I’m returning to work after eight years. What should I put on my resume?

Last week, I discussed the challenges of deciding to remove yourself from the workforce, and how it should be a carefully considered decision. A follow-up to that is another question I get frequently, which goes like this:

I’ve been home with my kids for the last eight years, and now I’m ready to go back to work. I’m really not sure what I should put on my resume at this point. Do I list all of the household duties I am responsible for? Do I discuss how I manage various vendors (plumber, electrician, lawn maintenance) and how I work with my budget?

It is indeed a daunting challenge to seek a full-time position following a period of absence. After deciding to do it, one of the most difficult things can be to write a solid resume that will effectively market you to potential employers.

Let me start by saying that no, you do not want to list your household activities on your resume, ever. I’ve seen resumes that have household management duties or child rearing duties and achievements, and they make me cringe. Although managing a household and caring for children are both undeniably “work,” neither are career accomplishments. A resume is a tool that highlights your professional achievements, and should focus on those.

If you are considering returning to the workforce, hopefully you have been doing something to keep yourself current on your skills. Maybe you’ve been volunteering or working on a freelance basis. If you haven’t, I suggest you start there. You’re going to need recent professional experience--whether paid or not--in order to market yourself in a professional context. For example, I had a client who was very involved with a local, nonprofit animal rescue. She volunteered her time to promote the organization by running all of its social media, and she built its social media presence from scratch.  This was something that could be highlighted on her resume as a significant achievement. After all, what hiring manager doesn’t want someone who can build something from the ground up, and who can work effectively with very little budget? It shows ingenuity, problem solving, and creativity.

This brings me to another point. Resume trends have changed over the past decades. No longer are they merely a listing of jobs and duties. They are truly promotional materials. As such, it is no longer enough to say that you are a creative, motivated problem-solver. You need to demonstrate it. So avoid the temptation to merely list a bunch of adjectives that describe you. Instead, use anecdotes that can serve as proof points.

Use a reverse-chronological format for your resume. You have my permission to ignore anyone who tells you to use a functional or “skills based” resume. Hiring managers and recruiters hate them. It is difficult to understand your career progression, and they look like you’re trying to hide something--namely, gaps in employment.

It is perfectly acceptable, and even expected, to list volunteer positions on your resume. It is also okay to list any freelance or per diem work you may have done while you were in a role of full time caregiver. Just remember to highlight your professionally relevant skills and accomplishments. When you’re returning to work following a protracted absence, it is even more important that you write a killer cover letter that sells you as the answer to the hiring manager’s problem. The job search process will probably take longer than it would for someone without a lengthy gap in employment, but with perseverance and drive, you can return to a professional position.