Maternity leaves have been in the limelight for quite some time. So much so that a six months’ maternity leave has been passed in the Rajya Sabha. Now, it has become mandatory for all offices in both public as well as private sectors for granting a half a years’ maternity to women who have been expecting.
However, some women decide to put on their mom shoes and take time off from work for a good twelve months or even over a year at times. While some employers understand the time off was for a reason and are happy to offer you a job that you truly deserve, there are others who shy away from giving you that position taking into account the length of your maternity gap.
In some way, they tend to take it the other way around and consider it as a black mark on your resume. Thus, when writing a resume, it is important for new mothers to accommodate their maternity gaps correctly. A little bit of creativity can go a long way in addressing your maternity gap in the best way possible.
When it comes to getting back to work, there are a few questions which you need to ask yourself. For instance, are you willing to go back to the same company, the same job or have you decided to take a different road altogether. How you present skills in your resume will depend on this. If you are not planning a full time job, you could also weigh in options of working from home or doing a part time/shift job so that you could take care of your little one.
If you are not planning a full time job, you could also weigh in options of working from home or doing a part time/shift job so that you could take care of your little one.
Here are some ways which will help you show your maternity leave gap in your resume in the best possible way
Honesty is the Best Policy: While there are some of us who work from home during our leave gap, others decide to give their babies all the attention needed by the little ones. When mentioning it in your resume, make sure you do not lie about working from home. If you were not working from home, it is not that big deal, being honest will only take you places. Nobody wants to hire a liar.
Flaunt Your Parenting Skills: When you took the time off and were busy taking care of your little kid, you would have become way more responsible and punctual. Do not let all those skills go to waste. In fact, use them in the best way possible. You could mention a few skills including time keeping or budgeting. You could also tell them that how having a baby has made you a calmer, which in turn will only help you in solving a problem in the best possible way. In fact, you might stand out and get a job easily because of how mature you have become in the past few months/years. Talk about your parenting as a Full Time role; which involved organizing the household, teaching the kid, managing finances, procuring goods and supplies. See how many skills you can highlight?
Cover Letter Mention: One of the options of mentioning your leave gap period is with the use of cover letters. You could mention it in a few lines in your cover letter as to why it was important for you to take that gap and how you are now ready to take up work responsibilities. While you are mentioning this, make sure you remember that the key is to keep it professional, no one wants to know stories about your baby! In fact, mention how during the time you took off, you spent a good amount of time updating your skills. Also, make sure you mention your past achievements in the letter, this gives them an insight of how worthy you are of the job.
Mention how during the time you took off, you spent a good amount of time updating your skills. Also, make sure you mention your past achievements in the cover letter; this gives them an insight of how worthy you are of the job.
Use the resume: Another choice would be mentioning all about your work directly on your resume. You could dedicate a section on the leave gap. In fact, you could even go slightly overboard by explaining as to how having a baby has enhanced your qualities of scheduling, multi-tasking. Explaining that how handling an added responsibility has made you much more punctual and organized and you are capable of handling more challenging roles. Make sure you do not reflect your weakness in the resume. For instance, you may not be aware of a few trends, but you don’t need to tell them that. But ensure you do try and keep yourself updated with the latest skills and trends for the interview!
Woo, the HR: When looking for jobs, try finding the ones with the HR personnel who is a woman. If your boss happens to be of the same gender, that works even wonders. It is much easier to explain the leave gap. Not only this, if one of them has had the same experience before, your chances of landing up that job increased by manifold. Remember, confidence is the key, you do not want the company to think that you are out of focus or something.
Job Hunting Hack: When looking for jobs, try finding the ones with the HR personnel who is a woman.
LinkedIn Recommendations: If you did not burn bridges with your last employer, it is always a good idea to get a few recommendations from your ex-boss or colleagues. Use the power of LinkedIn to earn some positive recommendations and showcase them in your resume too. In fact, go ahead and approach your last employer for the job once again; they might be willing to hire you and restart the work.
Also check out our Slideshow on Slide Share here.
Finding a job after an extended maternity leave is not going to be a cakewalk. In fact, you may face several rejections. However, the best thing that you can do is, after every rejection come back stronger. Put a smile on your face and move on to the next opportunity. Try and capitalize on all that you have learnt; and the day you are at your 100% best, you will crack that interview with ease!
This post first appeared on the getsetResumes.com Blog
