Long time SAHM - how do I make that sound appealing on my CV?

[HurricaneHalle]

Thanks for reading.

I've been at home for a number of years with my children. Previous to this I had good solid career history with well known companies and now I have 6/7 years of SAHM'ing to add to my CV.

Any tips on how to include this on my CV?

Do I just put SAHP and the dates? Do I add my newly developed skills of braking up squabbles, negotiating with a seriously strong willed 3yo whilst trying to take a phone call and stop the fridge being raided?

I really appreciate any tips and advice.

Thank you so much.

Do I just put SAHP and the dates? Pretty much, or something like career break & the dates would do as well. Do you have any voluntary work experience during this time you could add?

Definitely don’t put any ‘skills’ learnt as a mum, it really doesn’t go down well and looks a bit silly.

Just put ‘career break to raise children’ and focus on your career before. If you haven’t already, create a LinkedIn with some detail on your previous jobs, who you reported into, main responsibilities and achievements, and let some recruiters come to you. So much is done through LinkedIn now.

The general consensus on MN Is that trying to spin time as a SAHM into CV Points is horrendously cringe-making and will prejudice many people against you. Unless it’s really over and above (eg major fundraising for PTA, doing all the graphic design on an NCT magazine with a circulation of 2,000) then steer clear and keep it factual.

It is possible that these quirky post-SAHM cvs work well for some recruiters I guess if they happen to strike a chord, but whatever you do, do be aware that the person who is reading your cv is quite likely to also be applying ACAS-level skills to toddler disputes at the end of their working day, and may resent an suggestion that these experiences are unique to SAHPs. (I don’t want that to sound aggressive, it’s a kindly-meant warning: Good luck with job hunting.)

We've just done interviews. Most people put the dates and "taking care of my family".

I put exactly that (actually I think I put “bringing up family”. I had had some voluntary roles that were relevant so I added these, but I found people had no issue with someone focusing on family while it was necessary and making the decision to return to work when children required less time and attention.
Made sure my professional qualifications and memberships were up to date.
I was worried about having to justify my decisions but this didn’t happen at all.
The one thing I did find was that family friendly jobs (eg school admin) were highly competitive and impossible to get, whereas a professional job where I was qualified and experienced was easy to get and they’ve turned out to be flexible and supportive employers.
Be proud of the decisions that you have taken!

I’ve just hired someone. Experience wasn’t required for the job. I was looking for someone who would fit into the team and had good attention to detail etc.

I think generally people are looking for someone who will fit into the team. If the team is full of mums then having had a career break to look after your children works in your favour not against it.

*breaking not braking! I can spell honestly.

Thank you for the advice everyone.

I will add the couple of courses I have been on to my CV other than that I shall put it as "Career Break" and maybe raising my family?

The only thing I'm out of date on is the computer packages so maybe I could try and sort that out somehow depending on what kind of job I go for.

Behemoth is spot on.
It’s just embarrassing to read a job application where someone is trying to make the normal day to day tasks of running a home and breaking up toddler squabbles into some high level organisational and diplomacy skill set!
And as Behemoth points out, that job application may very well be read and considered by an employer who’s already made breakfast, tidied round and got her young children up, dressed and out before coming to work in the morning.

Just be factual: you were home with child care reaponsibilies between these dates.

Yes, "Career break to raise family" or something similar. I think the phrasing "career break" frames it that you are in your career for the long haul and took a minor (in the scheme of it) break.

You must specify something like "raising family" or SAHP or they will think you were in prison.

Definitely don't try to jazz up SAHPing, unless you had a specific and genuinely responsible experience like being a school governor.