"Unemployed" or "SAHM" on CV- which is perceived better by employers?

[MrsJamin]

It's 2.5 years since I left work just before DS2 came along, ie 18months since my maternity leave officially finished. On my CV, do I just specify when my last job ended and leave it as that or do I put SAHM? I am starting to think that my 18 month "unemployment" gap needs to be explained otherwise it will be perceived as very odd, which may put off employers more than taking time to look after children at home.

Imo sahm definitely
Nothing wrong with either tho

always explain gaps otherwise people will sit in an office speculating not that I would ever do such a thing

I put stay at home parent. Don't know why it sounds more professional!
But yes, best to explain the gap.

Very helpful, thank you. In the end, if someone is prejudiced against you being a stay at home parent for a few years, they won't probably be a good employer of a working mother either.

I have called it a 'career sabbatical'.

I would suggest have a strong skills section as your first part - relevent to the kind of jobs
then your employment history
then a couple of sentances about your carreer break - if you have done any volutnertary work or kept up with your field I would but in then

Definitely don't leave an unexplained gap. SAHM sounds like a deliberate decision, whereas unemployed sounds like you couldn't persuade anyone you were good enough to give a job to.

SAHM is good.
You will have gained lots of transferable skills during this time, so don't underestimate the skiils you have gained during the last 18 months.

I would prefer to see 'career break' rather than 'SAHM'. I want someone who is focused on her job (and made the deliberate decision to take a career break), rather than someone whose focus is on her family.

I think the general organisational and management skills that come with being a SAHM are pretty much taken for granted in any professional or executive job. If a person does not have the requisite experience in the job they are applying for, then any employer who takes a chance on a returning SAHM would look for signs of commitment, rather than someone who is doing it for pin money and fitting it around her family.

I have career break on mine :)

I think career break sounds better.
the words "stay at home" sound very passive and don't reflect the variety of tasks in hand that you've been doing as a mother anyway.
Consider a competency based CV.
briefly explain the career break on covering letters etc if need be but as blueshoes advises I'd agree about keeping the CV focused on the workplace rather than the home.

"Full time parenting" - I thought it sounded like I was doing a job, a very worthwhile one, which I was.

I put 'career sabbatical' on mine and have just been offered a full time, perfect job after 8 years away being a SAHM. It looks more like a choice IYSWIM.