How to Write a Resume After Being a Stay at Home Mum
Returning to work after being a stay at home mum can feel exciting, overwhelming and a little scary all at once.
You may be wondering:
“What do I even put on my resume?”
“Will employers care about my experience from years ago?”
“How do I explain the gap in my employment?”
“Do I need to include being a mum on my resume?”
And perhaps the biggest question of all:
“Am I even qualified anymore?”
If you've been focused on raising your children, managing a household or supporting your family, it can be easy to feel like your career has been put on hold.
But a career break doesn't erase everything you've achieved.
Whether you're returning to your previous career, looking for part-time work, changing industries or simply ready to get back into the workforce, your resume needs to show employers what you can offer now.
Here's how to write a resume after being a stay at home mum.
1. Start with where you want to go
Before updating your resume, think about the types of jobs you actually want.
Are you looking for:
Part time work?
Flexible or school hours employment?
Administration roles?
Customer service?
Retail?
Reception?
Community services?
Government positions?
A completely new career?
Your resume should be written with your target roles in mind.
One of the biggest mistakes job seekers make is creating a generic resume that lists everything they've ever done.
Instead, think about what an employer in your desired industry needs to know about you.
Your resume should connect your past experience with where you want your career to go next.
2. Don't apologise for your career break
You don't need to write a long explanation apologising for being away from paid employment.
Being a stay at home mum is not something you need to defend.
Instead, keep your resume professional and focus on your employment history, qualifications, skills and achievements.
If you have had a significant career break, you can acknowledge it clearly rather than trying to disguise it.
For example:
Career Break | 2020 to 2026
Then move on to the experience and qualifications that are relevant to your next career move.
The aim is to make your employment history easy for a recruiter to understand.
3. Bring your previous experience back to life
If you've been out of the workforce for several years, you may feel like your previous experience is no longer relevant.
It probably is.
Think about the jobs you held before becoming a mum.
What did you actually do?
Perhaps you:
Managed customers
Supervised staff
Handled complaints
Managed appointments
Processed payments
Maintained records
Managed stock
Used computer systems
Trained employees
Managed administration
Worked to deadlines
Coordinated schedules
Communicated with customers and stakeholders
Don't just list your job titles.
Look at the skills and achievements behind those roles.
These can become some of the strongest parts of your resume.
4. Highlight your transferable skills
If you're changing careers or returning to a different industry, transferable skills are particularly important.
For example, experience in hospitality, retail or customer service can potentially demonstrate skills such as communication, problem-solving, teamwork, organisation and working under pressure.
If you previously worked in an office, you might have experience with administration, scheduling, data entry, document management and customer communication.
The key is to identify the skills that are relevant to your target position.
Don't assume an employer will make the connection for you.
Show them.
5. What about the skills you've developed as a mum?
This is where I recommend a little caution.
You may have developed incredible organisational, communication and problem solving skills while raising your children.
But that doesn't mean your resume should become a list of parenting responsibilities.
You don't need to write:
"Managed household budgets, organised children's activities and negotiated with difficult toddlers."
As funny as that might be, it isn't necessarily the best way to position yourself professionally.
Instead, focus primarily on your professional experience and qualifications, while considering whether any relevant volunteer work, community involvement, study or other activities during your career break demonstrate skills that are relevant to your target role.
The goal is to show employers what you can contribute in the workplace.
6. Include study and professional development
If you've used your time away from paid employment to study, complete courses or develop new skills, make sure your resume reflects that.
This can be particularly valuable if you're returning to a different industry.
For example, you may have completed:
TAFE qualifications
Online courses
Industry certifications
Short courses
First aid training
Computer training
Professional development
Volunteer training
Even if the qualification isn't directly related to your previous career, it may demonstrate that you've continued developing professionally.
7. Don't automatically start with your oldest job
If you've been working for many years, you don't necessarily need to give every role equal space.
Your most relevant and recent professional experience should generally receive more attention than an old job that has little connection to the role you're applying for.
This is especially important when returning to work after a long career break.
Your resume should be selective.
You are not writing your autobiography.
You are creating a document that positions you for your next opportunity.
8. Make your resume ATS-friendly
Many job applications are submitted online, so it's important to consider Applicant Tracking Systems, commonly known as ATS.
An ATS-friendly resume should use clear headings, readable formatting and relevant keywords that genuinely reflect your experience.
Look carefully at the job advertisement.
What qualifications, skills, software and experience are mentioned?
If you genuinely have those skills, make sure they are clearly represented in your resume.
Avoid filling your resume with keywords simply because you think an ATS wants to see them.
Your resume ultimately needs to work for both the technology and the person reading it.
9. Write a strong professional summary
Your professional summary is your opportunity to quickly introduce yourself.
Don't waste those first few lines with vague statements such as:
"Hardworking and reliable mum looking for an opportunity to return to the workforce."
You are more than your employment gap.
Instead, focus on your professional identity, experience, strengths and career direction.
For example:
Administration professional with 8 years' experience supporting busy office environments, customer service teams and day-to-day operations. Highly organised and confident managing competing priorities, coordinating schedules and communicating with customers and stakeholders. Now seeking to return to the workforce in a part-time administration role.
That immediately tells an employer much more about what you can offer.
10. Don't undersell yourself
This might be the most important piece of advice I can give you.
After spending several years outside the workforce, it's easy to convince yourself that you've fallen behind.
You may look at your old resume and think:
“That was a long time ago. Surely nobody will care about that anymore.”
But your previous experience still forms part of your professional story.
You may have years of experience that another applicant doesn't have.
You may have qualifications, industry knowledge, customer service experience, leadership skills or specialist knowledge that are still incredibly valuable.
Your job isn't to convince an employer that you've never had a career break.
Your job is to show them why you're ready for your next chapter.
What should a stay at home mum put on her resume?
If you're wondering what to include on a resume after being a stay at home mum, a strong structure could include:
Name and contact details
Professional summary
Key skills
Professional experience
Education and qualifications
Relevant professional development
Volunteer experience or community involvement, where relevant
Referees, if requested
You don't need to fill every section with information just for the sake of making your resume longer.
Every section should have a purpose.
Do you need a completely new resume?
If your current resume hasn't been updated since before you had children, simply changing the dates probably isn't enough.
The job market has changed, application processes have changed and the way resumes are presented has changed.
Your resume should reflect the job market you're applying to now, not the one you left several years ago.
That means reviewing your professional summary, skills, formatting, keywords and employment history.
It also means thinking carefully about the type of role you want and tailoring your resume accordingly.
You don't have to do it alone
Returning to work after being a stay at home mum can be a big transition.
You may have the experience, qualifications and skills, but simply not know how to put them together in a way that makes sense to an employer.
That's where a professional resume writer can help.
A personalised resume can take the information you've accumulated throughout your career and turn it into a clear, professional and ATS-friendly resume that is targeted towards the opportunities you're now looking for.
Most importantly, it can help you see your own experience differently.
Because sometimes the problem isn't that you don't have enough to offer.
It's that your resume isn't showing it.
Ready to get back into the workforce?
If you're a stay at home mum preparing to return to work, you don't need to have the perfect career plan before you start.
You just need a resume that gives employers a clear picture of your experience, skills and potential.
At Karen's Job Services, I create personalised resumes and cover letters for women who are ready for their next career chapter, including mums returning to work after a career break.
Whether you're looking for part-time work, changing careers or simply ready to feel confident applying for jobs again, I can help you turn your experience into a professional resume that puts your strengths front and centre.
Your career hasn't disappeared while you've been raising your family. It's still part of your story.
Ready to start your next chapter? Book your professional resume and cover letter service today and let's create a resume you're proud to send to employers.