SAHM Reentering the Work Force - What not to do

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just got back from tennis and lunch and see you girls are still at it!

oh

a SAHM with no ambition

Thanks for sharing!

Hey there, I have lots of ambition. I am working on my backhand and I am seeing progress. I totally cut out drinking diet soda. When I get together with my book club, I was drinking 5 glasses of wine and now I drink 3.
I have been trying new, more healthy, recipes and my family is eating better.
I am there for my kids. I do not over schedule them. We spend lots of time together as a family.
My family is happy. We keep the stress level low.

And working moms can't accomplish the feats on your impressive list?

I'm cringing at your lines and hoping you're being sarcastic . . . After all, what moron thinks cutting out diet soda is an accomplishment? Please tell me that was a joke.

Oh - and sorry to break it to you, but working PARENTS can prepare healthy meals. In my case, my husband does his share and is very good at cooking.

BTW - Did your book club cause you stress? 5 glasses of wine and one book later . . . I'm sure the discussions were fruitful. (in a fermented sense, that is)

Defensive much PP? Sheesh!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Man here. I agree with these posts but you women need to get your shit together. Collectively, you are a mess. Such hatred spewed against each other on DCUM. Damn I'm glad to be a man and don't have to deal with this trivial shit everyday.

Enjoy yourselves ladies.

I agree, and I am a woman. DCUM posters are relentlessly mean and judemental. I can't wait to get out of DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Man here. I agree with these posts but you women need to get your shit together. Collectively, you are a mess. Such hatred spewed against each other on DCUM. Damn I'm glad to be a man and don't have to deal with this trivial shit everyday.

Enjoy yourselves ladies.

I agree, and I am a woman. DCUM posters are relentlessly mean and judemental. I can't wait to get out of DC.

Sorry - there are bitchy moms everywhere. Changing locations won't solve your problem, you need to change your perspective, how it affects you, etc. and then you will be happier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the OP and I have kids (two) and stayed home for over a year with both before I went back to work. The issue that I see in a lot of resumes is not only was there no work experience but there is nothing else - no charity work, no volunteering. The thing that set me off about the resume that cause me to write the post is that the candidate went on to state how she would be great for the position due to her extensive experience - which was 15 years ago.

I haven't read past this post yet, but I find this really ironic since there was a thread on here last year about volunteering for the PTA, which got tons of vitriolic comments from working moms about how that's something for SAHMs with too much time on their hands. Someone added that they think they can pad their resume with this BS, and someone else replied that the SAHMs should get real, that no interviewer is going to give a hoot about their ridiculous volunteer work and certainly doesn't want to see it on a resume.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Man here. I agree with these posts but you women need to get your shit together. Collectively, you are a mess. Such hatred spewed against each other on DCUM. Damn I'm glad to be a man and don't have to deal with this trivial shit everyday.

Enjoy yourselves ladies.

I agree, and I am a woman. DCUM posters are relentlessly mean and judemental. I can't wait to get out of DC.

...or just don't go to DCUM. That would be much less life changing than actually moving. Because when you move, there will be another local version of Mean Girls Online. You can't just keep moving can you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the OP and I have kids (two) and stayed home for over a year with both before I went back to work. The issue that I see in a lot of resumes is not only was there no work experience but there is nothing else - no charity work, no volunteering. The thing that set me off about the resume that cause me to write the post is that the candidate went on to state how she would be great for the position due to her extensive experience - which was 15 years ago.

I haven't read past this post yet, but I find this really ironic since there was a thread on here last year about volunteering for the PTA, which got tons of vitriolic comments from working moms about how that's something for SAHMs with too much time on their hands. Someone added that they think they can pad their resume with this BS, and someone else replied that the SAHMs should get real, that no interviewer is going to give a hoot about their ridiculous volunteer work and certainly doesn't want to see it on a resume.

Never start a post with, "I haven't read..." Surefire way to end up sounding like an idiot.

[Anonymous]

The point being made in this thread is that any woman who has children or is thinking of ever having children and is interviewing for a job had better find out if her supervisor will be a female, and if she has a choice of jobs, take one where the supervisor will be male.

Take note, employers: the WOHM you are promoting to managerial positions have a huge chip on their shoulder about their choice to always WOHM and will let that resentment interfere with their choice of the best candidate for the job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the OP and I have kids (two) and stayed home for over a year with both before I went back to work. The issue that I see in a lot of resumes is not only was there no work experience but there is nothing else - no charity work, no volunteering. The thing that set me off about the resume that cause me to write the post is that the candidate went on to state how she would be great for the position due to her extensive experience - which was 15 years ago.

I haven't read past this post yet, but I find this really ironic since there was a thread on here last year about volunteering for the PTA, which got tons of vitriolic comments from working moms about how that's something for SAHMs with too much time on their hands. Someone added that they think they can pad their resume with this BS, and someone else replied that the SAHMs should get real, that no interviewer is going to give a hoot about their ridiculous volunteer work and certainly doesn't want to see it on a resume.

Never start a post with, "I haven't read..." Surefire way to end up sounding like an idiot.

I think someone is PMSed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What would the question in the interview be? "Explain the gap in your resume?" , "Tell me about the past ten years?" Or would the interviewer simply ask about her latest office related experience?

I can't see how she could phrase an answer without referring to her children with the first two questions.

I can give you an example. My sister was a SAHM. During that time, however, she volunteered at a nonprofit and then sat on the board of one of her kids' pre-schools. She stayed at home fully for three years. She recently want back to work, and if this question was posed to her, she could answer (assuming she didn't put all of her volunteer work on her resume, but she did, so she actually didn't have a gap.):
"I was raising my children, and during that time I volunteered at XYZ, spearheaded and managed their ABC program which included a fundraiser A and gala B. I produced all of their marketing materials for these events as well as coordinated and managed all of the other volunteer efforts. Under my marketing strategy, our fundraiser was covered in This publication and showcased on This television program. The gala was spotlighted on That television show and appeared in 10 publications. Under my direction, these efforts raised $xyz. As a board member, I spearheaded 4 fundraising efforts, including....."
You get the point.
No one cares about your children. They care about whether they want to hire you for a job.

The "I was raising my children" part is where you would lose me. We all raise our children. Are you implying that the interviewer wasn't because she was working?

Oh Jesus Christ. No. Phrase it however you want for crying out loud. The focus was the rest of the post. There was no social commentary in that statement.

Since we are being all judgy and everything today, I don't judge SAHMs. I do, however, judge those SAHMs who spend an "excess" amount of time on volunteer activities. Phew, there I said it.

Of course. If the SAHM is raising money for your school so the kids can have extras or organizing and running extracurriculars, or bringing meals to elderly neighbors, the best thing to do is to spit in her face for it. You must truly hate your job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Man here. I agree with these posts but you women need to get your shit together. Collectively, you are a mess. Such hatred spewed against each other on DCUM. Damn I'm glad to be a man and don't have to deal with this trivial shit everyday.

Enjoy yourselves ladies.

I agree, and I am a woman. DCUM posters are relentlessly mean and judemental. I can't wait to get out of DC.

...or just don't go to DCUM. That would be much less life changing than actually moving. Because when you move, there will be another local version of Mean Girls Online. You can't just keep moving can you?

I dunno, I might be able to put up with it if one of them looks like the 18-19 year old Lindsay Lohan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the OP and I have kids (two) and stayed home for over a year with both before I went back to work. The issue that I see in a lot of resumes is not only was there no work experience but there is nothing else - no charity work, no volunteering. The thing that set me off about the resume that cause me to write the post is that the candidate went on to state how she would be great for the position due to her extensive experience - which was 15 years ago.

I haven't read past this post yet, but I find this really ironic since there was a thread on here last year about volunteering for the PTA, which got tons of vitriolic comments from working moms about how that's something for SAHMs with too much time on their hands. Someone added that they think they can pad their resume with this BS, and someone else replied that the SAHMs should get real, that no interviewer is going to give a hoot about their ridiculous volunteer work and certainly doesn't want to see it on a resume.

Never start a post with, "I haven't read..." Surefire way to end up sounding like an idiot.

I think someone is PMSed.

Nah. Men don't get PMS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The point being made in this thread is that any woman who has children or is thinking of ever having children and is interviewing for a job had better find out if her supervisor will be a female, and if she has a choice of jobs, take one where the supervisor will be male.

Take note, employers: the WOHM you are promoting to managerial positions have a huge chip on their shoulder about their choice to always WOHM and will let that resentment interfere with their choice of the best candidate for the job.

My own experience supports this, for whatever it may be worth. My male supervisors have been much more understanding about the occasional mom-ish intrusions into the workday that come up than almost every single female supervisor. The sole female exception worked a family-friendly schedule herself.

[Anonymous]

This thread is really enlightening.

I think every SAHM who is going back to work after a long absence should deny the existence of these beings called children and instead make up an uplifting story such as:

1. I was building schools in Pakistan to bring peace to the world and I'm currently writing a book about it.

2. I was having serial affairs because of my love of my country.

3. I was having an interm perform a sex act on me in my office because I was very preoccupied by the nation's problems (incidentally, the intern has one heck of a resume!). Oh wait, no, that's no good, they were both "working"...

4. I was actively trading credit default swaps in my spare time--the transaction volume was larger than the market cap of Merrill Lynch.

5. I kept up my writing skills by writing torture memos.

6. I had a small side business underwriting no-money down adjustable rate mortgages

7. I was a freeland software designer on the F-22 fighter plane

8. I freelanced as a script writer for Glenn Beck

9. I had a small company that organized beauty pageants for the 3-8 year old set.

10. I freelanced as a PR consultant for Blackwater.

Any other ideas?

[Anonymous]

I have done many technical interviews and never spent much time on personal matters, but HR always wants an explanation for a gap in a resume. What explanation would you suggest that a stay-at-home parent offer?

Seriously, it's something that does come up.