Recently I have been taking part in many conversations on moms group. Mostly related to me topics were about work life balance and moms career. What I noticed lot s of mums worry not that much about coming back to work, as how to explain the gap their CV’s. Therefore today my post is dedicated to all of you , who struggle to write CV after maternity break.
First off all. You need bear in your mind, that maternity break is not a crime! This is important for you to get rid off this mindset. Why? Because , interviewer will sense your uncertainty and you might lost chance for further hiring process. So tip number one: make a table (column number 1): How did I benefit from my maternity break? an column number 2 How would this benefit in my future work / job? .Great questions to fill this table are: How did I overcome my difficult times? What did I learn from solving the problem? If you need help on that, contact me.
As the second thing, get a good CV template. I do always ask my clients for their Cv. Maybe it s more like consulting not coaching, but it’s important for me to know that you are ready. Why do I do this? Lots of you says. I sent 100 CV’s and I had no answer. Sometimes it’s not about you (even in 90%) ,but your CV. See the list what the good CV should cover:
- CORE SKILLS: this is a must on a top of your CV. Here is also a best place to include your new skills, you gained in the role of mum. Show your best site! See the example below.
- don’t go crazy. 2 pages should be enough to cover your experience and education. You might have lot’s of experience , focus on last 10 years.
- check out if your address and telephone number is still valid in your old CV? If not change it.
- if you have poor job experience, evaluate also your volunteer work. This is also something what brings value to Cv and interview
- make your education rich. Which means that online courses also are included in your Cv.
- Under each job title include some numbers you achieved : people you managed , projects you took part it / lead, some percentage company outcomes like eg. working hours you cut by implementing new system
- Show people your face. Take a great photo where you smile and show your friendly personality. People say it is not obligated, I do agree. However I believe that your shiny eyes and smiley face can rise your chance to get first call from interviewer. Nobody remembered what was on my Cv but my ex director and manager always say that they loved photo, as I seemed like perfect match to the team as a person.
- Keep it simple. Do not go for these beautiful templates, where you see columns, catchy backgrounds. We are in XXI century, your Cv in first instance might be read by system reader. This mean that it will read only one column
- Link your Cv to the Linked-in profile where they can see recommendations from your ex-bosess. I recommend to make your linked in profile public, interviewer has easy access to it.
Summarizing prepare mentally , this is the first step. When you feel confident with your maternity break, you will get a bigger chance to find a job. Make up your mind what do you want to do now? Check what the new skills are and show them on Cv. Make sure you have include your achievements. Consider yourself as solving problems person and take first step. Do your CV. Good luck!