Help me write a decent covering letter, my brian is dead! How do I explain the SAHM gap?

[WideWebWitch]

I've seen a job advertised which is right up my street and I'm applying for it. The deadline is tomorrow so I have to email it really by the end of today but I'm stuck on the covering letter. I know I should be able to do this stuff but my brian is dead today, maybe as a result of night sleeping with sick ds tossing and turning. Anyway, my last serious job was in 1999, so how do I explain the intervening years in a covering letter? I started with "I've been at home bringing up children " and thought it sounded really mumsy and middle aged. How should I word it? Or should I call it a career break? Any other suggestions for things to put in the letter appreciated. I'm having a hard time writing it this morning. Thanks.

This made me laugh www as I am doing exactly the same thing at the moment. When I sent my covering letter to my friend to read, he said 'take the bit out about your kids, you're not applying for a job to be bloody Nigella Lawson, noone wants to know about them.' Harsh, but fair.

Basically I just left a gap on my CV - actually I said that I had been freelancing - then mentioned in my covering letter that I had relocated from London to Dorset five years ago. I guess I can clear things up in the interview (fingers crossed I get one )

Can you lie about doing some freelance or working for dh??

Yeah, I was wondering about saying I've just moved back from Devon where I've been on a career break. Remember bk saying she'd rather stick pins in her eyes than mention children and I feel the same. Mostly have looked for jobs through agencies so they've explained it and 'sold' me so it hasn't come up. Yeah, maybe I'll say relocation, career break. What do people think about that? Ha ha at your friend! True, true.

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Actually, feel so thick today that I'm not sure I should be allowed out of the house, let alone anywhere near a senior job

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I seem out of kilter with the rest of the advice here. I think it might look odd to leave a gap, and I don't think employers will judge you for explaining why you took the break....they may think you are hiding something if you don't explain why (might think you were looking for work all that time without success!)

I would put something along the lines of:

1999 - present: career break to raise pre-school children. I now feel ready and enthusiastic about resuming my career, and look forward to meeting the challenges of this position.

Or something similar.

I've done a lot of recruitment and selection in my time and have never felt peturbed by a candidate explaining a break in their career due to childrearing. But then I'm in the public sector and maybe we are just a bit more pc than most?

I didn't mean more politically correct than the other mumsnetters who have posted on this thread, I meant more pc than private sector employers (phew - just to clear things up)

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I did put that I had a short 'career break'. I guess I just thought they'd probably guess I meant to have children, if they thought I was in a mental home or rehab centre then oh well, tough.

I cringe slightly at even reading the word 'children' on a cv or letter...just the way it is.

No helpful advice as brian has gone to play with your brian today, but good luckxxxxx

How about the following:

Home Maker

This resulted in the following skills and qualities,

Managing - Children, Home and Money.
Educating- Children and Self
Negotiating - Routines
Caring - Children, Family and Self
Organising - Planning time tables, Outings Reviewing work & Activities
Co-operating With parents and Teachers, Social services, Play groups Other groups and Schools.

hope it helps some or gives you an idea...

Oooh, good luck www and Enid.
I have to say I have worked with bosses in the past (women too) who have expected to see the precise reason for a career break given on the form or in the covering letter. One in particular always assumed it was prison if not otherwise specified, but maybe that says more about her than the job market in general.
Hope your brians rise to the occasion!

ooh good luck, www and enid
i agree a gap might look a bit odd..is there anything child-related eg helping to run playgroup or governor at school which shows you were keeping your hand in as it were? we've just interviewed for staff at our nursery and we were v positive about those who'd obviously taken time to look after children but had also prepared the way a bit eg nvqs or part time courses etc on their way back into paid work

You have spent the last five years taking the skills you have gained in the workplace: negotiating, time mangement, prioritising, financial planning, budgeting, flexibility etc and applied them to the task of raising secure, happy children.

Don't be ashamed of the fact.

My brian is mushy this morning as well, but I would definately mention it somehow, combined with the relocation.
Good luck to you both

my cv is full of gaps, www.

I had a 2 year gap with son number 1 and an 18 months gap with son number 2. I managed to get a private sector job after the first gap and went for a public sector job after the second gap. No problems in interviews about the gaps either time.

I did mention caring for my children in passing in my covering letter - but not on my cv. I played it down as in, I am a mother but I am also focussed on my career and feel I have even more to offer now I have freelanced. In interviews, the words I used were something like 'I freelanced at and * and a range of other places, while being the main carer for my young children. So I already have experience of successfully combining demanding work commitments with home commitments. I already have excellent childcare options in place (lie). The freelance work was invaluable in that I gained experience of working on a wide range of new accounts and kept updated on new technology etc etc (whatever you think they want to hear)'

Never mind that the freelance took up 10% of my time on average while my children took up 90%. The good thing with saying that you freelance is that IME no one ever asks for how long exactly were you at such and company and how many hours did you work. I remember, www, you have worked at times during the last 5 years anyway, so can you build up this and add a few months either side of the time you were employed or - as I do, never give months, just give years, so a 7 months job lasting from June 2001 to January 2002 suddenly looks like a whole years' job - 2001 to 2002 - and if you are asked at interview when you joined and left, say 'in the spring' or ' in the summer - not the month.

Good luck to you and to Enid!

Loads of good advice here.

In the same position, but with 6 year break, I put the 'SAHM gap' on my CV clearly and openly, putting 'career break to have children' and then stressing the things I'd done in that time - like evening classes to update my PC skills, voluntary admin for charities, that sort of thing. I didn't mention the career break at all on the letter. I've been offered interviews for everything I applied for on this basis, and tomorrow will finish a 3-month contract which I got just be sending a CV on spec.

So I'm back to serious job-hunting too Great fun isn't it?

hi www, saw earlier that you had taken my name in vain!

yes, i did say that but it was in a very different context! won't bore everyone by explaining it here.

fwiw, i would keep mention of kids etc out of the main cv, but don't be scared to allude to a career break for child rearing in your covering letter, especially if you mention the relocation in the same breath.

i think hmc, tigermoth and slug have put excellent examples in their posts.

while i agree that being a sahm does need a great deal of organisation, time management, negotiation etc - i don't think it is appropriate to mention this as relevant experience in the context of a job application (unless the job is child care related of course).

does that make me a hard-faced b*h - probably.

good luck to you and enid

Thank you everyone and sorry for taking you out of context bk, I did think maybe I had but also thought you prob wouldn't mind. OK, my CV ends at 1999 but I went with

"Since 1999 I have been on a career break to raise pre-school children. I now feel enthusiastic about resuming my career and would love the opportunity to discuss this position further" in the email which served as my covering letter. OK, so love was putting it WAY too strongly but I had screaming baby and sick ds in the background and I just had to send it asap! Couldn't think of a better word so 'love' it was! Thanks, you're all fab

A bit late www, but your letter sounds fine. I once worked somewhere where any CV with unexplained gaps went straight in the bin. I think you have to explain that the career break was for bringing up children, otherwise it sounds odd. After all, if you'd done VSO in that time, you'd have stated that, IYSWIM.