I would have a look at the job description/personal spec and try and relate to each point how you meet the requirements with examples. Research the company and say what you like about them, make it specific to them so it doesn't seem like a generic CV fired off to loads of different companies at once.

I have a relative who owns her own company, and gets some amazing CVs from women who have done nothing but child rearing. They literally break down every single skill they have picked up by caring for their kids, and turn it into something transferable. It is impressive. Just a shame they don't turn up to the job once offered it! Stinks of "I was forced to apply by the Job Centre".

Well I like like like that they offer flexibility

thank you I will redo and not be so generic.

time keeping, I have to take my kids to school every day like that?

Timekeeping - you’ve turned up at x time weekly for 4 years to volunteer in class. Helped on school trips? I’d list your few months TA work too.

SAHM activity (copied from internet)

"July 2006” - Present: Homemaker and mother

• Financial manager of the household

• Adhering to strict budgeting guidelines

• Implementation of rules and regulations within the household
• Ensuring daily routines are planned and carried out efficiently by every family member

• Childcare provided at home by myself to six children

• Free childcare services to local neighbours, friends and family

• Successful one to one tutoring to young children in languages – French and Welsh

It all depends on the way you present it. You’ve been working raising your kids,not sitting twiddling your thumbs.
Dress it up nicely and go for it!