How do you feel about hiring old SAHMs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:god, women are definitely their own worst enemies.

i have been a SAHM for 4 years and i am itching to go back to work. i already had one interview (before i really started looking) and they could not care less that i had been home for a few years. ultimately, i did not have the exact experience that they were looking for, and it was mutually agreed upon that i was not the right fit.

OP, i can assure you that SAHMs can have a great perspective about going back to work. SAHMs who want to work are just feeling done with being home and ready to focus on a career outside of the home. during out time at home we have also honed skills that can easily be translated into the workplace (i.e., multitasking, putting out fires, managing people and projects). we also have a maturity that "young" men and women will absolutely NOT have.

My advice is to be very clear that you understand you will need childcare in place, and also backup childcare. My main hesitancy about hiring a multiyear SAHM is making sure they understand that work may not end at 5 pm on the dot, and we can't hold the deadline because your child is home with the flu, etc. etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do believe that moms should stay at home with their babies for a while. I personally started working in my profession at 18, going to college at the same time. By mid-20s I had 2 kids and stayed at home with them for several years. Then I went back to school to get my Masters and got hired off campus by one of the largest consulting firms. And have had a very successful career thereafter.

If someone had worked for 10-15 years before having a child, what is a problem to stay with a baby for a couple years, if you already have a strong resume, great skill set and so many professionals in your network? Perhaps if people wait till 40s to have kids and stay at home till they are 50, then it might be hard to get back into the workforce because of the lack of energy, reduced ability to learn new processes, etc. It is hard to raise kids and have a career even when you are 20-30, so of course it gets only harder when a person turns 50.

You really don't understand why a 35 year old might not want to take a couple of years off work? Weird.

[Anonymous]

For the pp who put to write this in the cover letter:

"I spent 5 years caring for my young children. During that time, I tried to keep abreast of developments in the field, and maintained contact with former colleagues. As I prepare to return to the workforce, I have been reading x publications (pertinent to the field) and I took time last month to attend x conference."

I agree, you have to address the gap in your resume so as not to look like you were in a mental institution, but has anyone ever thought that saying something like the above was just silly? I mean, who is really doing enough as a SAHM career-wise to compete with similar amount of time at work?

Do you really care if a potential hire has read X publication or attended x conference, vs. someone who has been actually working? Obviously it shows effort, but beyond that, not so much.

It frustrates me that, I am capable of many things, but just because my resume doesn't have that EXACT experience sometimes, I will not get hired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the pp who put to write this in the cover letter:

"I spent 5 years caring for my young children. During that time, I tried to keep abreast of developments in the field, and maintained contact with former colleagues. As I prepare to return to the workforce, I have been reading x publications (pertinent to the field) and I took time last month to attend x conference."

I agree, you have to address the gap in your resume so as not to look like you were in a mental institution, but has anyone ever thought that saying something like the above was just silly? I mean, who is really doing enough as a SAHM career-wise to compete with similar amount of time at work?

Do you really care if a potential hire has read X publication or attended x conference, vs. someone who has been actually working? Obviously it shows effort, but beyond that, not so much.

It frustrates me that, I am capable of many things, but just because my resume doesn't have that EXACT experience sometimes, I will not get hired.

I agree. OK, you attended one conference. People who were working did that and 10x more. It's hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP is just bitter because her kids are strangers to her, or she has no kids because she is infertile. Now she is mad because "how dare they stay home and then expect to get a job. I didn't take time off, so I will look down on those who did."

I prefer men in the workplace. I am glad I don't have to deal with bitches like you.

Really? Get help, honey. Way to project your own obvious anger on others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mothers should be with their children. Don't like it, then don't have kids. Single moms are exempt because the world isn't perfect. Moms who are trying to come back home are exempt. Anyone else needs to be fixed due to being unfit. Work if you want, just don't have kids. Get a puppy instead.

Ward Cleaver, is that you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mothers should be with their children. Don't like it, then don't have kids. Single moms are exempt because the world isn't perfect. Moms who are trying to come back home are exempt. Anyone else needs to be fixed due to being unfit. Work if you want, just don't have kids. Get a puppy instead.

Should fathers have kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is just bitter because her kids are strangers to her, or she has no kids because she is infertile. Now she is mad because "how dare they stay home and then expect to get a job. I didn't take time off, so I will look down on those who did."

I prefer men in the workplace. I am glad I don't have to deal with bitches like you.

Really? Get help, honey. Way to project your own obvious anger on others.

OP here. I took extended maternity leave for my first. When I gave birth to my second, my husband's work relocated our family and I was able to stay home an extra few months with my child. I was desperate to go back to work. I worked my whole life, have earned ivy league degrees and put in my dues when I was in my 20's. I now work 40 hours a week, which is half of what I used to work.

I am neither infertile nor bitter. I just prefer not to hire women with resume gaps of 5+ years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is just bitter because her kids are strangers to her, or she has no kids because she is infertile. Now she is mad because "how dare they stay home and then expect to get a job. I didn't take time off, so I will look down on those who did."

I prefer men in the workplace. I am glad I don't have to deal with bitches like you.

Really? Get help, honey. Way to project your own obvious anger on others.

OP here. I took extended maternity leave for my first. When I gave birth to my second, my husband's work relocated our family and I was able to stay home an extra few months with my child. I was desperate to go back to work. I worked my whole life, have earned ivy league degrees and put in my dues when I was in my 20's. I now work 40 hours a week, which is half of what I used to work.

I am neither infertile nor bitter. I just prefer not to hire women with resume gaps of 5+ years.

Right. Like I said, your kids are strangers to you. Your career is more important than your kids and you have an issue with women who take the opposite approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the pp who put to write this in the cover letter:

"I spent 5 years caring for my young children. During that time, I tried to keep abreast of developments in the field, and maintained contact with former colleagues. As I prepare to return to the workforce, I have been reading x publications (pertinent to the field) and I took time last month to attend x conference."

I agree, you have to address the gap in your resume so as not to look like you were in a mental institution, but has anyone ever thought that saying something like the above was just silly? I mean, who is really doing enough as a SAHM career-wise to compete with similar amount of time at work?

Do you really care if a potential hire has read X publication or attended x conference, vs. someone who has been actually working? Obviously it shows effort, but beyond that, not so much.

It frustrates me that, I am capable of many things, but just because my resume doesn't have that EXACT experience sometimes, I will not get hired.

I'm the PP - of course, if all things were equal, someone who had worked continuously would have an edge over the SAHM. But things are never equal. Maybe the SAHM has something on her resume that piques my interest. The fact that she addresses the gap in a mature and professional way will impress me further. I will likely interview her. She may not get the job because, ultimately, someone else may have better qualifications and be a better fit. But it definitely would help her get noticed.

I interview a lot of people. I look for much more than just a set of skills/experiences. It's about fit, not just about EXACT experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is just bitter because her kids are strangers to her, or she has no kids because she is infertile. Now she is mad because "how dare they stay home and then expect to get a job. I didn't take time off, so I will look down on those who did."

I prefer men in the workplace. I am glad I don't have to deal with bitches like you.

Really? Get help, honey. Way to project your own obvious anger on others.

OP here. I took extended maternity leave for my first. When I gave birth to my second, my husband's work relocated our family and I was able to stay home an extra few months with my child. I was desperate to go back to work. I worked my whole life, have earned ivy league degrees and put in my dues when I was in my 20's. I now work 40 hours a week, which is half of what I used to work.

I am neither infertile nor bitter. I just prefer not to hire women with resume gaps of 5+ years.

Right. Like I said, your kids are strangers to you. Your career is more important than your kids and you have an issue with women who take the opposite approach.

The poster you're responding to isn't attacking you at all. You sound incredibly unstable and insecure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is just bitter because her kids are strangers to her, or she has no kids because she is infertile. Now she is mad because "how dare they stay home and then expect to get a job. I didn't take time off, so I will look down on those who did."

I prefer men in the workplace. I am glad I don't have to deal with bitches like you.

Really? Get help, honey. Way to project your own obvious anger on others.

OP here. I took extended maternity leave for my first. When I gave birth to my second, my husband's work relocated our family and I was able to stay home an extra few months with my child. I was desperate to go back to work. I worked my whole life, have earned ivy league degrees and put in my dues when I was in my 20's. I now work 40 hours a week, which is half of what I used to work.

I am neither infertile nor bitter. I just prefer not to hire women with resume gaps of 5+ years.

Right. Like I said, your kids are strangers to you. Your career is more important than your kids and you have an issue with women who take the opposite approach.

+1

[Anonymous]

Are you really continuing the tired old saw about women who never SAH valuing their careers more than their children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is just bitter because her kids are strangers to her, or she has no kids because she is infertile. Now she is mad because "how dare they stay home and then expect to get a job. I didn't take time off, so I will look down on those who did."

I prefer men in the workplace. I am glad I don't have to deal with bitches like you.

Really? Get help, honey. Way to project your own obvious anger on others.

OP here. I took extended maternity leave for my first. When I gave birth to my second, my husband's work relocated our family and I was able to stay home an extra few months with my child. I was desperate to go back to work. I worked my whole life, have earned ivy league degrees and put in my dues when I was in my 20's. I now work 40 hours a week, which is half of what I used to work.

I am neither infertile nor bitter. I just prefer not to hire women with resume gaps of 5+ years.

Right. Like I said, your kids are strangers to you. Your career is more important than your kids and you have an issue with women who take the opposite approach.

SAHMs who spout nonsense like this are certainly not making it easier for those SAHMs who are trying to reenter the workforce. We WOHMs are the ones doing the hiring, so you'd get a lot further by not insulting us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is just bitter because her kids are strangers to her, or she has no kids because she is infertile. Now she is mad because "how dare they stay home and then expect to get a job. I didn't take time off, so I will look down on those who did."

I prefer men in the workplace. I am glad I don't have to deal with bitches like you.

Really? Get help, honey. Way to project your own obvious anger on others.

OP here. I took extended maternity leave for my first. When I gave birth to my second, my husband's work relocated our family and I was able to stay home an extra few months with my child. I was desperate to go back to work. I worked my whole life, have earned ivy league degrees and put in my dues when I was in my 20's. I now work 40 hours a week, which is half of what I used to work.

I am neither infertile nor bitter. I just prefer not to hire women with resume gaps of 5+ years.

Right. Like I said, your kids are strangers to you. Your career is more important than your kids and you have an issue with women who take the opposite approach.

SAHMs who spout nonsense like this are certainly not making it easier for those SAHMs who are trying to reenter the workforce. We WOHMs are the ones doing the hiring, so you'd get a lot further by not insulting us.

Right, see, because as a WOHM with hiring authority, I'm not hiring you because you come across as a straight up judgmental bitch who won't be a productive member of my team and because you will cause more drama than you are worth. It really has nothing to do with whether you've ever SAH.