Stay-at-home parents looking to reenter the workforce can face many obstacles. Some employers may inadvertently discriminate against parents who have taken time off to care for their children because of their perceived “résumé gaps.” Internal obstacles are also common, such as feeling guilty about leaving your children or suffering from impostor syndrome in regard to rejoining the professional world after years away.
To help stay-at-home parents looking to return to work break through these barriers, members of Forbes Coaches Council offer their insights below. Follow their advice to make a confident transition back into a full-time career, no matter how long you’ve been out of the game.
1. Focus On Still-Relevant Skills You Had Before
Remember that your assets and core skills you left the market with are still relevant. Communicate your newfound ability to learn and multitask, plus your heightened time-management skills. Let employers know you are dedicated and hyper-focused on accomplishing whatever needs to be done because of your at-home commitments. Focus on the added value you now bring to the table because of this new capability! - Bobbie Goheen, Synthesis Management Group
2. Understand The Skills You Bring
When I sold my partnerships in two businesses to be a full-time mom, I underestimated how challenging reentering the workforce would be. The key was understanding why I was going back to full-time employment work and what skills I was bringing to the table. This clarity resulted in an opportunity to interview with the CEO of Sun Microsystems and, after openly and honestly answering his questions, I was hired the next day. - Bree Luther, Inspired Science Coaching
3. Use Your Time At Home To Fill Experience Gaps
An experience gap on a job seeker’s résumé can be viewed negatively by some employers. To overcome this obstacle, stay-at-home parents can include their time at home on their résumés and highlight relevant transferable skills, such as project, task and time management. - Peju Adedeji, Your IT Career
4. Acknowledge Your ‘Career Break’
Like it or not, some people (and some applicant tracking systems) will look at a career gap as a negative, even if you spent that time raising your family. One way to overcome this is by adding an experience and giving yourself a title, such as “Head of Household,” “Chief Mom Officer” or simply writing “Career Break,” and then sharing a bit about what you did in that time period. LinkedIn makes this easy with a “Career Break” option. - Don Pippin, area|Talent
Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
5. Tie Your Stay-At-Home Work To Your Prospective New Role
One of the biggest obstacles for stay-at-home parents when they return to the workforce is themselves. The work you did at home is complex, demanding and valuable; however, not enough value is given to these roles. Think of how you can link what you did at home to the challenges you might face in the new role you are entering. Create a narrative around this and approach the new role with confidence. - Dennis Kight, it works! LLC
6. Develop Top-Accomplishment Stories
Many stay-at-home parents reentering the workforce face the barrier of having a lack of preparation and as such, a lack of confidence. As a career coach, I guide my clients in developing top-accomplishment stories to build out their résumés and social media profiles. A value-laden résumé is a dose of confidence! A stay-at-home parent’s greatest achievement is raising the next generation of the workforce. - Diane Hudson, Career Marketing Techniques, LLC
7. Practice Following A Work Schedule In Advance
One of the big internal barriers is dealing with the lethargy of being at home for so long that you do things in your own way. Being part of a thriving workforce requires the discipline to get things done. It’s a great idea to practice this for at least a month before reentering the workforce. This could mean waking up on time, dressing up for work or even just getting your house and life in order. - Vinesh Sukumaran, Vinesh Sukumaran Consulting
8. Take A Longer View And Let Your Kids Gain Independence
Stay-at-home parents and work-from-home parents have a myopic view of their children since they are so involved in parenting at home, especially since the pandemic. Parents tend to overestimate their importance in everyday decision-making for their children. Stepping back a little and taking a longer view will help you transition back into the work environment while allowing your child to gain more independence. - Jarret Patton, DoctorJarret PLLC
9. Consult With Others
Confidence is a big barrier when returning to work after a break, from polishing skills to knowing what to wear and even knowing how to act. Consult with others. Remember not to take yourself too seriously and to hold the transition lightly. We are all works in progress. Failure is never an outcome that we anticipate or hope for, but there’s always something to learn from life’s challenges. - Jennifer Landis-Santos, Cassaday & Company, Inc.
10. Stay Active In Professional Settings
Stay-at-home parents must work to keep themselves relevant. Remain active in professional settings, such as on LinkedIn and in professional associations. Volunteer or take a part-time job if you can. This minimizes the “resume gap” and shows that you still have what it takes. - Krystal Yates, EBR HR Experts
11. Reach Out For Referrals To Childcare Providers
For a single parent, finding childcare you can trust in order to get back into the workforce is by far the hardest part. Stay-at-home parents have so many transferable skills that can be added to their résumés and make them amazing at reentering the workforce. I’ve found that reaching out to the community, whether it is on Facebook or other referral-based platforms, can help you find reputable referrals. - Carmelina Piedra, CareerCoachingPro
12. Don’t Hold Yourself To Unrealistic Standards
One common obstacle is the standards stay-at-home parents try to hold themselves to while simultaneously trying to take on a new role. Often, reframing (and lowering) those standards around everything from packing lunchboxes to making family dinners is necessary unless extra household help can be obtained. - Christy Charise, Strategic Advisor
13. Remove Dates Of Employment From Your Résumé
When parents have taken a career break to raise children, they often struggle to be recognized as bringing valuable and relevant skills to the workplace. However, most are well-prepared to immediately contribute in meaningful ways because of the work they have been doing in unpaid domains. One tip is to remove dates of employment from your résumé and instead highlight the number of years. - Susan Madsen, Jon M. Huntsman School of Business
14. Mitigate The Stress Of A Commute
Dealing with a commute is a big additional stressor for stay-at-home parents reentering the workforce. Focusing on the stressors that you can control and not ruminating over those you can’t (such as traffic or a driver cutting you off), is an important way to mitigate the stress of a commute. - Luke Feldmeier, Online Leadership Training - Career and Leadership Accelerator for Engineers
15. Leave Your Guilt Behind
The main reason people stay at home is to provide informal care for their children—so letting go of that reason will most likely result in a form of guilt. Coping with this might be challenging, but there is a simple solution: Ask permission from those in your care. Make sure they realize that they also benefit from you going back to work in some way. Be creative. - Arvid Buit, TRUE Leadership
