How do I explain not being the workforce for five years stayed home to take care of kids

[Anonymous]

HI all,
I Worked on my IT masters program while home almost done. How do I explain my being home to a potential employer, took care of kids one with disability? Learned to develop apps

[Anonymous]

Don't mention it. The gap is explained by you pursuing your education. Focus on that. Well done!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't mention it. The gap is explained by you pursuing your education. Focus on that. Well done!

+1 You were going to school, no further discussion needed. I'd assume potential employers would treat you the same as any new-grad from a master's program.

[Anonymous]

op here great thanks for the advice!

[Anonymous]

What's wrong with saying you took care of your children?

I mean, I wouldn't put it on my resume or a cover letter, but if I were asked, I would simply respond "I went back to school to get my master's in ___; at the same time, I took care of my very young children."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't mention it. The gap is explained by you pursuing your education. Focus on that. Well done!

+1 You were going to school, no further discussion needed. I'd assume potential employers would treat you the same as any new-grad from a master's program.

Who goes to school full time for 5 YEARS to get a master's degree? That would seem odd to me if I were hiring someone.

OP, I think it's fine to say that you decided to pursue a master's degree while you were home with your young children. I don't think a master's degree alone would explain a 5 year gap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't mention it. The gap is explained by you pursuing your education. Focus on that. Well done!

+1 You were going to school, no further discussion needed. I'd assume potential employers would treat you the same as any new-grad from a master's program.

Yes in that case don't even mention that you have children. Or a vagina.

[Anonymous]

Just say you took some time off to pursue other interests and are now ready to return to the workforce. My husband is in IT and they are very family friendly and flexible (but it depends on where you work). They would be concerned about your skills though.

[Anonymous]

Is it possible to just remove the dates from your resume and gloss over the gap in that way? That's what I was advised to do.

[Anonymous]

I had a two year gap. I did not address it on my resume or cover letter but when asked in an interview I explained that I stayed home with the kids. I got the job.

[Anonymous]

Learn to write coherently first.

[Anonymous]

Dont mention it at all.

I took 6 years off. Got a job (it did take a year of looking)-- but during that interview, no one asked me about the gap. No one!

they did, however, call all 5 references and grill them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dont mention it at all.

I took 6 years off. Got a job (it did take a year of looking)-- but during that interview, no one asked me about the gap. No one!

they did, however, call all 5 references and grill them.

they already knew

[Anonymous]

I would assume if a woman presents with a 5-6-7 year gap, it's presumed she stayed home to raise kids. That's not an issue AS LONG as during that time you were also pursuing education, volunteering, keeping up with new developments in the field, maintained contacts and network, etc.etc. The only problem I can see is if you have a very long gap (7-10 years) with absolutely zero to show for it in terms of staying active in the field or pursuing any education or professional development. And even then it's not an issue of staying home it's that you stayed home for a long time and did absolutely nothing to prepare for going back to work- that's when SAHMs are at a disadvantage when returning to the workforce. You should be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would assume if a woman presents with a 5-6-7 year gap, it's presumed she stayed home to raise kids. That's not an issue AS LONG as during that time you were also pursuing education, volunteering, keeping up with new developments in the field, maintained contacts and network, etc.etc. The only problem I can see is if you have a very long gap (7-10 years) with absolutely zero to show for it in terms of staying active in the field or pursuing any education or professional development. And even then it's not an issue of staying home it's that you stayed home for a long time and did absolutely nothing to prepare for going back to work- that's when SAHMs are at a disadvantage when returning to the workforce. You should be fine.

I tend to agree with this poster. I might disagree about the years. 3-5 years is pretty easy to justify as long as you show volunteer/temp/pt experience and current training with software, education, etc. I'd say more than 5 tips an application into the dustbin even with those things, because it indicates a genuine lack of commitment to one's career. Of course my sector is heavily impacted by technology.