by Chris Durst Aug. 1, 2019
If you took time out of the workforce to raise and/or school your child(ren), you may have a “gap” in your resume that prospective employers will wonder about.
This is a topic we recently discussed in the RRR Elite Facebook group (we also covered gaps due to personal illness, and time off to care for an elderly or ill relative), and our focus was on identifying the skills you used and the experience you gained during that time.
The objective was to determine which skills are “transferable” to more traditional jobs so that they can be listed on a resume.
Among the parenting-related transferable skills that were identified are:
- Time Management
- Negotiation Skills
- Communication Skills – particularly explaining complex ideas and processes in an easy-to-understand way
- Adaptability
- Schedule Management & Coordination
- Crisis Management
- Budgeting
And, for the homeschoolers, transferable skills included:
- Setting realistic goals
- Following through with plans
- Time management
- Needs assessment
- Setting priorities
- Delegation
Elite group members added many more of their own so we now have a comprehensive resource for folks to refer to as they work their “time off” into their resume or cover letter.
You should not underestimate the value of skills used and expertise you use in non-traditional “jobs.” Parenting is hard work and it fine to include it on your resume if you do it in a meaningful way and in terms that hiring managers will see value in.
So, take some time to brainstorm about the skills you have from those years (or take us up on our FREE ONE MONTH trial subscription to the RRR Elite Facebook group and work from the list we have there) and work to build a “job description” for that time that adds value to your resume!
Now, you just have to create a “job title” for that period (Caregiver, Home Educator, etc.) and add a brief entry into your resume to fill the gap and showcase your skills.
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