Resume Tips for Stay-at-Home Dads Re-entering the Workplace

Tips for Stay-at-Home Dads Re-entering the Workplace

Consider Your New Skill Set

Any parent will agree that raising children requires a host of skills, most of them transferrable to the professional world. Take a few minutes to think about what you have learned from staying home with the kids. Are you good at organizing activities and groups of people? Have you learned scheduling and budgeting? These are skills that employers love to see.

Trevor M. was a mutual fund accountant before he decided to stay at home and raise his daughter. He learned an unexpected skill during his time full-time parenting that has paid off in his return to work. “I gained compassion and understanding while staying home with my daughter,” he says. “I learned how to associate and work with so many different kinds of people through my daughter’s school and friends. This has strengthened my leadership abilities.”

As you prepare your stay-at-home dad resume, make a list of all the various hats you have worn as a dad. Then consider how they can apply to a new job. Include the skills that you feel are more relevant for the type of position you are seeking. For example, you may have learned how to wash dishes, but unless you’re going into the restaurant business, it’s not too applicable.

As you prepare your stay-at-home dad resume, make a list of all the various hats you have worn as a dad. Then consider how they can apply to a new job.

Don't Try to Hide the Gap

A key piece of advice many recruiters give is to acknowledge openly that you took time off from your profession. Don’t design a super-creative resume in an effort to disguise the gap in your work history. You won’t fool a seasoned hiring manager, and it may fail to pass the applicant tracking system if the employer is using one.

You can mention your homemaker status in your professional summary by writing,
“Organized, energetic accountant, recently a stay-at-home dad, with strong management skills,” for example. You can also opt for a resume objective statement rather than a professional summary. Use that section to explain why you want to return to the workforce. This provides your stay-at-home dad resume with a strong opening.

You can also opt for an objective statement rather than a professional summary.

Include Parenting in Your Work History

By all means, include your years as a parent at home in your work history. Parenting produces some impressive accomplishments and responsibilities for you to list. Some accomplishments are better than others, however. Activities that strengthen your resume include volunteer work for the PTA, coaching your child’s sports team, directing a school play or musical ensemble, and heading up an after-school club.

There are two approaches you can take with your work history in your stay-at-home dad resume. One is to actually write, “Stay-at-Home Parent” as one of the previous positions, with a bulleted list of the items mentioned above. The other is to write “Volunteer” and list those responsibilities, for example, put down “Chess Club Director” and fill in that information. Experts can’t agree on using “Parent” as a job title. Try it both ways and see what works for best for you.

What all experts agree upon is that you avoid cutesy descriptions in your stay-at-home dad resume. Hiring managers don’t take seriously “used organizational skills to manage teenager’s closet.” It’s much better to mention legitimate uses of your management skills, such as, “created and managed the soccer team roster, ensuring equal rotation and game time for each child.”

By all means, include your years as a parent at home in your work history. Parenting produces some impressive accomplishments and responsibilities for you to list.

Enhance Your Education Section

Did you take any online classes during your time at home? Certifications, evening classes, continuing education, and professional development courses are all helpful and a boost to your resume. Even if you took classes that are not directly related to your profession, you should add them to your resume. A course in “Beginning Japanese” shows you have an inquiring, intellectual mind. It doesn’t matter that you are not going to work in Japan.

Be specific in listing your coursework on your stay-at-home dad resume. Write the name of the class or certification program, the name of the institution that offered it, and the date you completed it. If you earned a diploma or any other final certificate, include that as well.

Did you take any online classes during your time at home? Certifications, evening classes, continuing education, and professional development courses are all helpful and a boost to your resume.

Use a Professional Format

You may have spent the last few years as a dad, but that’s no reason to present a shoddy document. Your resume should have five sections: your name and contact information, professional summary, skills and qualifications, work history, and education. To ensure that each section looks professional, follow these guidelines and helpful suggestions.

Treat your stay-at-home dad resume as seriously as you would a CEO resume. Showcase your best hard and soft skills, use strong action words to describe your responsibilities, and include accomplishments and successes. A well-written resume shows you are ready to return to the workforce.

You may have spent the last few years as a dad, but that’s no reason to present a shoddy document.

Ready To Make Your Stay-at-Home Dad Resume?

There’s no time like the present to start your re-entry into the professional world. Following the ideas above, begin by making a list of everything you’ve done during your time at home that you may include. Hone this list to the skills, qualifications, and responsibilities that transfer well to your future job. Choose a good format for a stay-at-home dad resume and plug in the information.

If you would like more personalized help, try our resume builder. It is easy to use and customizable to your specific needs.