How to Write a Stay-at-Home Parent Resume (With Examples)

Raising a child requires commitment and dedication that may prevent a parent from working full-time. When entering the workforce again, it can be important to mention the reason for your employment gap. Understanding how to write a stay-at-home parent resume can help you create an effective document that may increase your chances of securing a new job. In this article, we discuss how to write a resume after taking time away from work to raise a family and provide several resume templates and examples.

How to write a stay-at-home parent resume

Below you can find a step-by-step guide on how to write a stay-at-home parent resume:

1. Include your contact information

The first step when creating a resume is to include your personal details and contact information. Include your full name, phone number, the state you live in and your email address. It's often beneficial to keep this information clear and uncluttered. You can ensure potential employers can contact you with ease by doing this. It can be helpful to proofread your details to ensure they're all correct.

Related: What Makes a Good Resume?

2. Begin with a summary statement

To open your resume, you can include a few sentences that briefly summarise your main skills, qualifications and reason for applying. You might also choose to mention your future goals for your career. The summary statement can be a great way to introduce the reason for your employment gap. Most people understand that parenthood comes with many responsibilities, so potential employers are likely to respect your choice of taking time to be a stay-at-home parent.

Related: How to Write a Resume Summary With Examples

3. Mention work experience

Including work experience in your resume is usually a good idea for displaying your competencies and industry knowledge. Employers generally understand why you may have an employment gap, so you can include work experience from before you were a stay-at-home parent. It's often beneficial to only include work experience that applies to the open position. If you have extensive work experience, you can consider detailing your latest employment first. You may include the job title, job description and period of employment.

4. Detail your skills

Raising a child often develops useful skills, such as organisation, time management, empathy, patience and communication. Most of the skills you gain from parenthood can be transferable to a variety of careers. You may also consider including hard skills you gained from previous employment.

Related: Time Management Skills: The Importance of Including Them in Your Resume

5. Highlight your education

If you finished high school or have any prior qualifications, you can consider including them in your resume. A High School Certificate is often a minimum requirement for a role. If the position you're applying for requests this, then you can include this. If you have a tertiary qualification, include the institute's name, the location, length of study and the course name.

Returning to work resume tips

Here are some helpful tips for you to consider when you write your return to work resume:

Customise your resume

Depending on the type of job you're applying for, it's a good idea to use a template that you can easily customise. Some hiring managers may prefer certain traits or qualities over others. For example, if an employer requests candidates to have excellent organisational habits, you might focus your skills section on your management and organisation skills. If a potential employer is seeking a candidate with extensive education, you can mention your education in the first section of your resume.

Include keywords

The keywords of a job posting may be specific requirements, such as work experience, skills, licences and qualifications. It's usually a good idea to include keywords from the job posting on your resume. A keyword might also be a term the job posting uses for a heading. For example, the job posting might say 'academic achievements' instead of 'education qualifications'. In this situation, you can use 'academic achievements' as your heading.

Related: ATS Resume Format Guide (With Template and Example)

Review before you submit

Before submitting your resume to potential hiring managers, consider reviewing it for any discrepancies. When reviewing your resume, you can double-check the document for accuracy and grammatical errors, such as punctuation or spelling. A clean resume can ensure a professional first impression for your potential employers.

Resume template for stay-at-home parents

Below, you can find a helpful resume template for a parent returning to the workforce:

[Full name]
[Email address]
[Phone number]

Summary objective
[Include your summary objective. This section can be two or three sentences long.]

Work experience
[Job title]
[Company name]
[Company location]
[Employment duration]

• [Bullet points of job responsibilities]

[Job title]
[Company name]
[Company location]
[Employment duration]

• [Bullet points of job responsibilities]

Education
[Institute name]
[Institute location]
[Duration of studies]

• [Bullet point of the degree or the course name and its current status]

[Institute name]
[Institute location]
[Duration of studies]

• [Bullet point of the degree or the course name and its current status]

Related skills
[Here you can include your skills relating to the position you're applying for. You can list your skills in bullet point format. If the job posting has an emphasis on skills, then you may consider expanding on your listed skills and providing a sentence or two of information.]

Resume examples for stay-at-home parents

Below, you can find several resume examples of a stay-at-home parent returning to the workforce after an employment gap:

Resume example focusing on work experience

Below you can find an example resume of a parent with substantial work experience applying for a senior management role:

Herminia Trujillo
421 Bell Road
Bellman, NSW 2409
+61 1 1111 1111
Trujillo@email.com.au

Summary objective
I'm returning to the workforce after 10 years of raising my family. I have 20 years of experience managing plant operations and I am eager to once again fill the role of a manager. I look forward to improving my skills and learning new industry management strategies.

Work experience
Plant manager
Blon Operations, Sheffleton
February 2006–2011

• managed production processes

• collected and reviewed production statistics

• liaised with marketing and finance departments

• enforced strict safety standards and regulations

• helped plan production budgets

• assisted in the recruitment of plant operators

• implemented production waste reduction strategies

Plant manager
Sendle Productions, Bealeton
February 2000–2006

• managed daily production operations

• analysed production efficiency

• liaised with material suppliers and clients

• promoted positive workplace policies

• helped plan new management strategies

• implemented production strategies to reduce variable costs

Education
Bower University
New South Wales
July 2016–July 2020

• Bachelor's Degree in Advanced Business Management

Related skills

• people management

• time management

• leadership

• organisation

• business knowledge

• management software proficiency

• safety awareness

• knowledge of workplace compliances

Resume example focusing on education

Here's an example resume of a stay-at-home parent applying to a job posting that values candidates with an extensive educational background:

Autumn Bryant
321 Half Street
Halford, QLD 3245
+61 7 1111 1111
Bryant@email.com.au

Summary objective
I have been a stay-at-home parent for the past several years and I am hoping to enter the workforce again as a software engineer. I am eager to begin my career in the computing industry and I look forward to developing my skills.

Work experience
IT technician
Cruz IT Services, Nedland
February 2009–2011

• installed network systems for office buildings

• implemented management software

• liaised with clients and provided customer support

• followed electrical safety standards

• repaired and replaced damaged IT hardware

• helped create network security algorithms

Education
Royal University
Queensland
January 2016–December 2020

• Master's Degree in Computer Science

Tech Training
Queensland
January 2020–December 2020

• Certified cloud security professional (CCSP)

• Certified data privacy solutions engineer (CDPSE)

Related skills

• problem-solving

• consulting

• cybersecurity strategies

• data management

• team-oriented

• time management

• advanced software proficiency

Related: How to Write an IT Resume (With Template and Example)

Resume example focusing on skills

Below is a helpful example of a parent returning to the workforce and applying for a career that values interpersonal skills:

Andrew Serrano
12 Top Street
Topman, QLD 3421
+61 7 2222 2222
Serrano@email.com.au

Objective
I am returning to the workforce after several years of raising my family. From my experience with parenting, I believe I have the skill set for the role of a social worker. I am eager to share my compassion with others and help those in need.

Related skills

• Organisation: From managing a household with three children I have gained exceptional organisational skills.*

• Empathy: I believe I have a great amount of empathy that helps me care for others and understand their needs.

• Communication: I have always encouraged communication within my family. I understand the importance of effective communication when caring for others.

• Time management: By caring for three children, I understand the importance of allocating time for activities.

• Patience: Parenthood has taught me to be patient when teaching others, and it allows me to help people learn effectively.

Academics
Dayton Training
Queensland
January 2019–December 2020

• Certificate in Youth Work and Social Care