resume wording for stay at home mom

Build my resume

resume wording for stay at home mom

  • Build a better resume in minutes
  • Resume examples
  • 2,000+ examples that work in 2024
  • Resume templates
  • Free templates for all levels
  • Cover letters
  • Cover letter generator
  • It's like magic, we promise
  • Cover letter examples
  • Free downloads in Word & Docs

14 Stay at Home Mom Resume Examples That Worked in 2024

Stephen Greet

  • Stay at Home Mom Resumes
  • Back to Work Resumes
  • Homemaking Resumes
  • Stay at Home Dad Resumes

Being a stay at home mom is one of the most demanding challenges a person can undertake, but this also means that you can never run out of things for writing a cover letter or resume. From  budgeting to delegating and scheduling tasks, the duties of a stay at home mom are endless .

However, given that employers take between five to seven seconds to go through an entire resume, it’s important to know the exact details to mention and those to avoid when writing your stay at home mom resume. For that reason, we’ve designed these 14 stay at home mom resume samples to help you  craft a resume  that will land you your dream job in 2024. 

Stay at Home Mom Resume Resume

or download as PDF

Stay at home mom resume example with 10+ years of experience

Why this resume works

  • For example, you might mention in your resume, “Volunteered at local garage sales to create posters and maps for buyers, increasing sales by 28%.”
  • Write a  resume summary  if you’ve got 10+ years of expertise in your field and can weave in some specializations you’ve picked up along the way that will set you apart from the competition.
  • Skills such as “research, problem-solving, and organization” are crucial in marketing, but there are plenty of other keywords you can include in your  resume skills section , provided they align with the job description.

Stay At Home Parent Resume

Stay at home parent resume example with 3 years of experience

  • This example perfectly aligns with the needs of the role, making it a compelling choice for the position and recruiters will not miss to notice it.

Stay At Home Mom No Work Experience Resume

Stay at home mom no work experience resume example

  • In particular, The volunteer and research projects, such as OralCare360 and FreshBite, showcase the ability to educate, organize, and communicate effectively.

No Degree Resume

No degree resume example with 4 years of experience

  • For example, your resume can list metrics for family size, how much money you saved on groceries after using a budget, and how many appointments/engagements you had per month.
  • Use metrics like these to quantify your impact and get a recruiter’s attention!
  • For example, writing fairy tale novellas takes excellent writing and planning skills, and decorating the lobby for the school play requires strong organizational skills and problem-solving abilities, all of which are useful for a secretarial position.

Stay at Home Mom Gap Resume

Stay at home mom gap resume example with cashier and receptionist experience

  • If the above rings a bell, why not whip up a stay at home mom gap resume that showcases these skills and how you translated them into tangible results? Authoring and publishing a family blog documenting parenting tips and experience, attracting over 6.4k monthly visitors within six months makes for an excellent example here.

Returning to Work Resume

Returning to work resume example with 10+ years of experience

  • Your  stay at home mom returning to work resume  should demonstrate your ability to perform tasks related to or similar to what is required of an HR manager, so it can be helpful to view  HR job description examples  to get an idea of what HR professionals require on the job.
  • This doesn’t necessarily mean that every skill should relate to your work experience, but whenever you get a chance to connect the two, do it! 

Returning to Workforce Resume

Returning to workforce resume example with 13 years of experience

  • Even if you’ve been a stay at home mom for a short period, it’s important to list that time on your  returning to workforce resume  so you don’t have a work experience gap. Interviewers frown on these ‘time gaps’ in your resume because it creates the impression that you’ve been inactive and will need a lot of time to catch up if you’re hired. 
  • Only includes languages you would be comfortable mentioning in an interview. Want to really sell your programming skills? Mention how you used your coding experience to create real-life applications.

Work from Home Mom Resume

Work from home mom resume example with 10+ years of experience

  • Make your resume as specific as possible. Did you volunteer at your church? List which position you held, how many students you taught, and how you improved the classroom for the better.
  • If you’re in a position requiring licenses or certifications (like education), make sure you include a certifications section on your work from home mom resume to show employers you have the know-how to do the job.

Stay at Home Mom Returning to Teaching Resume

Stay at home mom returning to teaching resume example with 8 years of education experience

  • Detail past work as a tutor and even as a stay-at-home mom that showcase your skills in the best way possible on your stay at home mom returning to teaching resume.
  • Use your stay-at-home mom cover letter to address why your work experience isn’t so recent.

Homemaker Resume

Homemaker resume example with 11 years of experience

  • Make these bullet points as a homemaker count by focusing on outcomes and metrics.
  • You can add a period at the end of every work experience bullet point, but then each work experience bullet point will need periods to ensure consistency.

Homemaker No Experience Resume

Homemaker no experience resume example with 10+ years of experience

  • Include skills and/or keywords related to the job you’re applying for, and mention the company you’re applying for by name to get a recruiter’s attention.
  • For example, a cashier should know how to operate a Point of Sale (POS) system, so if you have similar experience, include those skills and responsibilities. 

Military Spouse Stay At Home Mom Resume

Military spouse stay at home mom resume example with 8 prior years of marketing experience

  • Use a career objective statement to tell recruiters how your skills are just what that particular company needs. Don’t forget to mention the company by name!

Housewife Resume

Housewife resume example with disaster relief support and gardening project experiences

  • Community projects such as environmental cleanup and voluntary work to distribute relief food to families affected by disaster are examples you can use to your advantage.

Stay at Home Dad Resume

Stay at home dad resume example with cabinet making experience

  • Well, you got what it takes to land that housekeeping job you’re eyeing. Your past roles, paired with measurable achievements, will further propel your application to success.

Related resume guides

  • Substitute Teacher
  • Camp Counselor
  • Career Change

Land your next job with our AI-powered, user-friendly tool.

Gut the guesswork in your job hunt. Upload your existing resume to check your score and make improvements. Build a resume with one of our eye-catching, recruiter-friendly templates.

• Work in real-time with immediate feedback and tips from our AI-powered experience. • Leverage thousands of pre-written, job-specific bullet points. • Edit your resume in-line like a Google Doc or let us walk you through each section at a time. • Enjoy peace of mind with our money-back guarantee and 5-star customer support.

Resume Checker Resume Builder

Create my free resume now

Stay-at-home Mom Resume Examples & Writing Guide for 2024

Background Image

You’re a stay-at-home mom.

You’re great at time management, organization, and able to juggle five jobs at once. 

Safe to say you’d make a great employee!

But HOW do you prove your abilities to your future employer?

What do you put on a stay-at-home mom resume, anyway?

Well, that’s exactly what we’re about to answer.

We understand that applying to jobs after years of staying at home can be a daunting experience. But please don’t worry - our guide will get you back on your feet in no time!

  • An example of a finished stay-at-home parent resume that works
  • How to write a stay-at-home mom resume that’ll fill up your interview diary
  • How to make your stay-at-home mom resume stand out [with top tips & tricks]

Before we dive into why the company should hire you, here’s a stay-at-home mom resume example, created with our very own resume builder:

stay at home mom resume example

Want one of these? Then follow the steps below:

How to Format a Stay-at-Home Mom Resume

Whether you’re getting your kids ready for school or running them a bath, you know the importance of preparation.

Similarly, you need to prepare your resume format before you can start writing!

But what does this actually mean?

Well, your resume needs to be structured correctly.

The most common resume format is “ reverse-chronological ”, and it is for good reason. This format puts your most recent achievements up-top, which keeps your resume clean and easy to follow.

reverse chronological work at home mom

You may also wish to explore the two following formats:

  • Functional Resume – This type of resume focuses on skills, which makes it ideal for stay-at-home moms who have gaps in their employment history or never worked in that specific industry.
  • Combination Resume – Getting back into the same job after a short break? Combining both “Functional” and “Reverse-Chronological”, individuals with both the required skills and experience may want to use this format.

After picking the correct format for your situation, you need to sort the resume layout .

For a stay-at-home mom resume that looks the part, we recommend: 

  • Margins - One-inch margins on all sides
  • Font - Use a professional resume font that stands out, but not too much
  • Font Size - Stick to 11-12pt font size for normal text and 14-16pt for headers
  • Line Spacing - Use 1.0 or 1.15 line spacing
  • Resume Length - Maintain a 1-page limit. For guidance, view these one-page resume templates

Use a Stay-at-Home Mom Resume Template

Ever written a document? 

There’s a good chance you used Word, or similar processing software.

Now, these programs are great for creating simple documents, but are they good enough for your resume?

Not if you want a professional-looking resume! 

Why do we say this?

Well, Word isn’t the best for holding structure. 

You see, it can take hours to create the perfect structure, only for you to make one small change, and BOOM…your resume falls apart.

You’re a busy parent - Free up your time by using a stay-at-home mom resume template .

What to Include in a Stay-at-Home Mom Resume

The main sections in a stay-at-home mom resume are:

  • Contact Information
  • Work Experience
  • Employment Gap

To really impress the recruiter, you can also add these optional sections:

  • Awards & Certification

Interests & Hobbies

That’s the sections sorted, but what should you write for each of them? 

Let’s find out!

For a full rundown on each section, view our guide on What to Put on a Resume .

How to Correctly Display your Contact Information

Now, this isn’t the time to unleash your creative flair.

You just need to keep this section factually-correct .

You could submit the best resume in the world, but if your phone number is wrong, well, you won’t be getting any interviews.

As you can see, accuracy is the name of the game in your contact section.

The contact information section must include:

  • Title - Align this to the exact job title you’re applying for
  • Phone Number - The one you are most-easily reached on
  • Email Address - Keep your email professional ([email protected])
  • (Optional) Location - Applying for a job abroad? Mention your location.
  • Emily Brown, Receptionist. 101-358-6095. [email protected]
  • Emily Brown, Supermom Receptionist. 101-358-6095. [email protected]

How to Write a Stay-at-Home Mom Resume Summary or Objective

The job market is getting more and more competitive.

In fact, most employers usually have a HUGE pool of applicants to choose from.

Taking this into account, we can’t be too surprised that recruiters are known to spend less than 6 seconds on each resume !

Although rather concerning, we can use this knowledge to our advantage.

You just need a way to hook the reader.

But HOW can you do this?

Use a resume summary or objective , which are both attention-grabbing paragraphs that sit at the top of your resume.

This paragraph will be the first thing the hiring manager lays their eyes on, so make it the best it can be!

resume summary stay at home mom

Although similar, there are differences between a summary and an objective…

A resume summary is a 2-4 sentence paragraph that summarizes your most notable professional achievements. 

  • Fast-working and friendly receptionist with 18 years of experience working on the front desk of a local gymnasium, where I achieved a customer satisfaction score of 98%. Highly-skilled in data-entry, customer service, and negotiation. Seeking to leverage interpersonal skills and a commitment to great service to become the new receptionist at GYM XYZ.

A resume objective is a 2-4 sentence paragraph of what you want to achieve and why you’re perfect for the position.

  • Enthusiastic and friendly gym-goer looking to work as the new receptionist at GYM XYZ. Passionate about keeping visitors happy and satisfied. Relevant experience includes serving customers during two years at CAFÉ XYZ. Skilled in POS, communication, and time management.

So, should stay-at-home moms use a summary or an objective?

Generally, because stay-at-home moms will have large employment gaps, a resume objective would be the best choice. With that said, if you’re entering back into an industry that you have plenty of experience in, a resume summary would be the best choice. 

How to Make Your Work Experience Stand Out

The work experience section is the most important section on your resume.

As such, it’s a section that requires special care and attention.

The goal is to write a powerful work experience section that stands out and highlights your most notable achievements .

Doing so will instil confidence and reduce any perceived risk in hiring you.

Now, you may be concerned about your employment gap, but don’t be.

Anyway, it’s always better to explain your employment gaps, rather than attempt to conceal them.

Here’s how to correctly structure your work experience section:

  • Position name
  • Company Name
  • Responsibilities & Achievements

Receptionist 

06/2017 – 03/2020

  • Based on surveying, I achieved a 99.4% visitor satisfaction score during my three years at Real Gym
  • Welcome and advised 250+ customers a day
  • Developed a new fitness class system that reduced complaints by 48%

Instead of simply talking about your daily tasks, you should show how valuable you were at your previous employment. You see, this will allow the recruiter to immediately see how you’ll directly benefit the company.

Instead of saying:

“Kept visitors happy”.

“Based on surveying, I achieved a 99.4% visitor satisfaction score during my three years at Real Gym”.

Apart from being much longer, how is the second statement different?

Well, it uses quantitative data to back-up your skills. It allows the recruiter to see why you’d make a great addition to the team.

On the other hand, the first statement is way too generic. The recruiter has most likely read those exact words 18 times today.

What if You Don’t Have Any Relevant Work Experience?

So, you’re going back to work after a long lay-off.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean you will be applying for the same job.

What if you don’t have experience?

Not to worry!

You see, just because you’ve never worked as a receptionist, doesn’t mean lack the relevant skills and experiences needed to be great at that job.

You would just need to mention the crossover skills from previous jobs, like being able to operate a cash machine, having great communication skills, and being detail-orientated. 

How to Explain Gaps in Employment on a Stay-at-Home Mom Resume

Why is there a gap in your employment?

Your employer will want to know what you’ve been up to recently.

Even though you’ve talked about your previous jobs, it’s now time to address the elephant in the room.

The trick here is to focus on any skills learnt during your time as a stay-at-home mom, especially skills relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Stay-at-Home Parent

05/2017– Present

  • Created a blog that documented my journey through parenthood – receives 10k+ views per month
  • Volunteered at my local charity – served dinner to 100+ homeless every Tuesday night

Sure – an employment gap isn’t ideal, but you can use this section to highlight the skills and experiences developed during this gap. Essentially, you can spin a negative into a positive ! 

Now, we both know that being a stay-at-home mom IS a full-time job, but resist listing your parent-related duties, unless the job involves working with small children or similar.

Use Action Words to Make Your SAHM Resume POP!

Those poor hiring managers.

Having to read the same generic words in every resume they read. 

Although bad for them, this is great for you!

You see, it allows you to create a “return-to-workforce” resume that stands out by using some power words :

  • Conceptualized
  • Spearheaded

How to Correctly List your Education

Next, let’s discuss what to put in your education section.

Regardless of the position that you’re applying for, this section follows a simple formula:

  • Qualification Type 
  • Institution Name
  • Years Studied
  • GPA, Honours, Courses, and anything else you might want to add

When put together, your education section should resemble the following example:

Majoring in Culinary Arts

Ohio State University

2008 - 2012

  • Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE), Financial and Revenue Management, Research Project, Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Experience Economy, Exploring Professional Practice in Hospitality.

Still have a few questions? Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we get from stay-at-home moms:

  • What if I haven’t come to the end of my studies yet?

Not to worry. Just include the courses and modules studies to date

  • Should I include my high school education?

If it’s your highest form of education, then yes 

  • What is more important, my education or experience?

Experience always wins this race, although education is still important 

For in-depth answers, check out our guide on how to list education on a resume .

Top Skills for a Stay-at-Home Mom Resume

As a mom, you have invaluable skills that your little-one depends on.

But you can’t exactly write “able to put three kids to bed every night” on your resume.

So, what should you do instead?

Well, what did you write in your experience section?

Here’s a trick: analyze both your work experience and the job description.

If you see any skills that crossover, add them to your resume.

Do this correctly, and you’ll be showing the exact skills the recruiter is looking for! 

And if you need more inspiration, here are some of the most common soft skills:

  • Personable and friendly 
  • Endurance (long hours)
  • Conflict resolution 
  • Time management 
  • Team player
  • Be honest here. Interviewers will usually ask applicants to explain more about the skills listed.

Confused about what skills to put on your stay-at-home mom resume? Check out our comprehensive list of 150+ must-have skills this year .

What Else Can You Include?

There we have it.

All essential sections have been added to your resume.

But don’t call it a day just yet!

Adding just one or two of the following sections could be deciding factor in whether you’re hired for the job or not!

Awards & Certifications

Have you ever been employee of the month?

Have you completed any courses that are relevant to the job?

If you have any awards or certifications, be sure to include it in your resume!

Awards & Certificates

  • “Employee of the Year 2018” - Real Gym
  • “Learning How to Learn” - 2019 Coursera Certificate

Applying to a Spanish restaurant?

Then being able to speak some Spanish is sure to increase your chances. 

Whether it’s a specific requirement or not, being able to speak multiple languages is impressive – and who can argue with that!?

Rank the languages by proficiency:

  • Intermediate

Now, you’re likely wondering, “why would the hiring manager need to know about my keen interest in badminton?”

Well, because it allows them to learn more about whom you actually are.

Companies want new members of staff that fit in well with the current team.

The easiest way to do this is to discuss your hobbies, especially those hobbies which involve social interaction.

Here’s which hobbies & interests you may want to mention.

Include a Cover Letter with Your Resume

How to really “wipe the floor” with your competition?

Attach a convincing cover letter with your resume!

You see, your resume is great for delivering the core message, but nothing speaks to the recruiter like a well-written cover letter.

But what do we mean by this?

Well, a cover letter allows you to make a personal connection, which ensures you’ll be remembered by the hiring manager.

As well as offering the chance to fill in all the blanks, a cover letter also shows that you want to work for this exact company . 

Here’s how to create a structure that works:

cover letter example structure

And here’s the winning formula:

Personal Contact Information

Use your full name, profession, phone number, email, and address 

Hiring Manager’s Contact Information

Use their full name, position, location, email

Opening Paragraph

Make sure your opening paragraph commands attention. Briefly mention:

  • The exact job position you’re applying for
  • Your experience summary and best achievement to date

Once you’ve grabbed the reader’s attention, you can delve further into the following specifics:

  • Why you chose this specific company
  • What you know about the company’s vision and culture
  • How your skills will be beneficial to the company
  • Whether you’ve worked in similar positions before

Closing Paragraph

Finish with a closing paragraph that:

  • Concludes the key points of your cover letter
  • Thanks the manager for reading and for the job opportunity
  • Ends with a call to action. For example, “At your earliest convenience, I’d love to discuss more about how I can help your company with X” will work.

Formal Salutations

While remaining personal, the letter should end in a professional manner. Use something like, “Kind regards” or “Sincerely.”

For extra cover letter advice, view our step-by-step guide on how to write a cover letter .

Key Takeaways

Good luck with your new job:

Because if you followed the steps in this guide, you should now have a job-winning resume! 

Make sure to:

  • Select one of the recommended formats for your specific situation and employment history, and then follow the recommended layout
  • Catch the reader’s attention with a short, snappy summary or objective
  • In the work experience section, make sure to highlight your most relevant and best achievements, rather than just your daily duties. Oh, and don’t be put off by your employment gap
  • For a highly-specific application that starts a conversation, include a convincing cover letter

Suggested Reading:

  • Guide to Green Careers - All You Need to Know
  • The 2024 Complete Guide to Remote Work [W/ Tips & Tricks]
  • Guide to Nonprofit Jobs & Careers [Complete Guide]

cookies image

To provide a safer experience, the best content and great communication, we use cookies. Learn how we use them for non-authenticated users.

  • Resume Templates Simple Professional Modern Creative View all
  • Resume Examples Nurse Student Internship Teacher Accountant View all
  • Resume Builder
  • Cover Letter Templates Simple Professional Modern Creative View all
  • Cover Letter Examples Nursing Administrative Assistant Internship Graduate Teacher View all
  • Cover Letter Builder
  • Resume Examples
  • Stay-at-Home Mom

Charlotte Grainger

Stay-at-Home Mom resume example & writing guide

Stay-at-Home Mom resume example & writing guide

Resume header

You’re the head of the household — the cook, cleaner, manager, teacher, playmate, and coordinator. Yes, stay-at-home moms have their work cut out for them. When you decide to spend some time as a homemaker, you will quickly learn that it’s no walk in the park. But how can you re-enter the working world after this period? If you want to land yourself a professional role, weaving a compelling stay-at-home mom resume is the way to go. 

You’ve got a load of ground to cover here. Not only do you want to share the juicy details of your pre-existing work life, but you also want to showcase what parenting has taught you. Combining these two elements of your experience will be the biggest challenge of all. But that’s not to say that it’s impossible. You simply need to know where to start.  

That’s where we slide neatly into the picture. Here at Resume.io, we have everything you need to relaunch your career. We provide resume examples for 350+ professions plus expert-backed writing guides for each of them. If you’re looking for a way to concisely showcase your skill set and experience to potential employers, you’ve come to the right place. In the following stay-at-home mom resume example and guide, we cover: 

  • What stay-at-home moms do (and why it matters!)
  • The current job outlook for stay-at-home parents
  • How to write your application with a resume sample for inspiration
  • Which layout and design will suit this type of application
  • Statistical insights and expert tips to support your search.

Whether you’ve taken a year or five to be a stay-at-home parent, the approach you should take is the same. Let us walk you through the steps to finding your next dream job now. 

What does a stay-at-home mom do?

As a stay-at-home mom, you are the head of the household. On a typical day, you will be switching hats from cook to cleaner to teacher. You might find yourself doing the laundry, planning and preparing meals, scheduling outings, and cleaning the home. 

It’s a tall order — and so you want to make sure that your resume reflects this. When you’re writing your application, you will dedicate a section to your most recent experience. That means highlighting the lessons you’ve learned and the challenges you’ve faced as a full-time parent. The duties of a stay-at-home mom may include the following: 

  • Managing the family finances
  • Scheduling outings, playdates, and vacations
  • Cleaning and keeping the home tidy
  • Planning nutritious meals and cooking them
  • Helping the children with their homework
  • Taxiing the children around from place to place
  • Looking after the family pets

Of course, your day-to-day life will differ depending on your personal family setup. When you are a homemaker, the tasks that you have to undertake should not be overlooked. You might have spent recent years at home but that doesn’t mean you have had it easy. While employers may have preconceptions about this period, you can set them straight.

The emotional labor of managing a household

Being a stay-at-home parent is far from easy. It’s not merely the physical act of making meals and cleaning the home that has an impact. There’s a mental side to this job too.  Research by Dr. Luthar suggests that being responsible for managing the household and the children can put “strains on mothers’ personal well-being.” For that reason, it’s important that stay-at-home moms have a good support system and plenty of breaks.

Stay-at-home mom job outlook 

Before you start sprucing up your resume and applying for jobs, you need to know what the job outlook is like. That way, you can decide what tack to take when you’re applying.

We won’t beat around the bush —  stay-at-home moms may struggle to land a new position when they first get started. Research into this phenomenon has found that a lot of employers are biased toward parents who have stayed at home with their children. 

Now, that doesn’t mean that you can’t get a job at all. As unjust as it may sound, it simply means that you have to work harder to convince an employer that you are worth their time.

Remote work is the way forward!

The modern working world has changed. Due to the pandemic and countless technological advancements (thanks, Zoom!), remote work is now more popular than ever. Around 26% of all US professionals now work completely from home. 

Looking at remote roles may be the perfect way to get the work-life balance you need. This option means that you can relaunch your professional career while still being at home to look after your kids when you need to do so. Of course, you should keep in mind that trying to do it all can lead to burnout, especially if you don’t have support.

In addition, many of these positions offer flexi-time. Should you have family constraints — such as having to pick the kids up from school — this is a major benefit. When you’re initially looking for jobs, take the time to look at the full breakdown of each of the roles.   

Finding a job when you’ve taken a significant amount of time out can be difficult. However, the first step in this process is creating a resume that sells your skills to an employer. For general tips and advice, you can read our comprehensive resume writing guide here.

How to write a stay-at-home mom resume

When you’ve made the decision to re-enter the professional sector, the first thing you need to know is what to include on your resume. Luckily, there’s a simple formula that you can use. Your stay-at-home mom application should include the following elements: 

  • The resume header
  • The resume summary (aka profile or personal statement)
  • The employment history section
  • The resume skills section
  • The education section

Be upfront about the time you have spent as a stay-at-home parent. Having mysterious gaps on your resume is unlikely to do you any favors. It is likely to leave the recruiter with big question marks in their mind when considering you. That is the last thing you need. Make everything crystal clear to them from the offset. Detailing your time as a stay-at-home mom means that they will be fully in the loop when it comes to your experience. 

Revamp your writing style!

Are you out of writing practice? If it’s been a while since you had to do a formal application, you may have forgotten which tone to take. Using a casual approach — such as a resume packed with colloquial language — won’t get you very far at all. 

Instead, you need to make sure that your stay-at-home mom resume reads as a professional document. Wherever possible, use formal and polite language. You may find that you need to write a few drafts or edits before you get this just right. 

When you have written your resume, have a trusted friend, ex-coworker, or family member check it for you. You might find that they are able to share ways that you can level up your application and make sure it meets recruiters’ high standards. 

It’s always important to tailor your resume to the company at hand. When you know which role you’re applying for, you can make sure that your application ticks all of the boxes. 

To help you with this task, do some research on the business. You can quickly Google them, take a look at the company website, and read any news about them online. The deeper you understand the employer and their needs, the more you can align your resume with them. Keep your eyes peeled for any transferable skills you can showcase here. 

Finally, you need to help your resume get past the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). The software acts as a filter system for employers, helping them to automatically find the best candidates. Before a hiring manager even looks at your application, it has to get through this software. The system uses keywords and phrases to see whether you are a good match. Look for stand-out words on the original job advert. By using these in your stay-at-home mom resume, you give yourself a better chance of effortlessly passing the test. 

Applying for a particular type of job? We’ve got you covered with all of the inspiration that you need!  Take a look at our store manager resume sample, cashier resume example, call center agent resume sample, sales assistant resume sample, and barista resume sample.    

Choosing the best resume format for a stay-at-home mom

When you’re writing your application, the best resume format will be the reverse chronological approach. That means that you start with your most recent experience and education at the top of the page and work your way back in time. This layout means that recruiters can quickly and easily see what you have been up to lately. Since they don’t have to do any pesky guesswork, they can determine whether you are right for the role. 

Of course, before you became a stay-at-home parent, you may have had an array of jobs. If you don’t have a clear career path, don’t panic. You can always use the functional resume format instead. This approach dedicates less space to your work experience and shines the spotlight on your skills and talents. If you’re looking to start a whole new chapter of your work life but don’t have the right experience, this option may be for you. 

Take a look at our resume example to see how to lay out your resume. If you need some more advice on how to structure this document, you can also read our complete guide .

Your resume header sits at the top of this document. While this information is relatively bland, you need to make sure that it’s reader-friendly. It should include your name, phone number, and email address as standard. Use a clear font and don’t try to be fancy here.

Resume summary example

Also known as a profile, the resume summary is the most freeform part of your application. It’s a short blurb that introduces you to a potential employer and shows off what you have to offer. You don’t have loads of words to play with here. Keep things short and sweet. 

When describing yourself professionally in this section, you may want to avoid the title “Stay-at-home Mom” and instead use the role you previously had. That way, this title is not the first thing that the employer sees. Instead, they see the position you are qualified for. 

Not sure where to start? Be sure to mention your unique talents, any previous roles you have held, and the quantifiable results you have achieved. Take a look at our resume example for some inspiration on how to perfectly write this part of the application. 

Energetic professional with a wealth of highly transferable skills. Demonstrated ability to navigate a wide range of challenges while ensuring the streamlined, timely execution of critical tasks. Strong project management, problem-solving, and administrative talents with a keen talent for maintaining a positive environment while managing multiple competing priorities and needs.

Employment history sample

As we’ve already mentioned, you should use the reverse chronological order when writing your resume. That means putting your most recent employment experience at the top of the document. For each role, you should include your job title, the company, and your dates of employment. Below that, you can bullet point what you achieved in the position. 

Your stay-at-home parenting is work experience! 

When you’re writing the employment section of your resume, you can include your most recent experience, i.e. being a stay-at-home mom. Write this as you would any other employment type. You can start off with your title — “Stay-at-home Mom” or “Homemaker” — and then include the dates and your core duties below that header. 

You don’t want to leave the reader with any doubts. This approach means employers can easily see what you have been doing in recent years. It is a simple way of explaining any gaps in your employment section as a result of this lifestyle choice. 

Stay-at-Home Mom at Self-Employed, Moscow, ID Maart 2020 - Present

  • Manage household expenses, creating detailed, effective budgets.
  • Support multiple competing needs, schedules, and priorities, overseeing the needs and tasks of multiple individuals to maintain optimal outcomes.
  • Create and coordinate a detailed calendar of activities and events, including academic deadlines, travel, and appointments/meetings.
  • Build engaged relationships with health care professionals, academic administrators, and program leaders to ensure alignment with all needs.
  • Navigate complex interpersonal challenges, mediating issues to build vital communication and issue resolution skills.

Project Manager at Tessa Inc., Moscow, ID October 2016 - March 2020

  • Led teams of up to 12 in the planning and execution of multiple projects.
  • Partnered with stakeholders and leadership to define project objectives, identify challenges, and proactively resolve potential roadblocks.
  • Shaped and managed project budgets, implementing cost-control measures.
  • Maintained a complex calendar of deadlines, managing project phases to ensure on-time delivery.

Administrator at Stetson Early Learning, Estes, ID April 2016 - September 2018

  • Provided full administrative support for the early learning facility, ensuring streamlined operation of all business functions.
  • Engaged with staff to manage enrollment, documentation, and reporting.
  • Expertly managed fiscal budgets, overseeing expenditures and supply levels.

Stay at home moms have plenty of work experience

CV skills example

To successfully convince an employer you’re the right person for the role, you need the right skill set on your CV. This is where your experience as a stay-at-home mom will set you apart from the crowd. Since you’re used to managing all elements of the household, you will have gained a whole wealth of special skills you can use here. 

Your CV skills section needs to align well with the position for which you’re applying. Consider how the transferable skills you’ve learned through parenting align with the job specification. You need this section to include a good mixture of both hard and soft skills. While there’s no space to expand on the skills in your resume, you may choose to do so when you write your accompanying stay-at-home mom cover letter. 

  • Project Management
  • Cross-Functional Coordination
  • Relationship Building
  • Conflict & Issue Resolution
  • Budget Management
  • Time & Priority Management
  • Communication

Stay-at-home mom resume education example

The education requirements will depend on the position for which you're applying. You may simply need to list your high school diploma or equivalent GED, for example. However, if you did go to college, you can include this information in your education section. List the name of the school, the dates you studied/graduated, and your grades. 

It’s most likely that you will need to use the reverse chronological order here. However, if you want to highlight a specific qualification — that is relevant to the role or company — you can switch things up. Figure out what works best for your application. 

Bachelor of Arts in English at University of Idaho, Moscow, ID August 2012 — May 2016

Resume layout and design

Recruiters spend an average of seven seconds looking at each resume. You need to make the right first impression. Choose a plain style that allows your experience and skills to take center stage. As a rule, you should use no more than two different font styles on your professional resume. You also want to make the most of the white space on the page.

Need some design help? We’ve got you covered with our selection of field-tested resume templates. Use one of them to take all of the hassle out of making your next application.

Key takeaways for a stay-at-home mom resume

  • If you want to re-enter the working world after being a stay-at-home mom, you need to convince employers you’re worth their time. Take a look at our resume example if you need some inspiration on writing your next application.
  • The right tone will get you a long way! When you’re writing your resume, make sure that you use formal language that fits the profession to which you’re applying.
  • Don’t try to disguise the fact that you have had a career break. You need to be 100% honest about how you have spent this period of your life.

Make sure the layout is clear and straightforward. Employers don’t have a long time to peruse your application — keep it simple!

Beautiful ready-to-use resume templates

  • Knowledge Base
  • Free Resume Templates
  • Resume Builder
  • Resume Examples
  • Free Resume Review

Click here to directly go to the complete resume sample.

How to make a stay at home mom resume?

Being a homemaker is not an easy job, yet women handle it with grace and ease.

Looking for a job while juggling with your responsibilities at home may not seem easy but we have the perfect solution to help you restart or kickstart your career.

You may or may not have any professional experience but if you are ready to start working or get back to your old job profile, it is achievable.

It is not mission impossible, so keep reading to get the best guide for writing your stay at home mom resume.

In this blog, you will learn the proper and professional way to write your flawless homemaker resume. So read on to get the information we have laid out for you in this blog.

Let us begin this guide by introducing you to all the things that you will learn in this blog:

  • What to write in your stay at home mom resume and how to write it?
  • How to write your professional experience in an effective way?
  • How to make an impact with your stay at home resume skills?
  • What format to use while framing bullet points in your homemaker resume?

What is a Stay at Home Mom Resume & Why Do You Need It?

Your homemaker resume acts as the first point of communication between you and the recruiter. It is your ticket to land a job.

Your stay at home mom resume is the first step towards your dream job. It is a virtual representation of the skills which are required for the job that you are seeking.

The recruiters get an insight into your professional experience and your capabilities through your resume. Your goal here is to make sure that your resume is flawless and impressive to get an interview call for your target job.

But the one thing that you need to tackle here is the ATS system. Most recruiters rely on the ATS (Applicant Tracking System) for their hiring needs.

If your resume gets parsed by the ATS system, it has a higher chance of ranking in the ATS system, which means your resume will have a higher chance of getting shortlisted.

You need to curate a resume that is ATS-targeted. A resume that is not ATS-targeted might fall short and may end up never getting shortlisted.

While writing an ATS targeted resume is not easy, it is something that you can accomplish with this guide.

This guide will help you write a job-winning stay at home resume from scratch.

Also Read: How to craft an impeccable resume?

Stay at Home Mom Resume Sections

Picture in your head of how your resume will look after it is created. Do you like what you see? or are you unable to picture it clearly in your head?

Your resume needs to be divided into different sections to elaborate on the different details about you and your skills as well as your work experience.

Arrange your stay at home mom resume sections in the following manner:

  • Personal Information
  • Profile Title
  • Summary/Objective
  • Professional Experience
  • Certifications (if applicable)
  • Additional Information (if applicable)
Do Read: A perfect guide to sections in a resume.

Stay at Home Mom Resume: Header

Most of the time people ignore the importance of the profile header wherein it is an important factor in a resume.

Follow the given points to write your resume header the right way:

  • Your header should be written using the largest fonts between 16-20 font sizes to make it stand out in your nstay at home mom resume.
  • It should be placed at the top-most part of your resume.
  • Now if you have a middle name, use only the initials of your middle name and place it in between your first and last name.
  • Example: Joanna Aquamarine Smith should be written as "Joanna A. Smith".

Take a look at the perfectly composed resume header which is an ideal stay at home mom resume example:

Head Section in a Stay at Home Mom Resume

Also Read: Tips for creating a resume header.

Stay at Home Mom Resume: Personal Information

The personal information section in your homemaker resume should consist of the following details:

  • Contact number
  • Current location

LinkedIn/Personal Website

Your contact number.

Provide only the active number that you use for a recruiter to get in touch with you. They would not bother calling you repeatedly till they get you on the line.

Remember, it is you who is looking for a job because in a sea of resumes the recruiter can always pick other eligible applicants if they cannot get to you.

Give your country’s ISD code as a prefix before your phone number and a plus sign (+) before the ISD code.

Example:(+1) 82374 29371

As your email ID is the official means of communication between you and the recruiter, it should be professionally composed and should not include fancy email names.

Take a look at the examples below:

Example 1: beautyqueen@xyz[dot]com Example 2: emilybronte@xyz[dot]com

On observing both examples, you will find that example 2 looks more professional.

Example 2 uses the real full name as their email ID. This is the correct way of composing emails.

Current Location

Always give your current location in your resume. If you are looking for a job in your own country, simply mention the city and state you are living in.

In case you are looking for a job in another country, simply mention the name of the city and country you are residing in.

Adding links of your LinkedIn account and personal websites can be an added advantage and it will allow the recruiter to understand your professional identity without limiting it just to your resume.

Personal Information
Contact Number +1 76453 98123
Email emily@hiration[dot]com
Location San Jose, CA
LinkedIn www.linkedIn.com/in/emily
Personal Website www.emily[dot]com
Also Read: Dos & Don'ts of writing the personal information section. >

Contact-Details-in-Stay-at-Home-Mom-Resume

Another stay at home mom resume example of your personal information should look as given below:

Personal Information Section in a Stay at Home Mom Resume

Stay at Home Mom Resume: Profile Title

Your profile title is your latest job title. It lets the recruiter know where you stand in your career. It also states if you are an experienced or an entry-level applicant.

Use the 2nd largest font size of 14-16 in your resume to write your profile title.

Look at the example given below to check how your profile title should look like in your homemaker resume:

Profile Title Section in a Stay at Home Mom Resume

Here we have presented the stay at home mom as someone who has worked as a content editor and so the profile title is written accordingly.

Now the recruiters are well aware that the stay at home mom is a content editor. Likewise, your profile title should speak about your field of work and your professional status.

Stay at Home Mom Resume: Professional Experience

This is one of the most important sections of your resume. It is this section that will allow you to elaborate on all your skills and experience.

Do not miss out on any important details while filling this section.

Keep in mind that you need to update the recruiter with all the important aspects of your professional experience and relate it to the present job that you are applying for.

Stay-at-Home-Mom-Resume-Actionable-Tips

Frame your professional experience section in your stay at home mom resume by following the points that we have mentioned below:

  • STAR format
  • Framing points

Grouping & Highlighting

Star format.

This is what the STAR stands for:

  • S stands for situation : The situation/backdrop/context of your contributions
  • T stands for task : The actual task that was assigned to you
  • A stands for action : The strategy you used to execute the assigned task
  • R stands for result : The result/outcome of your action in the form of an achievement figure

Use the STAR format as it is the ideal format for structuring the professional experience section of your stay at home mom resume.

It establishes the cause-effect relationship which helps your resume stand out. It also helps in advancing your job application as you can communicate your achievements in the form of an achievement figure.

This is a practical demonstration of your skills as quantifying your achievements shows the extent of your expertise in your chosen domain.

Framing Points

It is your responsibility to keep the recruiter interested in reading your stay at home mom resume, so make it worth the read.

If your resume fails to do the bare minimum of being read by the recruiter, your chances of getting shortlisted drastically dwindle.

Here are two examples showing the two ways in which people compose this section of their resume. Your task here is to evaluate them:

Corresponded with authors to develop preferred documentation style as per the clients' requirements

Culminated 2+ manuscripts with a word count of ~5k for various authors

Scrutinize the manuscripts using editing & proofreading to create a high-quality product

Scanned for typos to avoid errors to enhance the authors' work quality

Framing Points: Analysis

It is very clear from the two examples that framing points (example 2) help in enhancing your statements in a resume.

Using bulleted one-liner points makes it easier to list your roles & responsibilities in your resume. It also makes your resume easy to read and comprehend.

There is no point in writing a bulky and lengthy paragraph in your resume (example 1) as it makes no sense when you drag your points for too long at a stretch.

Both the example are stating the same thing yet example 2 is more specific without unnecessary words unlike example 1 which makes your resume look bulky.

Another important aspect of composing your professional experience section is the grouping & highlighting of your points.

This will efficiently highlight your skills and achievements in your homemaker resume.

Grouping your points under unique subtitles makes your points specific and highlighting the important keywords helps the recruiters stay interested in your job application.

Let us look at these two given examples to compare how grouping & highlighting your statements in your resume is better than a plain statement:

  • Compiled subject requirements & worked under the supervision of senior writers

Coalesced with writers, graphic designers & type-setters to create error-free articles & stories every week

  • Facilitated the timely delivery of manuscripts & articles for clients to meet deadlines
  • Collaborated with the Editorial team to complete 20+ copy-editing assignments for timely product delivery

Manuscript Analysis & Line Editing

  • Coalesced with writers, graphic designers & typesetters to create error-free articles & stories every week

Product Delivery & Copy Editing

Grouping & Highlighting: Analysis

From the two examples given above, we can see that it is easier to understand example 2 as it is better organized than example 1.

Creating unique subheadings for grouping similar points makes it easier to create a clear picture of your professional caliber.

Highlighting your points directs the recruiter's attention to your key achievements under each point. Thus, it enhances your chances of getting noticed by a recruiter which ultimately helps you in getting shortlisted for a target job.

To conclude, use grouping & highlighting to frame your professional experience so that the recruiters can identify your achievements and capability.

If you have an existing resume, get it professionally reviewed by our in-house team of resume experts at Hiration.

Also Read: How to compose the work experience in your resume? .

Given below is a sample stay at home mom resume showing what a perfectly composed professional experience section should ideally look like:

Professional Experience Section in a Stay at Home Mom Resume

Stay at Home Mom Resume: Education

Your education section will come right below your professional section and it will help enhance your professional skills.

Your course of study highlights your knowledge in the field of any specific job position. So make sure that you provide the field of education course that you possess.

For those who do not have enough or zero experience, your educational qualification may play a vital role in positively influencing the recruiter.

While education is not as relevant as your professional experience in terms of a job application, it can make all the difference to your job application when you are applying for an entry-level job.

Given below is the format that you should follow when composing this section:

{Name of the school/university} | {Location} | {Dates} (in month and year format) {Name of the degree} | {CGPA}

Do Read: Guide on how to list education on resume.

Look at the example given below to see how your education section should look like in your resume:

Education Section in a Stay at Home Mom Resume

Stay at Home Mom Resume: Certifications

Any certification(s) that you have completed should be mentioned in the certifications section of your resume.

It will help enhance your educational qualifications and professional experience.

Relevant certifications will make you a stronger candidate as it shows that you went the extra mile to go and get certified (even though your target job does not explicitly demand it).

As a result, it will give you a better chance than other applicants to land an interview or the job.

Your certification section must include the following details:

  • Name of the Certification Course
  • Name of the Affiliating Institution
  • Location of the Institute
  • Dates of enrollment and completion of the course (month and year)

The above points should be aligned using the format that we have mentioned below:

{Name of certification} | {Affiliating Institution} | {Location} | {Date} (in month and year format)

Also Read: How to list certifications on resume?

Time to shine by holding up your skills on a banner. Not exactly a banner in literal terms but you can use this section in your resume to mention all your efficient key skills.

This section will highlight all your expertise for the recruiter to notice at a glance itself.

Your key skills should contain the keywords used to describe the job profile you are applying for. It helps your resume to rank high in the ATS (Applicant Tracking System)

Make sure that these key skills are connected to the points stated in your professional experience. Your key skills should be justified before they are framed.

Your stay at home mom resume key skills section should ideally look as given below:

Skills Section in a Stay at Home Mom Resume

In the example, you can see that your skills are standing out. Well, that is the whole idea, to attract the recruiter towards your potential.

Key Skills
Content Writing Content Editing
Quality Control Editorial Leadership
Report Generation Data Research

You can also see that your technical efficiency is written separately under the skills. It is to specify the exact tool you are capable of using.

This adds weight to your skills section and lets the recruiter acknowledge your potential while shortlisting your resume.

Stay at Home Mom Resume: Summary

A summary should be written for the homemaker resume only if you have 3 years of professional experience.

But in most cases, resume for stay at home mom with no work experience should avoid writing a summary as it does not help in covering the existing career gaps.

Read the following points to write a summary of your stay at home mom resume:

  • Start your summary by mentioning the years of experience you have. Keep in mind that the recruiter will read your summary for roughly 6-7 seconds so make it count.
  • Write only 3-4 lines of the summary to make it an on-point statement. Do not overstretch your summary as it would seem unnecessary and irrelevant.
  • Your summary should contain a brief explanation of your past work experience. So when you curate this section, make sure that you cherry-pick the best highlights of your career to enhance the effectiveness of your stay at home mom resume summary.
Do Read: How to write the perfect resume summary.

Stay at Home Mom Resume: Objective

A resume objective is often written by those professionals with 0 to less than 3 years of work experience.

For stay at home moms, a resume objective should be written vis-a-vis a resume summary as you have employment gaps.

Objectives are often written to cover up the gaps in your career. As a stay-at-home mom, you will have to write an objective that includes your experience as well as your activities during your gap.

Follow the given points to write an objective for stay at home mom with no work experience resume or resume for homemaker returning to the workforce:

  • Mention all the details of your past professional experience and focus on how you managed to keep yourself busy during the gap of your professional journey.
  • Never write a stay at home mom in your resume because that is an unprofessional way to address the gap in your career.
  • If your skills are presented correctly the recruiter will be more focused on your capabilities and not your gap.

Here is your stay at home mom resume sample to have a better understanding of how an objective is written:

Objective Section in a Stay at Home Mom Resume

Don't Miss: Detailed guide on creating the resume objective.

Stay at Home Mom Resume Samples

Here is an example of how your stay at home mom resume template should look like:

  • Correspond with authors to develop preferred documentation style in accordance with client requirements
  • Culminate 2+ manuscripts with a word count of ~5k for different authors
  • Scrutinize the manuscripts through multiple rounds of editing & proofreading to create high-quality end product
  • Scan for typos & avoid errors of omission or commission to enhance the quality of the authors' work
  • Interweave research data to create 7+ articles on a weekly basis for the official blog & social media platforms
  • Research & subsequently compose 900+ words of content about various blogs for client reference per week
  • Engaged in outreach programs to empower stay-at-home moms with basic computer knowledge
  • Participated in education workshops for 100+ children-at-risk to achieve universal child literacy
  • Taught English language to 30+ students of Seashore High School through their online portal
  • Vetted articles by writers & prepared enticing drafts via Adobe Illustrator 6 for the final review by the Chief Editor
  • Coordinated with the Design team to prepare graphical outlook & layout for clients based on their industrial needs
  • Compiled subject requirements & worked under the supervision of senior writers to analyse writers' manuscripts
  • Coalesced with writers, graphic designers & type setters to create 5+ error free articles, news & stories on a weekly basis
  • Facilitated the timely delivery of manuscripts & articles for clients to meet deadlines with 100% accuracy
  • Collaborated with the Editorial team to complete 20+ copy-editing assignments per week for timely product delivery
  • Prepared an effective checklist for proofreading & ensuring quality before signing off the manuscript for printing
  • Delivered high quality content free from grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, & false notions
  • Generated 30% revenue for the publishing house by assisting the Marketing team during the ' Annual Book Fair '
  • Published 40+ articles in collaboration with other publishing houses for the monthly issue of the Publisher's Journal
  • Top 10 percentile of the class

Key Takeaways

  • Never mention stay-at-home mom in your resume as it is not the professional way to write your status
  • Make sure to follow the grouping & highlighting method while writing your professional experience
  • Do not forget to mention your achievements by adding figures wherever possible to specify your points
  • Write a summary if you have 3+ years of experience. If you don't, write a resume objective
  • Focus on what you are capable of executing effectively and write down your skills
  • Provide details of your extra-curricular activities during the gap of your career to avoid being assumed as an idle applicant
  • Emphasize on your education and certifications for enhancing your chances of being shortlisted

Now that is a wrap of the blog and you are ready to go write your stay at home mom resume. Follow the guide you just read through and frame your flawless resume to achieve your dream job.

Go to Hiration resume builder and create a professional resume for yourself. Additionally, reach out to us at [email protected] and you can get 24/7 professional assistance with all your job & career-related queries.

resume wording for stay at home mom

Share this blog

Subscribe to Free Resume Writing Blog by Hiration

Get the latest posts delivered right to your inbox

Stay up to date! Get all the latest & greatest posts delivered straight to your inbox

Is Your Resume ATS Friendly To Get Shortlisted?

Upload your resume for a free expert review.

resume wording for stay at home mom

  • • Designed and delivered over 30 branding and rebranding projects for local businesses, enhancing their market presence and customer engagement.
  • • Managed all aspects of client communication, project design, and delivery, ensuring projects were completed on time and within budget.
  • • Utilized social media to promote design services, resulting in a 50% increase in project inquiries within a year.
  • • Collaborated with printers and suppliers to ensure the highest quality of materials used in client projects, often negotiating costs to keep projects affordable.
  • • Developed and maintained a client feedback system, leading to a continuous improvement process and a 95% client satisfaction rate.
  • • Implemented a referral program that increased new client acquisition by 30%, demonstrating effective client relationship management and networking skills.
  • • Initiated and led creative workshops for over 200 participants, focusing on the basics of graphic design and creative software tools.
  • • Designed workshop materials and presentations, tailoring content to diverse age groups and skill levels.
  • • Collaborated with community center staff to organize events, resulting in increased community engagement and positive feedback.
  • • Provided one-on-one mentorship to participants with keen interest, helping them develop their own design projects.
  • • Secured sponsorships from local businesses for workshop materials, demonstrating strong negotiation and partnership-building skills.
  • • Assisted in the development and execution of marketing campaigns, contributing to a 15% increase in annual sales.
  • • Supported the design team in creating marketing materials, including brochures, flyers, and digital content.
  • • Managed social media accounts, growing the company's online presence and engagement.
  • • Conducted market research to inform campaign strategies, providing valuable insights into customer preferences and trends.

9 Stay at Home Mom Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

Your stay at home mom resume should highlight your multitasking skills. Demonstrate how managing a household has refined your ability to juggle various tasks efficiently. Include examples of your organizational prowess and how you've maintained structure in the home. Show how these skills are transferable to the workplace, where order and coordination are key.

All resume examples in this guide

resume wording for stay at home mom

Homemaker No Experience

resume wording for stay at home mom

Returning To Work

resume wording for stay at home mom

Returning To Workforce

resume wording for stay at home mom

Work From Home Mom

resume wording for stay at home mom

Stay at Home Mom Returning to Teaching

resume wording for stay at home mom

Military Spouse Stay at Home Mom

resume wording for stay at home mom

Graphic Designer | Creative Solutions | Visual Storytelling resume example

Resume Guide

SAHM resume example

Resume format

Resume experience section

Hard & soft skills

Certifications and education

Resume summary/Objective

Additional sections

Key takeaways

By Experience

Stay at Home Mom resume example

Over half of stay-at-home moms in the US  point to expensive childcare as the main barrier to re-entering the workforce. Indeed, navigating the complexities of childcare while remaining socially active can be a challenge.

If this strikes a chord, chances are you're a SAHM (stay-at-home mom) thinking about making a return to work.

Luckily, stay-at-home parenting does not exclude having a job. And if you’re among those 57% of SAHMs   worried that their employment gap might put off potential employers, there's good news. You can craft a stay-at-home mom resume with no experience and still get noticed.

This guide is designed to empower you to highlight your skills and experiences, crafting an impactful SAHM resume that stands out. Here's how:

  • Create a stay-at-home mom resume that convincingly translates full-time parenting skills to the professional realm;
  • Leveraging your employment gap as an asset by strategically emphasizing your skills and experiences in your resume;
  • Avoid stereotypes and biases with a selection of real-life resume examples from stay-at-home moms.

Let’s get to it.

Stay-at-home mom  resume example

Graphic Designer | Creative Solutions | Visual Storytelling resume example

Here’s  what this applicant does well in their resume:

  • Highlighting transferable skills : Olivia highlights her time as a stay-at-home mom to showcase her knack for project management and multitasking. She shows that personal experiences can evolve into professional assets, especially her creative and efficient project handling, key for graphic design.
  • Showcasing freelance experience : Olivia's resume shines a light on her freelance graphic design projects. She outlines key successes, like boosting project inquiries and client satisfaction, proving her professional drive and success, even during a career pause.
  • Promoting continuous professional development : The candidate lists certifications and a zeal for ongoing learning, showing her dedication to keeping her skills sharp and relevant for graphic design work.
  • Leveraging community engagement : Featuring her work as a Community Workshop Leader, Olivia displays her leadership and educational skills. This role underlines her willingness to contribute to the community and collaborate with diverse teams, essential for client-based projects.

Now let’s dive into organizing all these strengths and talents within a resume.

How to format a stay-at-home mom  resume

Facing a significant employment gap might seem daunting, especially when re-entering the job market. Yet, if motherhood is the primary reason for your career hiatus, this experience can be reframed positively on your resume.

The point is to choose the resume format  that best fits your circumstances. Here are the three most fitting layouts for stay-at-home mom s returning to the workforce.

  • The reverse chronological resume . Ideal for those with substantial experience before taking maternity leave. This format is highly favored by recruiters and can effectively minimize the impact of a 2-year gap, particularly in the post-pandemic job market. Tailor your resume to each job application and consider including a cover letter for a personal touch.
  • The hybrid resume . A combination resume works well for those eyeing a career shift or who have been out of the workforce for 3-4 years. It blends your skills and experiences, focusing on your competencies rather than the chronological order of your employment.
  • The functional resume : Best suited for individuals with a career gap of more than 4 years, this format emphasizes professional strengths and skills over employment history. Remember, transparency is key; you can acknowledge your role as a homemaker while still highlighting your capabilities.

And to make sure that you really nail your resume, here are a few a dditional formatting tips for a SAHM resume:

  • Length: Aim for a concise format, one or two pages max, ensuring plenty of white space for readability.
  • Fonts : Don’t rely on crazy fonts to impress recruiters. Rubik, Lato, Montserrat, Raleway, Exo 2, and Volkhov work perfectly fine. All serif fonts  are ATS-friendly.
  • File Format : Go with PDF when exporting  your stay-at-home mom resume. It  retains its formatting across all devices and platforms.

Is your resume good enough?

Drop your resume here or choose a file . PDF & DOCX only. Max 2MB file size.

After choosing a resume format, it’s time to decide on the best sections to feature on your resume to help your tal ents s hin e bright.

The top sections on a stay-at-home mom resume:

  • A resume summary   providing a brief overview of your skills, experience, and career objectives, showing how they align with the demands of the targeted role.
  • A strong s kills section that showcases transferable skills gained from parenting, such as time management and organizational abilities.
  • A work experience section detailing your work history. It could involve formally employed roles, or even the management and planning that goes into running a household.
  • A detailed e ducation and certifications section with relevant academic qualifications, trainings, or workshops that you’ve attended. This would demonstrate your commitment to continuous learning.
  • An additional section for personal projects or community involvement. This section will highlight your extracurricular engagements, such as community service, charity work, or even personal projects like a blog. It will provide a more comprehensive profile of your skills and interests.

For stay-at-home moms, these top resume sections will best showcase the skills that recruiters are seeking.

What recruiters want to see on your resume:

  • Demonstrated organizational skills : Stay-at-home moms often juggle multiple tasks and schedules simultaneously, skills that recruiters value in a variety of job roles.
  • Problem-solving abilities : As a stay-at-home mom, quick and effective problem-solving is a necessity. This is a highly sought-after skill in many work scenarios.
  • Time management : Managing the varying needs and schedules of a household showcases strong time management, a skill highly valued by recruiters in all fields.
  • Adaptability : Stay-at-home mothers need to adapt rapidly to changing situations and events, demonstrating flexibility and resilience which are highly favored in the professional world.
  • Strong communication skills : Being a central point of communication within a family demonstrates the ability to mediate, negotiate, and express oneself clearly and effectively.

With a clear focus in mind, you can start building your resume experience section.

How to write your stay-at-home mom resume experience

The experience section  often stirs anxiety among stay-at-home moms, worrying about whether to list their role as a homemaker. The most common fear is that this might not be seen as relevant.

However, it's essential to include this phase of life, as recruiters look for explained  career gaps. (Plus, you’re a proud mom, of course, you’d put it on your resume)!

The best advice here is to focus on the skills and achievements during this time, such as managing projects, organizing events, or any freelance work. Highlighting these experiences demonstrates valuable competencies like time and people management, organizational skills, and multitasking.

Naturally, if you do have a work history before taking your maternity leave, include it in your resume.

Now let’s take a look at two resume examples.

  • • Managed household budget.
  • • Participated in community support groups.
  • • Helped the children with assignments.
  • • Enrolled in a basic programming course.

Clearly, this applicant didn’t make the most of her experience as a stay-at-home parent. She merely listed a few responsibilities. Here are three mistakes:

  • No specific relevance .  The bullets don’t directly translate to specific professional requirements. Employers look for experiences that are transferable to a range of roles.
  • Sparse action verbs . To demonstrate agency you need to choose your words more wisely. For example, “ participated”  c ould have been “ organized” . Action verbs  provide clarity and dynamism to resume entries, effectively showcasing your initiative and impact.
  • Lack of description.  This is a missed opportunity to amplify the candidate’s responsibilities as a stay-at-home mom. Providing descriptions allows for a better understanding of the skills and values a stay-at-home mom brings to potential employers.
  • • Managed household budget and finances, achieving a 20% reduction in expenses through strategic planning and cost-effective purchasing.
  • • Organized weekly community support groups, enhancing local engagement and support networks, showcasing event planning and community-building skills.
  • • Developed and implemented a home-based learning curriculum for early childhood education, promoting cognitive and social development.
  • • Completed a 6-month intensive C# programming course, acquiring key software development skills and laying the foundation for advanced technical problem-solving.

Now, this candidate understood the assignment. Let’s see why.

  • Demonstrates transferable skills : The section highlights a range of transferable skills, such as organization, community engagement, and technical proficiency, which are valuable in many professional settings.
  • Quantifiable achievements : Activities are presented with outcomes that suggest measurable impact, like enhancing local engagement and promoting cognitive development. This adds credibility and substance to the candidate's experience.
  • Shows continuous learning and adaptability : Completing a 6-month intensive programming course illustrates a commitment to personal and professional growth.

How to quantify impact on your resume

The impact of your experience as a SAHM on your resume can significantly improve your chances of getting a job. It makes your skills and contributions clear and measurable to potential employers.

Here are essential tips for incorporating quantifiable metrics  into each section of your stay-at-home mom resume:

  • Include the number of years you've managed household finances, illustrating your financial prowess.
  • Specify the number of events you've coordinated (such as family gatherings or fundraisers), indicating your project management and organizational ability.
  • Listing the number of languages you're proficient in as a polyglot shows strong communication skills and adaptability, vital skills in most workplaces.
  • State the number of people involved in any community projects you have led, showing your skills in rallying groups and leading teams.
  • Include the number of children you manage daily schedules for, demonstrating adeptness in juggling multiple tasks and responsibilities.
  • Specify the difference in spending before and after you took over the household budgeting, demonstrating your ability to optimize costs.
  • Mention the frequency of educational activities you arranged for your child/children, as this could indicate a commitment to development and learning, critical in a professional environment.
  • Incorporate the number of online courses or workshops you completed during your stay-at-home period, as this demonstrates continuous learning and improvement.

How to write a stay-at-home mom resume with no experience

For a SAHM with minimal professional experience, resume building  can feel like a daunting task. However, there's a silver lining: your resume can still make a strong impression on job recruiters.

It's all about strategizing effectively!

Remember what we did with the experience section? You can easily employ this technique and focus on skills or freelance projects relevant to your career development.

  • Volunteer experience : If relevant to the job  you’re applying for, volunteering can highlight your involvement in community service, school committees, or local organizations. Including specific achievements, such as organizing events or leading projects, shows recruiters your initiative and project management skills, even outside a traditional work environment.
  • Certifications and courses : Listing relevant certifications, online courses, or workshops you've completed during your time as a stay-at-home mom can bridge the gap in professional experience. This section indicates your dedication to personal development.
  • Skills and competencies : Tailoring this part to showcase transferable skills such as time management, organizational abilities, financial planning, and communication can add immense value.

Here’s a tip. If you have any hobbies or interests you consider applicable to the job you are applying for, do add them in a separate section. Learning languages with Duolingo in your free time? This hobby showcases your ability to commit to a long-term goal and enhances your communication skills across diverse cultures. Who knows, it might land you a job in an international organization.

How to list your hard and soft skills on your resume

Hard skills are about your technical know-how, like using software, while soft skills cover your ability to communicate, lead, and solve problems. Both are key to a strong resume.

When adding skills to your resume, mix hard and soft skills to show your range, drawing from your experiences, including your time as a SAHM. This helps employers see how your skills fit their needs.

For hard skills, consider tasks where you used specific knowledge, like budgeting for your household, teaching your kids with educational software, or planning digital-based community events.

Best hard skills for your stay-at-home mom resume

  • Financial Planning
  • Project Management
  • Advanced Microsoft Office Skills
  • Digital Communication Tools (Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams)
  • Social Media Management
  • Blogging Platforms (WordPress, Blogger)
  • Online Research Tools
  • Scheduling Software
  • Basic Graphic Design (Canva, Adobe Spark)
  • E-commerce Platforms (Shopify, Etsy)
  • Bookkeeping Software (QuickBooks, Zoho Books)
  • Online Education Platforms (Khan Academy, Coursera)
  • Email Marketing (Mailchimp, Constant Contact)
  • CRM Software (Salesforce, HubSpot)
  • Photoshop or other Photo-Editing Software
  • Web Analytics (Google Analytics, SEMRush)
  • Video Editing Software (Adobe Premiere, iMovie)
  • HTML or CSS Basic Knowledge
  • E-learning Software (Moodle, Google Classroom)

Soft skills can be showcased by thinking about your interactions with others and how you've cared for your family. Skills like leadership, time management, and adaptability are ones you've probably developed through parenting.

Best soft skills for your stay-at-home mom resume

  • Multitasking
  • Time Management
  • Organizational Skills
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Problem-Solving
  • Adaptability
  • Decision-Making
  • Communication Skills
  • Stress Management
  • Collaboration
  • Motivational Skills
  • Negotiation Skills
  • Critical Thinking
  • Emotional Intelligence

You can show off your skills in more places than just the skill section of a resume. In the Experience  section, explain how you've used your skills in real life. Also, in the Volunteer Work  or Projects  sections, talk about times when your skills helped achieve good results. And remember to add numbers to make your point when you can.

How to list your certifications and education on your resume

H ighlighting your education is essential. Seize every chance to add substance to your resume.

Next, think about including relevant certifications. These not only demonstrate your skills and commitment to growing professionally but also shift  attention away from that dreaded employment gap.

Below are five valuable certifications that can boost your resume and impress recruiters.

Best certifications for your stay-at-home mom resume

  • Project Management Professional ( PMP )
  • Certified Professional in Learning and Performance ( CPLP )
  • Microsoft Certified: Office 365 Fundamentals
  • Google Analytics Academy Certification
  • Certified Associate in Project Management ( CAPM )

How to write your stay-at-home mom resume summary or objective

When building your SAHM resume, get creative and include sections that best showcase your skills. However, don't overlook crafting a compelling summary or objective. This brief introduction often catches an HR manager's attention first, and if it's engaging, they're more likely to continue reading.

If you've been on maternity leave for an extended period, a resume objective might be your best choice. While resume summaries  are ideal for those with extensive experience, objectives serve as your pitch to potential employers.

Here’s why objectives are particularly fitting for stay-at-home moms  with a career gap:

  • They're concise and punchy, ideally no more than three sentences.
  • They highlight your strengths without the need to summarize your entire work history.
  • Objectives clarify how you plan to contribute to the company's success, showing recruiters your potential value.

Let’s look at two examples of resume objectives, wrong and right.

This example says nothing about the candidate’s proposition. To enhance it, they could have:

  • incorporated stronger adjectives to strengthen their self-description;
  • used less tentative language to avoid any hints of uncertainty or apathy;
  • chosen more effective vocabulary to tell the story of their professional journey  (that’s right, they’re writing a story about their professional self).

This one is so much better. Here’s why:

  • It’s only three sentences but they simply ooze enthusiasm (5 words capturing readiness).
  • The objective centers on the candidate's competencies and skills .
  • The last sentence subtly reveals an open and approachable personality, a valuable asset to any team.

Additional sections for a stay-at-home mom resume

Enriching your SAHM resume with  a special section for your side hustles  and community contributions can really make it stand out. If you're like many stay-at-home moms who've found ways to stay active and engaged, consider sharing:

  • Your blogging or social media endeavors : This isn't just a hobby; it's a showcase of your prowess in creating engaging content and navigating the digital marketing landscape. It speaks about your ability to captivate an audience, manage digital initiatives, and stay ahead with modern marketing tactics.
  • Your freelance or consulting projects : Have you dabbled in freelance work or consulting? This is the perfect place to highlight your entrepreneurial spirit and independence.
  • Your volunteer work : Giving your time and talents to causes and organizations reflects more than just goodwill. It's a testament to your ability to collaborate, communicate effectively, and plan events. For SAHMs preparing to re-enter the workforce, such volunteering underscores a commitment to your principles and the community, while honing skills that employers value.

If you're squeezing in resume planning between mom duties, here's a swift rundown of how to craft that standout stay-at-home mom resume:

  • Pick a resume format that suits your employment history. Remember, a chronological resume might not be your go-to if you've had a long gap since your last job.
  • Highlight resume sections that showcase the skills and responsibilities you've embraced during your time as a mom, steering clear of listing basic skills.
  • Make your experience section pop with measurable achievements, and avoid simply naming household tasks.
  • Include both hard and soft skills that you can apply in various job roles.
  • Don't forget to list any relevant certifications that bolster your qualifications.
  • If you've engaged in freelance or community initiatives, dedicate a section to these projects to demonstrate your active engagement and versatility.

Stay at Home Mom resume examples

Explore additional stay at home mom resume samples and guides and see what works for your level of experience or role.

Homemaker No Experience Resume Example

Coming back from a career break might appear daunting, but the transition can be smooth if well-managed. Here's advice for those returning to work:

  • Emphasize transferrable skills. Did you take on a project coordination role with a non-profit, or any unpaid work? Every experience is valuable and helps build certain skills.
  • Show your up-to-date industry knowledge. It is crucial to illustrate involvement in your field despite the time off, whether through joining online courses, volunteering, or researching.
  • Talk about soft skills gained during the break. This may include communication, time management, or problem-solving skills.
  • Don't shy away from explaining the gap. Showcase it as personal growth and professional development time.
  • Highlight networking activities. It’s about who you know and what you know. Mention any professional communities you're a part of.

Ensure to align your career break story with the job role requirements for a successful application.

Returning To Workforce Resume Example

Looking to build your own Stay at Home Mom resume?

Author image

  • Resume Examples

How To Answer The “What Are Your Compensation Expectations?” Interview Question

A real example of a resume with no work experience showing impact, how to answer the “what makes you unique” interview question (with tips and examples), good resume characteristics: what to put on yours, how to write a great resume for a job in 2024, how to write a mid-career resume.

  • Create Resume
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Preferences
  • Resume Templates
  • AI Resume Builder
  • Resume Summary Generator
  • Resume Formats
  • Resume Checker
  • Resume Skills
  • How to Write a Resume
  • Modern Resume Templates
  • Simple Resume Templates
  • Cover Letter Builder
  • Cover Letter Examples
  • Cover Letter Templates
  • Cover Letter Formats
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • Resume Guides
  • Cover Letter Guides
  • Job Interview Guides
  • Job Interview Questions
  • Career Resources
  • Meet our customers
  • Career resources
  • English (UK)
  • French (FR)
  • German (DE)
  • Spanish (ES)
  • Swedish (SE)

© 2024 . All rights reserved.

Made with love by people who care.

Resumehead

  • Career Blog

Stay at Home Mom Resume Examples and Writing Tips for 2024

resume wording for stay at home mom

A stay-at-home mom is a woman who chooses to devote her time and energy to raising her children and managing her household instead of pursuing a career outside the home. While being a stay-at-home mom is often considered a full-time job in and of itself, many women eventually decide to return to the workforce.

Importance of a Stay-at-Home Mom’s Return to the Workforce

Returning to the workforce after being a stay-at-home mom can be a daunting task. Many stay-at-home moms feel that they lack the skills and experience necessary to compete in the job market. However, the skills developed while being a stay-at-home mom, such as multitasking, organization, and communication, are highly transferable to many different fields and can make a stay-at-home mom an attractive candidate for potential employers.

Additionally, returning to the workforce can be a great way for stay-at-home moms to regain their independence, financial stability, and sense of self-worth. It can also be a way for them to inspire their children and show them the importance of pursuing their goals and dreams.

Challenges of Creating a Stay-at-home Mom Resume

Stay-at-home mothers face several challenges when creating a resume. The work done while taking care of children and managing a household is often unappreciated and undervalued. However, with the right approach, it is possible to create a resume that highlights relevant skills and experience that prospective employers are looking for.

Identifying transferable skills

Stay-at-home mothers often overlook important skills acquired while managing a household. They possess excellent organizational skills, multitasking abilities, time-management skills, communication skills, and problem-solving skills. These skills are transferable and can be applied to various job roles. For instance, the organizational skills and attention to detail required to manage a household can be useful in an administrative position. It’s important to identify these skills and highlight them in the resume to make them stand out to potential employers.

Filling employment gaps

Employment gaps are common in stay-at-home mom resumes. However, it doesn’t mean that the resume should be sparse or incomplete. Instead, the resume should focus on identifying and highlighting transferable skills and other activities undertaken during that period. Some of the activities may include volunteering, freelancing, or pursuing further education. It’s essential to show how these activities helped in honing critical transferable skills.

Overcoming stigmas

Some employers may have stigmas about stay-at-home mothers returning to the workforce. However, this should not deter mothers from seeking employment. Firstly, it’s important to project confidence and passion for the job in the resume. Emphasize the acquired skills and how valuable they are in the current job opening. Secondly, focus on the future and highlight how the experience gained from managing household duties has strengthened you as a candidate. Finally, address any stigma head-on by highlighting a successful transition back into the workforce in the past or by engaging in activities that help to address the stigma.

Creating a resume as a stay-at-home mother is a challenging task. However, by identifying transferable skills, filling employment gaps, and addressing potential stigmas head-on, it is possible to create a winning resume that highlights a candidate’s strengths and makes them stand out to prospective employers.

Understanding the Different Resume Formats

When it comes to creating a resume, there are three main formats that you can use: the chronological resume format, the functional resume format, and the combination resume format.

Chronological Resume Format

The chronological resume format is the most traditional format and is the one that many people are familiar with. This format lists your work history in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent position and working backward. This is a great format to use if you have a strong work history with no employment gaps.

Functional Resume Format

The functional resume format, on the other hand, focuses on your skills and abilities rather than your work history. This format is great for those who may have gaps in their employment history, those who are changing careers, or those who have relevant volunteering experience.

Combination Resume Format

The combination resume format combines aspects of both the chronological and functional resume formats. It highlights your skills and abilities while also listing your work history in reverse chronological order. This is a great format to use if you want to showcase your skills and experience while also providing a comprehensive overview of your work history.

Selecting the Right Format for Stay-at-Home Moms

As a stay-at-home mom, selecting the right resume format is crucial. Depending on your individual circumstances, each format may have its unique advantages. If you have recent work experience and no gaps in employment, the chronological resume format is a great choice. However, if you have been out of the workforce for an extended period, the functional resume format may better highlight your skills and abilities.

Another option to consider is the combination resume format. This format will allow you to showcase your skillset while also providing a chronological overview of your work history.

No matter which format you choose, make sure to tailor your resume to the job you are applying for. Focus on highlighting the skills and experiences that are most relevant to the position, and use keywords from the job description.

It’s essential to choose the right resume format that effectively showcases your skills and work history as a stay-at-home mom. Take the time to analyze your individual circumstances, and select the format that best meets your needs. Tailor your resume to the job you are applying for, and you’ll increase your chances of landing that dream job.

Crafting an Effective Summary Statement

As a stay-at-home mom, crafting an effective summary statement on your resume can be a game-changer. A summary statement is a brief, concise paragraph at the top of your resume that highlights your skills, experience, and achievements. It serves as an opening statement and provides prospective employers with an overview of your qualifications.

What is a Summary Statement?

A summary statement is a powerful tool for stay-at-home moms who are returning to the workforce. It’s a quick summary of your key skills, experience, and achievements that tells potential employers what you can bring to the table. An effective summary statement should be brief, clear, and compelling. It should entice the reader to learn more about your qualifications and experience.

Importance of a Summary Statement

A summary statement plays a crucial role in helping you stand out in a crowded job market. It’s your chance to highlight your most impressive accomplishments and show potential employers that you have what it takes to excel in the job. A well-crafted summary statement can improve your chances of getting an interview, and ultimately, landing the job.

Tips for Crafting an Effective Summary Statement

Crafting an effective summary statement can be challenging, but it’s not impossible. Here are some essential tips to help you create a compelling summary statement:

Keep it brief and to the point: A summary statement should be no more than 3-4 sentences long. It should be a quick overview of your skills, experience, and achievements.

Use keywords: Keywords are important in the summary statement because they help recruiters and hiring managers quickly determine if you have the skills required for the job.

Highlight your most relevant skills and experience: Focus on the skills and experience that are most relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Quantify your achievements: Use numbers and figures to quantify your achievements. This will give potential employers a better idea of what you’ve accomplished in your previous roles.

Customize for each job: Customize your summary statement for each job you apply for. Highlight the skills and experience that are most relevant to the position.

Use action verbs: Use action verbs to make your summary statement more dynamic and engaging.

By following these tips, you can create an effective summary statement that will make a lasting impression on potential employers.

Highlighting Transferable Skills

As a stay-at-home mom, you may have developed many skills while taking care of your family that can be applied in a professional work setting. These skills are known as transferable skills, and they are valuable for recruiters and hiring managers looking for candidates who can bring a unique set of abilities to the job.

Definition of transferable skills

Transferable skills are abilities that can be applied to different industries, roles, and job settings. They rely on your personal traits, such as your communication skills, problem-solving, emotional intelligence, and time management, rather than your technical qualifications. Recruiters and hiring managers are particularly interested in transferable skills because they add diversity and creativity to the workplace.

Examples of transferable skills relevant to stay-at-home moms

As a stay-at-home mom, you may have acquired several transferable skills without even realizing it. Consider the following examples:

  • Time management : As a stay-at-home mom, you need to manage your time effectively to take care of your children, household chores, and other responsibilities effectively. Time management is an excellent transferable skill that can be applied to a wide range of workplaces, such as project management, event planning, and customer service.
  • Communication : Stay-at-home moms interact with people from different backgrounds and personalities every day. You know how to communicate effectively with your children, partner, and family members, which is a transferable skill that can be applied to roles such as sales, marketing, and customer service.
  • Problem-solving : As a stay-at-home mom, you face different challenges and problems every day, such as managing your budget, keeping your children safe and healthy, and managing the household. Problem-solving is a valuable transferable skill that can be applied to roles such as logistics, operations, engineering, and finance.
  • Leadership : Stay-at-home moms often take the lead in raising their children, managing their household, and completing tasks. Leadership is a transferable skill that can be applied to many settings, such as management, team leading, and executive roles.
  • Emotional intelligence : As a stay-at-home mom, you need to be emotionally intelligent to understand your children’s needs, manage conflicts with your partner, and handle stress and frustration. Emotional intelligence is a transferable skill that can be applied to roles such as counseling, human resources, and coaching.

Incorporating transferable skills into a resume

When writing your resume, make sure to highlight your transferable skills as they can make you stand out from other candidates. Start by identifying the skills you have developed while taking care of your family or other activities outside of work.

Next, tailor your resume to match the job description and mention how your transferable skills can benefit the employer. Use specific examples to showcase your skills, such as “Managed a household budget of $X for Y years” or “Led a team of X volunteers to complete Y project.

Showcasing Accomplishments with Action Words

As a stay-at-home mom, it’s crucial to showcase your accomplishments in your resume. And one effective way to do this is by using action words. Action words help you communicate your skills and achievements more effectively and convey a sense of energy and accomplishment.

Importance of Action Words in a Resume

Recruiters and hiring managers often receive numerous resumes for every job opening, and they have limited time to evaluate each one. This is where action words can make a big difference. Studies have shown that using action words in your resume can increase your chances of getting hired by up to 80%.

Action words also help your resume to stand out from others. Recruiters appreciate resumes that are well-written, concise, and easy to read. Therefore, using the right action words can help you make a good impression and get noticed.

Examples of Action Words

Here are some examples of action words that you can use in your stay-at-home mom resume:

  • Managed: If you’ve been in charge of your household, you can use “managed” to showcase your leadership skills.
  • Developed: If you’ve started a side business, “developed” can highlight your entrepreneurship skills.
  • Organized: If you’ve been organizing community events or school functions, “organized” can demonstrate your planning abilities.
  • Coordinated: If you’ve been coordinating volunteer activities, “coordinated” can highlight your communication and collaboration skills.
  • Trained: If you’ve been teaching your children or others, you can use “trained” to showcase your teaching skills.
  • Advocated: If you’ve been involved in advocacy work or political campaigns, “advocated” can show your passion for causes.

When showcasing your accomplishments using action words, it’s essential to be specific and quantify your achievements whenever possible. Here are some examples of how you can use action words to showcase your accomplishments:

  • “Managed household activities.”
  • “Managed household activities for five family members, including meal planning, budgeting, and scheduling, resulting in a 30% reduction in overall household expenses.”
  • “Organized community events.”
  • “Organized three community events per year, each with an audience of 100+ attendees, resulting in $10,000+ in donations to local charities.”
  • “Advocated for social justice.”
  • “Advocated for social justice by organizing and leading protests, resulting in national media coverage and 1,000+ attendees at events.”

Remember that your accomplishments should demonstrate your skills and expertise relevant to the job you’re applying for. Therefore, it’s important to tailor your resume to the specific job requirements and use action words that reflect those skills.

Using action words in your stay-at-home mom resume is a vital part of showcasing your accomplishments effectively.

Emphasizing Education and Training

When it comes to creating a resume, highlighting your education and training can be critical, especially if you’re a stay-at-home mom returning to the workforce. These details not only show your qualifications but also demonstrate your commitment to growing your skills and staying current with industry trends.

Importance of Education and Training in a Resume

Including education and training helps demonstrate that you are qualified for the position you are applying for. It shows that you have the minimum level of knowledge required for the job and can help you stand out in a competitive job market. If you have obtained additional certifications or completed training programs, it is essential to include them in your resume as they indicate your commitment to your profession and your initiative to keep learning.

Identifying Relevant Education and Training

It is important to make sure that the education and training you list in your resume are relevant to the position you are applying for. A good rule of thumb is to include any educational achievement that may be required for the position or any certifications that show mastery in the required skillset. It is also important to think outside the box and look for qualifications that could be transferable to the position you are applying for.

If you are returning to the workforce, your recent education and training might not be related to the position you are applying for. However, you can highlight the skills you gained and how they can be applied in a different field. For example, if you completed a course on data analysis, you can highlight your problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and ability to analyze data that can assist you in the new role you are applying for.

Highlighting Education and Training in a Resume

When including education and training in your resume, it is important to list them in reverse-chronological order, starting with your most recent achievement. Consider creating a separate section for your education and training that emphasizes your accomplishments and the skills and knowledge you gained from them.

Make sure to include the name of the program or institution, the year(s) you attended, and the achievements or certifications you received. You can also highlight any relevant coursework or focus areas that can differentiate you from other candidates.

Your education and training can be a significant selling point of your resume, especially if you are returning to the workforce as a stay-at-home mom. Identifying your qualifications that are relevant to the position you are applying for and highlighting your achievements can showcase your value as an asset to any prospective employer.

Addressing Employment Gaps in a Resume

When crafting a resume, it can be challenging to address gaps in employment. Whether it’s due to time off to raise children, illness, or other reasons, an unexplained or unclear gap can raise questions for potential employers.

Explanation of Employment Gaps

Firstly, it’s essential to explain the reason for any employment gaps clearly. Leaving a gap unaddressed can lead to potential employers assuming the worst about your work history. Be honest about why you took time off, but don’t overshare. It’s not necessary to provide personal details or to highlight the negative aspects of the gap.

Addressing Gaps with Honesty and Professionalism

It’s important to approach any gaps in your resume with honesty and professionalism. Be confident when explaining the reasons for any absences and how you stayed engaged in personal growth or continued learning during this time. Remember, spending time raising children or taking care of a family member is valuable experience that employers can appreciate.

Tips for Minimizing the Impact of Employment Gaps

Although gaps in employment can be worrisome for employers, there are several ways to minimize their impact on your resume:

Be strategic with your resume format: Consider using a functional resume format. This format emphasizes your skills and accomplishments rather than listing your work experience chronologically. This approach can shift the emphasis away from gaps in employment and highlight your strengths.

Use positive language: When describing the reason for the employment gap, avoid negative language. Instead, focus on the personal and professional growth you gained during this time.

Highlight on-going learning opportunities: Explain how you stayed engaged in personal or professional growth during the gap period. Include any online courses or certifications you obtained during this time.

Address the gap in your cover letter: Use your cover letter to address the employment gap briefly. Let the employer know the steps you took during this time to maintain your skills and stay engaged professionally.

Networking: Networking can help you overcome the stigma of employment gaps. Attend professional events and job fairs to potentially connect with employers who may overlook an employment gap if you impress them with your skills and experience.

Employment gaps can cause concern for potential employers, but there are ways to frame these gaps in a positive light in your resume. Be honest and professional when explaining the reasons behind the gap and highlight any on-going learning opportunities during this time. Follow the tips mentioned above, and you’ll be sure to minimize the impact of your employment gaps on your resume.

Incorporating Volunteer Work and Community Involvement

As a stay-at-home mom, volunteering can be a great way to stay active, involved in the community, and gain valuable experience to add to your resume. Volunteer work is any activity that offers your time, skills, and abilities to others with no expectation of financial gain.

Examples of volunteer work relevant to stay-at-home moms

There are many volunteer opportunities available that can be relevant to stay-at-home moms. Here are some examples:

School volunteering:  You can volunteer at your child’s school to assist with reading, math, or other subjects, help with field trips, or organize events like book fairs or fundraisers.

Religious organizations:  If you belong to a religious group, you can help with events, teach classes, or volunteer in soup kitchens or other programs.

Non-profit organizations:  Many non-profit organizations accept volunteers to help with fundraising, event planning, grant writing, or administrative tasks.

Community service organizations:  There are community service organizations like food banks, shelters, and hospitals that need volunteers to help with various tasks.

Professional organizations:  Many professional organizations have volunteer opportunities, such as speaking at conferences or mentoring others in your industry.

Tips for incorporating volunteer work into a resume

Here are some tips on how to incorporate your volunteer work into your resume:

Include relevant skills and accomplishments.  When describing your volunteer work, highlight the skills you learned and the accomplishments you achieved. For example: “Successfully organized a school fundraiser that raised $10,000 in donations.”

Use active language.  Use active verbs to describe your volunteer work and make it sound more impressive. For example: “Coordinated a team of 10 volunteers to deliver meals to 100 seniors in our community.”

Make it easy to read.  Use bullet points to break up your volunteer experience and make it easier to read.

Identify transferable skills.  Identify transferable skills that are relevant to the job you’re applying for. For example, if you’re applying for a customer service position, highlight your experience working with people in your volunteer work.

Quantify your impact.  Use numbers to quantify your impact and make it more impressive. For example: “Increased volunteer participation by 20% by implementing a new recruitment strategy.”

Volunteer work is a great way for stay-at-home moms to gain valuable experience, stay involved in the community, and add to their resume. With the right strategies, you can effectively incorporate your volunteer work into your resume and impress potential employers.

Tips for Writing a Cover Letter

When it comes to applying for a job, a cover letter is just as important as your resume. A cover letter is your chance to introduce yourself to the employer, showcase your skills and qualifications, and explain why you are the best candidate for the job. It is an essential part of the job application process, and as a stay-at-home mom, it can help you overcome any gaps in your employment history.

Here are some tips for crafting an effective cover letter:

Importance of a cover letter

Introduce yourself: Your cover letter should introduce you to the employer and explain your interest in the job. Use this opportunity to showcase your personality and explain how you can add value to the company.

Highlight your qualifications: Your cover letter should highlight your qualifications and skills that are relevant to the job. Make sure to match your skills with the job requirements and explain how your experiences can benefit the employer.

Explain any gaps in your employment: Your cover letter is the perfect opportunity to explain any gaps in your employment history, especially as a stay-at-home mom. Emphasize your willingness to learn and your commitment to the job.

Tips for crafting an effective cover letter

Customize your cover letter: Don’t use a generic cover letter for every job application. Customize it to match the job description and the company’s culture.

Keep it concise: Your cover letter should be short and to the point. Avoid lengthy paragraphs and use bullet points to highlight your skills and experiences.

Proofread and edit: Make sure to proofread and edit your cover letter for any errors or typos. A well-written cover letter can set you apart from other applicants.

Examples of cover letter for stay-at-home moms

Dear Hiring Manager,

As a stay-at-home mom for the past few years, I am excited to apply for the position of customer service representative at ABC Company. I have developed excellent communication and organizational skills, and I am confident that my experiences as a mom can translate to success in this role.

I believe my ability to multitask, work under pressure, and solve problems quickly can benefit your company. I am excited to have the opportunity to work with a team who values teamwork and communication.

Thank you for considering my application. I am eager to discuss my qualifications further and learn more about the position.

[Your Name]

A well-written cover letter can make all the difference when it comes to getting hired. As a stay-at-home mom, don’t be afraid to showcase how your experiences and skills can translate into success in the workplace. By following these tips and using examples, you can craft an effective cover letter that highlights your strengths and qualifications.

Resume Examples for Stay-at-Home Moms

If you are a stay-at-home mom planning to re-enter the workforce, creating a well-structured and informative resume is critical. A good resume can help you to stand out from the crowd and increase your chances of securing the job you want. Here are three types of resume examples for stay-at-home moms:

1. Chronological Resume Examples for Stay-at-Home Moms

Chronological resumes are the most traditional and commonly used resume format. They list your work experience in chronological order, starting with your most recent job. A chronological resume is ideal if you have a solid work history with no gaps, and you want to focus on your professional experience rather than your skills.

Full Name Address, City, State, ZIP Phone Number Email Address

Experienced stay-at-home mom with strong organizational and multitasking skills. Proven ability to manage household responsibilities and support family members effectively. Seeking an opportunity to utilize my skills and contribute to a professional work environment.

Work Experience

Homemaker and Caregiver City, State Dates

  • Managed household responsibilities including budgeting, meal planning, and scheduling appointments.
  • Provided childcare, ensuring a safe and nurturing environment for children.
  • Organized family events and coordinated logistics for gatherings.

Volunteer Experience

Volunteer Coordinator Nonprofit Organization City, State Dates

  • Recruited and trained volunteers for various projects and events.
  • Managed volunteer schedules and coordinated their tasks.
  • Developed and implemented volunteer recognition initiatives.

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology University Name City, State Graduation Year

As a stay-at-home mom, you can still use this format by listing your experience as a homemaker, volunteer work, or any other relevant activities you have been engaged in. Make sure to give a detailed description of your duties and achievements.

2. Functional Resume Examples for Stay-at-Home Moms

Functional resumes focus on your skills rather than your work experience. This format is ideal if you have gaps in your work history or you have been out of the workforce for a while. A functional resume highlights your transferable skills and achievements, providing a comprehensive summary of your abilities.

Summary of Qualifications

  • Highly skilled in time management, multitasking, and problem-solving.
  • Strong organizational abilities with the ability to prioritize tasks effectively.
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Time management
  • Organization
  • Problem-solving
  • Communication

Professional Experience

Freelance Event Planning City, State Dates

  • Successfully planned and executed events, including weddings and parties.
  • Managed budgets, coordinated vendors, and ensured client satisfaction.
  • Demonstrated strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

Community Outreach Nonprofit Organization City, State Dates

  • Assisted in organizing community events and fundraising activities.
  • Collaborated with team members to achieve project goals.
  • Utilized excellent communication skills to engage and mobilize volunteers.

Associate’s Degree in Business Administration College Name City, State Graduation Year

Stay-at-home moms can use this format to highlight their skills in managing time, multitasking, and problem-solving. When creating a functional resume, prioritize and emphasize the skills required for the job you are applying for.

3. Combination Resume Examples for Stay-at-Home Moms

As the name suggests, a combination resume is a hybrid of both chronological and functional formats. It highlights both your skills and your work history, providing a complete picture of your professional experience.

Dedicated stay-at-home mom with a strong background in managing household responsibilities and a track record of effective multitasking. Skilled in organizing and coordinating activities, with a focus on maintaining a positive and nurturing environment. Seeking an opportunity to apply my skills and contribute to a dynamic work setting.

  • Household management
  • Event planning
  • Team coordination

Homemaker City, State Dates

  • Managed household operations, including budgeting, meal planning, and scheduling.
  • Oversaw the coordination of family activities and events.
  • Maintained open and effective communication with family members.

Event Coordinator Nonprofit Organization City, State Dates

  • Organized and executed fundraising events, including logistics and budgeting.
  • Coordinated volunteers and delegated tasks to ensure successful outcomes.
  • Utilized strong interpersonal skills to build relationships with stakeholders.

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration University Name City, State Graduation Year

This format is ideal for stay-at-home moms who want to emphasize their skills while also highlighting their work experience, even if it has been a while. Make sure to give a detailed description of your skills and achievements, and prioritize the ones most relevant to the job you are applying for.

Creating a resume as a stay-at-home mom can be challenging, but with the right approach, you can craft a document that highlights your skills and experience, making you a competitive candidate in the job market. Remember to keep your resume concise, relevant, and error-free, and tailor it to the job you are applying for. Good luck!

Related Articles

  • 10 Business Development Manager Resume Examples for 2023
  • 10 Pharmacist Resume Examples That Secured Jobs in 2023
  • How Long Should a Cover Letter Be? The Optimal Length
  • Sales and Marketing Coordinator Job Description in 2023
  • Top 30 Internship Interview Questions and Sample Answers

Rate this article

0 / 5. Reviews: 0

More from ResumeHead

resume wording for stay at home mom

Explore Jobs

  • Jobs Near Me
  • Remote Jobs
  • Full Time Jobs
  • Part Time Jobs
  • Entry Level Jobs
  • Work From Home Jobs

Find Specific Jobs

  • $15 Per Hour Jobs
  • $20 Per Hour Jobs
  • Hiring Immediately Jobs
  • High School Jobs
  • H1b Visa Jobs

Explore Careers

  • Business And Financial
  • Architecture And Engineering
  • Computer And Mathematical

Explore Professions

  • What They Do
  • Certifications
  • Demographics

Best Companies

  • Health Care
  • Fortune 500

Explore Companies

  • CEO And Executies
  • Resume Builder
  • Career Advice
  • Explore Majors
  • Questions And Answers
  • Interview Questions

How To Put Stay-At-Home Mom Or Dad On Your Resume (With Examples)

  • How To Write A Resume
  • How To Build A Resume
  • Specific Resume Words
  • Action Verbs On A resume
  • Words To Describe Yourself
  • Resume Outline
  • How To Make A Resume
  • How To Make A Resume On Word
  • How To Write A Resume Profile
  • General Resume Examples
  • Resume With No Experience
  • Student Resume
  • College Resume
  • Entry Level Resume
  • Military Resume
  • Internship Resume
  • First Resume
  • College Application Resume
  • 2 Page Resume
  • Blank Resume Template
  • College Freshman Resume
  • Work History
  • Resume Templates
  • Stay-At-Home Parent Resume
  • Resume Tips
  • Best Resume Writing Services
  • Things To Avoid On A Resume
  • Resume Paper To Use
  • What To Include In A Resume
  • How To Write A Bio
  • How To Write A Personal Statement
  • Lied on Your Resume?
  • Avoid Age Discrimination
  • Words and Phrases You Shouldn't Include in Your Resume
  • How Many Skills Should You List On A Resume
  • Send A Resume As A Pdf
  • Resume Critique
  • Make A Resume Stand Out
  • Resume Spelling
  • Resume Past Or Present Tense
  • How To List Projects On A resume
  • Best Resume Action Words
  • How To Quantify Your Resume
  • Resume Bullet Points
  • Are Resume Writers Worth It
  • How Many Jobs To List On Resume
  • Please Find Attached My Resume
  • How To List Contract Work On Your Resume
  • How To Put Research On Your Resume
  • How To Upload Your Resume To LinkedIn
  • Resume Mistakes
  • What Is A CV?
  • CV Vs Resume
  • CV Templates
  • CV Examples

Find a Job You Really Want In

Summary. To put your time as a stay-at-home parent on your resume , identify the soft and hard skills you developed during that time and highlight them in your work experience section. Skills you use as a parent such as organization, time management, and financial planning are valuable to employers.

Any parent knows taking care of children can easily be a demanding full-time job. And with daycare expenses skyrocketing, it can actually be cheaper for one parent to stay home with the kids than to work and use a daycare service.

A stay-at-home parent wears many different hats such as full-time teacher, coach , social organizer, and leader that can be added to your resume

In this article we will go over how to add these to your resume and provide examples of what it should look like.

Key Takeaways:

Emphasize job skills you became proficient in as a stay-at home parent.

Frame your resume to showcase your achievements rather than detail your domestic duties.

Take time to consider what your deliverables were as a stay-at-home parent. Think of how you can present those deliverables in the context of the job you are applying for.

How to Put Stay-at-Home Mom on Your Resume With Examples.

How to Put Stay-At-Home Mom or Dad on Your Resume

Where to put stay-at-home parent on your resume, stay-at-home parent resume example, tips for stay-at-home parent resume, returning to work stay-at-home mom resume faq, final thoughts.

  • Sign Up For More Advice and Jobs

When writing your resume summary , it is probably better that you do not mention specifically that you are a stay-at-home parent. Instead, think about the roles you played as a parent and the skills you mastered that complement your previous work experience.

Add Education. You will want to include any degrees you’ve earned and which institution they are from. If you graduated more than three years ago, you do not need need to put your graduation date.

You can also any courses or workshops that you took during your time as a stay at home parent. You will want to add where those courses were completed at.

Homeschool parent. If you homeschooled your kids, you’re in luck. You added yet another experience that is extremely valuable: coaching, organizing, and teaching.

If you homeschooled your kids, you have skills researching curriculum, organizing lesson plans and extracurricular activities, mentoring children, all while learning how to be flexible, a good communicator , and most importantly (to the kids), fun.

For example: If you were a teacher for five years before homeschooling your children for three years, you could write something like this:

Sample Stay-At-Home Mom Resume Summary A skilled educator with eight years of teaching experience. Ability to teach in diverse settings with ease, create engaging lesson plans, and present material to children in varying learning environments.

Then, you can detail both your homeschooling experience and previous work experience in the work history section of your resume.

Translating parenting skills to workforce skills . You may even think that there is no way you can have transferable skills from your parenting experience to the industry you are applying for, but just wait; we bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Staying at home as a parent is a complex role: you must wear many hats daily. You aren’t just a mom or a dad. You are the family’s ultimate manager . And those skills can definitely be transferable to most jobs.

Use Specific keywords such as:

Financial planning skills

Multitasking

Time management

organization

Utilize these keywords when describing your experience as a stay-at-home parent and it will help your resume be picked up by resume software .

Here is another example for a stay-at-home mom or dad:

Stay-At-Home Parent Resume Summary Example A skilled job seeker with six years of management experience in public and private settings. Possesses strong communication and delegation skills to work effectively in diverse teams.

Then, you can describe your management and leadership experience as a stay-at-home parent.

Highlight what you have done versus focus on a gap in employment. Some employers may think that staying at home to parent is a lapse in job experience , but if framed correctly, they will see what you see: staying at home to parent is a valuable, full-time job experience.

So to prevent recruiters and potential employers from picturing you sweeping up cookie crumbs, try and avoid using “domestic” words unless you are applying for a childcare, teaching, or cleaning position.

Here are some examples of how you can frame your experience as a parent to highlight skills recruiters are desperately looking for:

Stay-At-Home Mom Resume Skills Example Helped my children get to dance and soccer practice → Coached children to develop complex skill sets. Planned playdates with other moms at the park → Regularly organized large events at public centers for 20+ children. Taught my three children until college → Managed multiple children’s education, resulting in a 100% college acceptance rate and $100,000 dollars in scholarship money. Helped my children with volunteer projects → Organized volunteer projects for students, resulting in 100+ hours of community service over 10 projects.

By now, you are probably thinking, “Yes, I have all of these skills.”

Now you just have to translate them into resume-speak so that potential employers will also know how awesome you are at them.

You can describe your time as a stay-at-home parent in two places on a resume: under your resume summary statement and/or under your work experience .

Now let’s take a look at a full stay-at-home mom or dad resume:

Lisa Cage | [email protected] | www.linkedin.in/lisa-cage Dedicated writer and organizer with 5+ years of experience. Successfully wrote 5,000+ words of professional copy each week while managing the finances, schedule, and relationships within the household. Regularly coached children’s sports teams and participated in volunteering opportunities to serve the local community. Engaging professionals with top-tier communication and conflict resolution skills. WORK EXPERIENCE Household Manager – Cage Household. 08/2012-Present Managed two college funds, resulting in $45,000 in savings to date Coached soccer and basketball 2 nights a week each season, managing teams of 20+ children Leveraged leadership skills to educate, mentor , and resolve conflicts between two children Freelance Writer. 02/2016=Present Herway. 06/2018-Present Wrote an average of 2 articles a week for the marketing segment of a beauty solutions blog Achieved a cumulative view count of over 30,000 to date Collaborated with 5 writers to develop new content ideas Dogcare. 02/2016-08/2018 Delivered one blog post each week for a series on pet care Drafted image concepts for design team Awarded top blog post of March 2017 Office Assistant. 09/2010-07/2012 Responded to 50+ phone calls and 100+ emails a day regarding business inquiries and internal memos Developed and maintained office schedule using Excel Greeted clients who entered the office and facilitated meetings by arranging conference room space Marketing Intern. 01/2009-08/2009 Worked with a marketing team of 15 to plan, develop, and launch marketing campaigns with budgets of $50,000+ Handled administrative tasks, input data, and created visual displays of key metrics Wrote 50 blurbs a week for website and app use VOLUNTEERING Big Sister Program 05/2017-03/2019 Mentored 3 children between the ages of 7-11 over a two-year period Organized 10 fun trips each year, educating and engaging children through interactive activities Planned and organized 2 fundraising events, leading to over $8,000 raised in total EDUCATION Western Illinois University | Macomb, Illinois Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, May 2009 GPA of 3.7 Dean’s List Worked at the writing center to help students with written assignments SKILLS Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite WordPress Basic HTML Financial Planning Written and Verbal Communication Organization

Include previous experience. Even if it’s been a long time since you were in the formal workforce, be sure to include prior professional experience.

Depending on the industry and role you’re applying for, think of skills that translate well from your former experience. Don’t feel pressured to lie or exaggerate here, but do look for keywords that you can use honestly.

Use volunteer experience. Whether you volunteered in events related to your children or not, volunteering experience is always attractive on a resume.

It shows that you want to use your time productively and are a functional member of the community in more ways than one. Plus, your volunteer experience probably involved a lot of skills and responsibilities that are necessary for a number of jobs.

Include contract work. If you’ve been a stay-at-home parent that earns money on the side through odd jobs , freelance work , or anything else, definitely include that on your resume. Listing contract work on your resume may have scared employers in the past, but the gig economy is thriving and hiring managers are getting more comfortable seeing this type of experience on your resume.

Not to mention that it beefs up your credentials and shows you’ve worked on projects recently.

Include education . If you went to college or achieved a post-graduate degree, definitely include that on your resume. Impressive academic achievements will help offset your work experience section.

Don’t forget your cover letter. Your resume isn’t the only place you have to talk about your stay-at-home parenting experience.

Your cover letter is where your personality can really shine, so highlight how your parenting and household management skills have readied you for the job you’re applying for.

How do you say stay-at-home mom on a resume?

You can say stay-at-home mom on your resume by saying, “Household Manager,” “Caregiver,” or “ Homemaker .” Some people prefer the title, “Chief Home Officer,” but that may come across as trying too hard for some hiring managers.

Keep the title simple and focus on pointing out the numerous valuable skills you used during that time.

Should I put stay-at-home parent on my resume?

Yes, you should put stay-at-home parent on your resume. Just because you weren’t someone’s employee during this time doesn’t mean you weren’t gaining valuable work experience and skills, so show them off to hiring managers.

Is stay-at-home parent an occupation?

Yes, stay-at-home parent is an occupation. Even though you aren’t earning a paycheck from your work, it is what you spend the majority of your time doing, and people depend on you to do it.

Applying for a job after a period of time out of the working world can seem daunting, but don’t think that staying at home to be with your kids will automatically hurt your job chances.

Staying at home to parent full-time can be a very rewarding experience. It not only allows you to connect with your children more, but it also gives you a very diverse skill set. You know how to deal with small kids and you know how to interact with parents from every background.

You know how to get someone to do work effectively (remember doing those most-hated chores as a kid?) and you know how to provide feedback to workers (remember those good parental praises?).

You’ve got what it takes to land your dream job — you just have to think about what the experience of parenting means in terms of the industry you want to break into.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – Stay-At-Home Mothers Through the Years

Pew Research Center – Stay-At-Home Moms and Dads Account for About One-in-Five U.S. Parents

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

' src=

Heidi Cope is a former writer for the Zippia Career Advice blog. Her writing focused primarily on Zippia's suite of rankings and general career advice. After leaving Zippia, Heidi joined The Mighty as a writer and editor, among other positions. She received her BS from UNC Charlotte in German Studies.

Recent Job Searches

  • Registered Nurse Jobs Resume Location
  • Truck Driver Jobs Resume Location
  • Call Center Representative Jobs Resume Location
  • Customer Service Representative Jobs Resume
  • Delivery Driver Jobs Resume Location
  • Warehouse Worker Jobs Resume Location
  • Account Executive Jobs Resume Location
  • Sales Associate Jobs Resume Location
  • Licensed Practical Nurse Jobs Resume Location
  • Company Driver Jobs Resume

Related posts

two-page-resume

Is A Two Page Resume Okay?- When Going Beyond One Page Is Acceptable

resume wording for stay at home mom

How To Write A Consulting Resume

How To Answer "Do You Have Questions For Me?" (With Examples)

How To Answer “Do You Have Questions For Me?” (With Examples)

resume wording for stay at home mom

3 Steps To Reject A Job Offer Without Burning Bridges

  • Career Advice >
  • Get The Job >
  • Explain Stay Home Mom On Your Resume

resume wording for stay at home mom

Press Enter to search

How to Write a Resume If You're a Stay at Home Mom

A guide by recruiters on how to write a successful stay-at-home mom resume in 2024, including a resume template you can download, resume samples and insights from recruiters.

3 years ago   •   10 min read

Being a stay at home mom can present unique challenges when you’re ready to go back into the workforce. Employers will notice a gap in your employment, and your skillset or certifications may be out of date.

Fortunately, it’s entirely possible to craft a resume that puts your best foot forward, particularly if you take some time to build on your current skills. Read on to find out what you should be including and what to leave out - and for some helpful tips to keep in mind as you get ready to look for a new position. Plus, we've also included a free resume template in Word or Google Docs format that you can use as a starting point.

A free stay at home mom resume template

Before we dive in to our recruiter perspectives, here's a sample resume for a stay-at-home mom or parent. Feel free to use it as inspiration as you write your own resume (download links below).

A sample resume template and sample for stay at home moms returning to the workforce in Google Docs, Word or PDF format

Download this free stay at home mom resume template: Google Drive | Microsoft Word

Mind your 'employment' gap

Do resume gaps matter? Sure — to some extent. Recruiters will want to know what's up with an employment gap, but it won't be prohibitive on its own. The key is to explain it, which is easily done when you're a stay at home mom (keep scrolling for detailed tips on how to do this).

Beyond the gap in your work with an employer, the most important thing to demonstrate to the hiring manager is that your skills are current. If you have done recent volunteer work, you should definitely include it. Freelance work that is related to the position you’re aiming at is also great to include.

If your skills aren’t current, read on to find out how to build your skills and add to your resume appropriately.

Read more: How to list gaps on a resume

How to list being a stay at home mom on a resume

If you want to include your work as a stay at home mom in your work experience, you should consider doing it in a format similar to this example:

resume wording for stay at home mom

Rather than “Growthsi” and the title below it, you could enter “Stay at home parent” (like in the following example), the dates of your time at home, and bulleted accomplishments along the lines of “Maintained a blog on parenting tips featuring 50+ articles averaging X page views” or “Created a 100+ member Facebook group providing support for stay at home parents” or how you’ve established and run an Etsy shop. Anything you include should be relevant to the job or position you’d like to apply for (with similar skills engaged).

How to list your stay at home parenting experience in your resume's experience section

Avoid including your stay-at-home mom experience as a 'work experience' or 'professional experience' — instead, like above, use an 'Other Experience' section title.

Read more: A stay at home mom's guide for getting back into the workforce

Building your skills while looking for a job as a stay at home parent

Just because you haven’t been with an employer for a while, you can still hone your skills, take courses, and potentially work on freelance projects during your job search. Each approach helps build your competency level in the eyes of hiring managers by demonstrating that you’re in touch with your skills.

One avenue to consider is looking for volunteer opportunities around your community. Non-profit organizations and parent/child-oriented groups are always looking for assistance with conducting outreach, fundraising, and holding events. If you’re interested in marketing, for example, helping to promote the Parent-Teacher Organization’s upcoming dance by creating and distributing flyers is definitely something you can include on your resume.

An example of how to include volunteering experience on your stay at home mom resume

Read more: How to list volunteer work on your resume

Take a course

Depending on the field you’re interested in, it may help to look for relevant courses (either online or at nearby colleges). Some community colleges offer adult education courses to learn basic computer applications such as Microsoft Word, which will help with all kinds of office work. If you’re more advanced, you can look for courses in a wide variety of fields, from computer programming to graphics arts. If you have more time to invest, consider enrolling for a two-year degree if your field of interest would benefit from it.

Read more: How to list certifications on a resume (with examples)

Freelance work

Lastly, taking on relevant freelance projects (such as writing copy for online companies, conducting lawn or landscaping services, or programming simple applications) will give you experience and accomplishments that will highlight how you’ve kept your skills current.

Read more: How to list freelance work on your resume

Formatting Your Resume

For an easy and time-saving boost to formatting your resume, you can start with the template above or browse our ATS-ready resume templates . Pick one that appeals to your background and the position you’re applying for, and enter in the details as you go.

Resume header

Your resume header should include your full name, phone number, email address, location (state and country, not street address), and potentially your LinkedIn profile. An example is below:

Resume header for a stay at home mom resume

You can optionally include the job title of the job you're applying to in your resume's header.

Read more: What to include in your resume header

Resume summary

Having a summary at the top of your resume is a great way to introduce yourself as someone who “worked in [X field] for [x] years before taking four years off to raise two children”, as an example. Your summary can also encompass any recent activities or projects you’ve started, such as by stating “ In that time, started a successful copywriting business with x clients ”, or “ started and maintained a babysitting business with x clients ”.

An example of a resume summary for stay at home mom resumes

Read more: Resume summary generator

Work Experience

All of your work experience should follow the same style of format. Regardless of when you last worked, you’ll want to list your previous employers in reverse chronological order (with the most recent employers on top).

Work experience section and bullet points of your stay at home mom resume

Each of your listed employers should be followed by a series of bullet-pointed accomplishments. Start the bullet points with strong action verbs that are related to skills you’ll be using in the position you’re going into, ideally. Whenever possible, include a numerical value (such as “improved sales by 10 percent over X years”) to help employers understand exactly how much of a difference you made.

Resume bullet points structure for a stay at home mom resume

For each of your work experiences, note the company or organization, your job title, and the dates you worked there. Usually, this means listing the month and year, though you can sometimes leave off the month and display only the year — what’s more important is that you’re consistent with how you format your dates within your resume.

Read more: How to list your work experience on your resume

If you graduated some time ago (8+ years ago) : Your education section should be short and underneath your work experience. In this case, just include your degree name and your school name. You can leave off your graduation year to avoid any unwarranted age discrimination — something that unfortunately happens in today's hiring landscape.

An example of an education section for a stay at home mom - keep it short and leave off your graduation year

If you returned to school or you graduated recently: You should list your education at the top of your resume if you recently completed a degree (while being a stay at home mom). Include the name of the school, the degree you graduated with, and the program you graduated from. Depending on the type of degree you received and the position you’re planning to apply for, you may also wish to add in the most relevant courses that you took (such as “Data Analysis” or “Software Engineering”) if they include keywords that relate to the job you're applying to.

Read more: How to list your education on a resume

Resume skills section

If you have a sufficient number of technical skills, you should include a skills section on your resume. This could be placed at the right hand side of the page, or at the very bottom. The skills you list should be appropriate for the position you’re applying for. As an example, if you’re applying to be an office manager, you could list “QuickBooks”, “Microsoft Office”, or “Google Calendar” as your skills. If you’re going into graphic design, list the programs you’ve worked with before.

For all of your skills (in the summary, body of your resume, and skills bank) you should aim to include ones that align with your background and the job you’re applying for. Refer to this list of resume skills and keywords to get an idea of what hiring managers and automatic screeners are looking for.

Chances are, being a stay at home mom has given you a host of transferable skills (such as time management, communication skills, and follow-through). You should definitely work these into your resume if you can, but remember to not list them directly into your resume — e.g. don't mention 'time management' skills, but show how you have delivered a project that required strong time management .

Read more: How to write a resume skills section

What to Avoid

While it may be tempting, particularly if you manage a complex household or go above and beyond in your daily duties, you should refrain from listing “Head of Household” or “CEO of Household” in the body of your resume. No matter how elaborate your work in this role, claiming it as job experience means you risk signaling to the hiring manager that you hold your household to be equivalent in the scope of duties and level of accountability as you would a business.

Generally speaking, CEOs of businesses hold much greater responsibility (from the business’s perspective) than heads of households, and significantly more financial risk is involved.

With that said, if you have made a spreadsheet to manage your family’s finances, you can definitely include Microsoft Excel in your technical skills . You may also be able to work it into your cover letter to demonstrate your commitment to organization.

Optimize and Fine Tune Your Resume

Once you’re finished building the bones of your resume, you can use a few different tools to optimize it and make adjustments that will enable it to get past automatic screeners.

Get feedback on your stay-at-home parent resume

As a stay at home mom, you can write an effective resume by highlighting any volunteer work, online courses, freelance work you did while being a stay-at-home parent. You should also use your past work experience and stay at home experience to highlight your soft and transferable skills. Once you’re done writing your resume, upload it to the tool below — this AI-powered tool will analyze your resume, highlight any trouble spots, and make recommendations in a quick and easy process.

Tailor your stay-at-home parent resume

If you know the job you’re applying for, Targeted Resume is another free AI-powered tool that will enable you to tailor your resume to that specific position. The tool will assess your resume based on the job you’re applying for and let you know what skills you might be leaving out.

Another good way to quickly target your resume to the job you’re applying for, is by including relevant keywords on your resume. Use the tool below to get a list of keywords relevant to the job.

General Tips for Your Job Search

Going back to work after taking time to care for your family is a big step, but keeping these tips in mind can help make it easier.

Your personal network could be your biggest resource when looking for a job. As many as 80 percent of people have gotten a job through someone they know, meaning that it would behoove you to ask around among your acquaintances to see if anyone has heard of something in the field you’re looking for.

Use social media

If you don’t have a robust social network (as sometimes happens when your focus is fully on your children), don’t despair. Build your profile on LinkedIn (using similar techniques as you did with your resume) and start reaching out to people at companies you’d like to work for. Alternatively, consider attending in-person networking events with your local Chamber of Commerce or those hosted at businesses themselves.

Go at your own pace

Looking for a job at any point in life can be stressful, so remember to care for yourself as much as possible during the job search. Reconnect with your family with ample quality time, during the job search and once you’ve secured a position. It can take time to get the ball rolling, but once you get back into the field, the soft skills you gained as a mother are bound to serve you well!

  • Career Advice

Spread the word

Why networking is important and actionable steps to start today, how to write an opening statement for your resume + 10 examples, keep reading, how to show bilingualism on your resume (with examples), oops what to do if there’s a mistake on your resume, getting the basics right: resume line spacing, subscribe to our newsletter.

Stay updated with Resume Worded by signing up for our newsletter.

🎉 Awesome! Now check your inbox and click the link to confirm your subscription.

Please enter a valid email address

Oops! There was an error sending the email, please try later

resume wording for stay at home mom

Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.

resume wording for stay at home mom

ResumeCoach

Resume Templates

Resume samples

resume wording for stay at home mom

Create and edit your resume online

Generate compelling resumes with our AI resume builder and secure employment quickly.

Write a cover letter

resume wording for stay at home mom

Cover Letter Examples

Cover Letter Samples

resume wording for stay at home mom

Create and edit your cover letter

Use our user-friendly tool to create the perfect cover letter.

Featured articles

  • How to Write a Motivation Letter With Examples
  • How to Write a Resume in 2024 That Gets Results
  • Teamwork Skills on Your Resume: List and Examples
  • What Are the Best Colors for Your Resume?

Latests articles

  • Top AI Skills for a Resume: Benefits and How To Include Them
  • Top 5 Tricks to Transform Your LinkedIn Profile With ChatGPT
  • Using ChatGPT to Prepare for Interviews: Top Tips and Steps
  • How to Create an Effective Cover Letter with ChatGPT

resume wording for stay at home mom

Dive Into Expert Guides to Enhance your Resume

Stay-At-Home Mom Resume Examples

Prepare to rejoin the workforce with a strategic stay-at-home mom resume

RC Team

Home Staying Resume Samples

1. Stay-at-home mom seeking administrative role:

Resume summary statement:

Highly organized and responsible office administrator seeking a new role in the sector after a career gap of 3-years focused on raising a young family.

  • Planned and scheduled all meetings and outside appointments
  • Assisted senior management and other staff members with invoice payment for necessary expenditures
  • Created, entered and organized data within the company database
  • Managed company inventory on a bi-monthly basis

2. Stay-at-home mom experience seeking a bookkeeping role without prior experience:

Flexible, focused, motivated, and recently qualified bookkeeper, seeking opportunities for a new career direction in this sector.

  • Strong skills in delegation and prioritization
  • Responsible multitasker with a flexible approach to problem-solving
  • Handled all bookkeeping tasks for a local church during a summer festival
  • Experienced with budgeting and scheduling

Stay-At-Home Mom Resume Vocabulary & Writing Tips

Using targeted vocabulary is important on almost any resume these days. Most employers currently use special  applicant tracking software (ATS)  in order to make sure resumes demonstrate enough expertise and industry specific knowledge before they are read by a human recruiter.

In the case of stay-at-home moms returning to the workforce, it’s essential to correctly target your career sector of choice with  the right terms and action verbs . However, there are a number of key expressions which will be applicable to all parents in this position no matter the sector.

Words to Use

  • Problem solving
  • Attention-to-detail
  • Adminstration
  • Enthusiastic
  • Preparation
  • Multi-tasking
  • Collaboration
  • Responsible

Action Verbs

  • Communicate

Stay-At-Home Mom Resume Tips and Ideas

During the formative years of your child’s life,  motherhood is itself a full time job . However, as he or she grows and a transition back into the workforce becomes a possibility, you may feel daunted by the gaps in your work experience that stay-at-home parents often have.

Nonetheless, there’s no need to panic. By creating  a smart stay-at-home mom resume that addresses this period of downtime in your career,  you can re-enter the labor market more smoothly.

If you’re not sure how to write a resume that carefully  explains your expertise in your chosen field and delicately describes your recent period of maternity leave , don’t worry. The following guide will give you a crash course on how to structure, write and present a stay-at-home mother resume that will resonate with employers. Combine these tips with our expert  resume generator  and you’ll be able to create the perfect resume to get your career back on track.

  • Recommended:  Chronological
  • No career experience:  Functional
  • Write in a size 12 neutral font
  • Use clear headers and subheaders
  • Add some neutral colors to borders and dividing lines
  • Choose a clear and tidy template
  • Break up information heavy text into bullet points
  • Contact information
  • Resume summary

Work experience

Qualifications.

  • Volunteering
  • Certifications and courses
  • Hobbies and interests

Resume Length

1-2 x letter pages (8.5” x 11”)

Unlike many other types of resume, you may need a different approach in the format structure you use. As most stay-at-home moms are  out of the workforce for months or years at a time , a  reverse chronological resume  format isn’t the most ideal one to choose. This form of resume is normally most effective as it highlights your most recent work experience. However, if your last job wasn’t very recent, then it could work as a disadvantage.

Instead, it’s better to use another sort of resume, such as a  functional  or  combination format . These both place  more emphasis on your skills and expertise  in the subject matter. They will still detail your work experience, however, their focus is much more on your abilities. This will give a hiring manager a much better incentive to consider you for the role on offer, than your career experience alone.

Whilst your stay-at-home mom resume for a return to work should read well, it also needs to look good. Whilst it doesn’t need to be a work of conceptual art you should  work to make sure that it is an attractive, tidy and easy to read the document .

First of all, write the informative text in a size 12, easy-to-read text. It’s best to stick to tried and tested fonts, such as  Arial, Calibri or Time New Roman  as these are simpler to scan-read. However, you can use a little more creative license with the headers and subheaders on the page. These can be written in a bigger text and more artistic fonts to make each section stand out and make the structure clearer to understand.

The template you choose should be able to present all the information you need to  fit on the page, cleanly and tidily . However, to make it that little bit more attractive, and therefore eye-catching to the recruiter, use some neutral color in the borders, headers and dividing lines.

In most careers across the USA,  a profile photo on your resume isn’t expected . This is due to strict employment discrimination laws, which recruiters will be eager to avoid breaking. Therefore this is rarely a requirement and adding a photo could even be disadvantageous to your application.

Sections of a Stay-At-Home Mom Resume

Employers sitting down to read your resume will want to see you best and most employable qualities first and foremostly. You, therefore, should seek to include the following  essential sections  on your resumes:

However, while you are on maternity leave, there are many activities and achievements you can also detail. These are especially important when you’re returning to work after a period of more than 4 months. Therefore, where relevant, you should seek to  include one or more of the following optional sections :

Your resume in any situation should be short and concise. In the case of a stay-at-home mom, this also rings true. It’s recommended you keep your document to just  a single letter page of 8.5” x 11” . However, if you have experience, achievements or qualifications that are essential, and push the text to over 2 pages, this is also possible. Overall though, the less dense your resume is the better, as many recruiters won’t read past one page.

Stay-At-Home Mom Resume Section Headings

There are many strategies you can use to  address the gap in your career history  during your maternity leave. One of the best places to explain these spaces in your work experience is in your  career objective  or  resume summary  section.

This couple of sentences will not only allow you to explain your situation, but it will also help you highlight your most employable skills. Additionally, you can  use this section to restate your enthusiasm  for your previous career or to reenter the workforce, with a demonstrable passion that will be irresistible for an organization.

The  work experience section  on a stay-at-home mom resume is still highly important, although is quite different from the ones on conventional resumes. As always, you should still  seek to present the information about your previous roles in reverse chronological order  and include details, such as:

  • The name of the company
  • Your position title
  • The dates you were employed between
  • A list of your duties in the position

However, unlike other application documents, you may wish to include jobs from further back in your career, to  give a more complete picture of your expertise . Furthermore, any volunteering work and part-time work experience you’ve gained in the intervening months or years should be included. This is still practical work and is a demonstration of your eagerness to keep active professionally.

In many cases, the  skills section  of your return to the workforce resume will still  focus on the most employable abilities in your chosen career . One big difference is that your time away from the workforce can be used to further embellish your talents and abilities.

Let’s not forget, being a mother is work in itself, and there are  numerous practical skills that can be attained from your time looking after your baby . It’s a good idea to mention any skills you’ve attained during the months you were raising your children full time. In terms of  hard and soft skills  these could include:

Hard skills:

  • Organization and prioritization
  • Food preparation
  • Crisis management

Soft skills:

  • Emotional intelligence
  • Communication
  • Time management
  • Responsibility

If you already hold a degree or relevant qualifications for the role you’re targeting, you should naturally include it in the  education section . However, bear in mind that  gaining a qualification or furthering your studies during your maternity leave  can also be a very encouraging sign to future employers.

There are many online courses in  relevant subjects such as accounting, marketing and administration  that can be completed online or in your own home whilst you’re taking care of your baby. Therefore, be sure to get this onto your resume, if this is the case.

CV template Munich

Struggling with Resume Writing?

Ease the process with our templates

Related Professions

Stay-At-Home Dad A convincing stay-at-home dad resume is your window back to your career. Why not get it right by following our sample stay-at-home dad resume with pro tips. Updated on April 17, 2024 Stay-At-Home Dad

Housekeeper An excellent online resume builder can help you create an awesome housekeeper resume that will get you hired. Get expert resume tips and advice. Updated on January 17, 2024 Housekeeper

Caregiver How to write a caregiver resume with examples, templates, and samples. Learn what keywords and formats to use to get your caregiver resume noticed. Updated on December 21, 2023 Caregiver

Stay-at-Home Parent Resume Examples and Templates for 2024

Stay-at-Home Parent Resume Examples and Templates for 2024

Jacob Meade

  • Resume Examples

How To Write a Stay-at-Home Parent Resume

  • Resume Text Examples

Re-entering the workforce can be daunting, and you may have questions about how to create a resume if you haven’t been employed in a few years or have significant gaps on your resume . Use the tips and templates below to craft a compelling resume highlighting your skills, such as family and management and handling projects as a volunteer.

  • Entry-Level
  • Senior-Level

Entry-Level

1. Create a profile by summarizing your stay-at-home mom qualifications

Modern resumes have traded the objective for a profile summary. This section should give a hiring manager a quick overview of your skills and the type of position you’re seeking. It’s fine to write your profile summary as if you don’t have any gaps in your resume, but if you need to explain, you can add “returning” or something similar before the job title to make it clear you’re coming back into the industry.

Senior-Level Profile Example

A compassionate, empathetic attorney with over 10 years of experience in family law. A proven track record of managing complex negotiations and litigations for over 500 legal cases. Adept at identifying peaceful resolutions to preserve family relationships and secure fair compensation for clients.

Entry-Level Profile Example

An environmental science expert with an advanced knowledge of land management policies, habitat conservation, and community outreach. A proven track record of collaborating with naturalists, planners, and conservationists to address local and state issues facing communities in Florida.

2. Create a powerful list of your stay-at-home mom experience

The professional experience section is usually the largest on your resume. If you previously held several jobs, focus on those most relevant to the position. Something doesn’t have to be a paid position to count as professional experience. If you did volunteer work, including these roles can give you more recent positions to list. Generally, you don’t need to worry too much about time gaps in your resume, as these can be explained in the cover letter and interview.

Senior-Level Professional Experience Example

Associate, Germaine and Associates, San Diego, CA | 2009 – 2015

  • Represented clients in all areas of family law, including divorce, custody, paternity, child support, alimony, and distribution of assets and debts
  • Drafted and reviewed all pleadings, briefs, and oral arguments, performed comprehensive legal research, and oversaw discovery motions for pending litigations
  • Provided legal support for mediations, negotiations, and litigations in over 500 legal cases and communicated empathetically with clients during divorce trials

Entry-Level Professional Experience Example

Volunteer, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Durham, NC | 2016 – present

  • Served as a volunteer for a state-wide environmental campaign for a conservation nonprofit, which included supporting initiatives to expand education and grow awareness of environmental issues across communities, schools, and local governments
  • Supported lobbying efforts to garner support from local politicians for environmental legislation, attended public hearings, and performed grassroots campaigning

3. List your relevant education and certifications

Your resume should always include any certificates or academic degrees relevant to the position. Still, it’s also a good idea to add your educational background, even if it’s not a direct fit for the job. Some employers require specific academic qualifications, such as a bachelor’s or master’s degree, regardless of the field of study. If you took classes as electives or completed any special projects relevant to the industry, you can also list these.

  • [Degree Name]
  • [School Name], [City, State Abbreviation] – [Graduation Month and Year]
  • Associate of Applied Science in Health Information Technology
  • Arapahoe Community College, Littleton, CO – May 2008

Certifications

  • [Certification Name], [Awarding Organization], [Completion Year]
  • Certified Professional Coder (CPC)

4. Make a list of your relevant skills and proficiencies

When a hiring manager creates a job description, they generally list the needed skills and responsibilities. Use this to your advantage by including a key skills and proficiencies list on your resume. Add any qualities you possess in the job posting and anything else that might be relevant. Remember that being a stay-at-home parent gives you a unique set of skills that can be valuable to an employer. Here are some qualities you may use on your resume.

Key Skills and Proficiencies
Budgeting Communication
Computer literacy Creativity
Decision-making Emotional intelligence
Flexibility Leadership
Multitasking Negotiation
Organization Patience
Problem-solving Project management
Teamwork Time management

How To Pick the Best Stay-at-Home Parent Resume Template

Most professional resumes should be formatted in a way that is clean and easy to read. The main exceptions to this rule are creative positions, such as graphic design, or a job that requires a more personal connection, such as a nanny. When looking for a resume template, consider the industry you’re applying for and whether to use a reverse chronological or functional resume.

Stay-at-Home Parent Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples

Christine Marvel (482) 889-2457 [email protected] 1430 Gulf Boulevard, Sand Key, FL 33767

An Environmental Science Expert with an advanced knowledge of land management policies, habitat conservation, and community outreach. A proven track record of collaborating with naturalists, planners, and conservationists to address local and state issues facing communities in the state of Florida.

Professional Experience

Land Conservancy of Florida, Orlando, FL  July 2010 to April 2013

  • Coordinated with planners, naturalists, and conservations to examine opportunities for land preservation and stewardship
  • Developed critical habitat conservation and management plan for threatened and endangered species, including green sea turtles and American alligators
  • Completed trail designs for small community parks
  • Developed stream restoration project to protect drinking water supply
  • Delivered recommendations to stakeholders using various design and presentation tools to maximize accessibility for the public and government leaders

Volunteer, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Durham, NC  2016 to Present

  • Served as a volunteer for a state-wide environmental campaign for a conservation non-profit, which included supporting initiatives to expand education and grow awareness of environmental issues across communities, schools, and local governments
  • Collaboration
  • Planning and research
  • Problem solving
  • Report production
  • Presentation and communication of complex ideas
  • Design support
  • Expertise in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint

MBA 2008 – 2010 THE WHARTON SCHOOL, Philadelphia, PA 2008 – 2010

Bachelor of Science, Environmental Sciences & Policy NICHOLAS SCHOOL OF THE ENVIRONMENT, DUKE UNIVERSITY, Durham, NC 2004 – 2008

Erica Foley (423) 892-1149 [email protected] #8 The Parkway, Boulder, CO 80301

A Certified Medical Coder with seven years of progressive experience assigning ICD and CPT codes to patient medical records. A proven track record of coordinating with diverse teams and identifying opportunities to improve accuracy, production, and operational workflows.

Supervisor, Medical Coding – Boulder Emergency Care, Boulder, Colorado June 2011 – July 2014

  • Managed a five-person team performing coding for medical records and documentation related to diseases, symptoms, diagnoses, and patient history for emergency services
  • Created a new peer review process for medical records to reduce coding errors, which improved department accuracy from 91% to 97%
  • Identified opportunities to enhance operational workflows and improve team performance, which improved production from 260 reviews to 300+ per day

Medical Coder/HCC Coding – Boulder Family Practice , Boulder, Colorado November 2008 — June 2011

  • Reviewed patient medical records to verify and ensure appropriate and accurate diagnoses and procedural data in compliance with CMS and state specific guidelines
  • Utilized all correct coding initiatives for each and every insurance policy as well as state law requirements
  • Reviewed EOBs for patient insurance carriers and completed appropriate paperwork to appeal denials

Volunteerism Experience

Boulder Literacy Center , Volunteer , Boulder, Colorado October 2015 — Present

  • Provided education services to improve literacy and reading comprehension for children, adults, and ESL students
  • Taught a basic Excel course each summer to three classes of over 20 students, which included creating lesson plans and providing tutoring services

Associate of Applied Science in Health Information Technology ARAPAHOE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Littleton, CO 2006-2008

  • Medical Terminology
  • Speed Typing
  • Medical Coding
  • Process Improvement

Stacy Richman (442) 782-3508 [email protected] 223 Beagle Court, San Diego, CA 92107

A compassionate, empathetic attorney with 10+ years of experience in family law. A proven track record of managing complex negotiations and litigations for over 500+ legal cases. Adept at identifying peaceful resolutions to preserve family relationships and secure fair compensation for clients.

Associate, Germaine and Associates, San Diego, CA 2009 to 2015

  • Represented clients in all areas of family law including divorce, custody, paternity, child support, alimony, and distribution of assets and debts
  • Provided legal support for mediations, negotiations, and litigations in over 500+ legal cases, and communicated empathetically with clients during divorce trials

Family Law Attorney, Harris, Bogart and Smith, Encino, CA 2004 to 2009

  • Drafted discovery motions, briefs, pleas, and oral arguments for complex family law cases, conducted legal research, and ensured fair treatment and compensation for clients
  • Represented clients in negotiations, court hearings, and trials, and identified peaceful resolutions to mediate conflicts and preserve relationships for families

Juris Doctor PEPPERDINE CARUSO SCHOOL OF LAW, Malibu, CA 2001-2004

Bachelor of Arts, English  COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY, Williamsburg, VA 1997-2001

  • Legal Research
  • Client Relations
  • Negotiation
  • California Bar

Frequently Asked Questions: Stay-at-Home Parent Resume Examples and Advice

What are common action verbs for stay-at-home parent resumes -.

Writing the professional experience section of your resume is as simple as breaking your job duties down into bullets and starting each one with a strong action verb. But creating a unique verb for each bullet isn’t always easy. If you need some ideas to get you started, we’ve compiled a list of action verbs that should fit most stay-at-home parent resumes below.

Action Verbs
Adapted Balanced
Budgeted Collaborated
Coordinated Created
De-escalated Facilitated
Implemented Managed
Monitored Negotiated
Nurtured Organized
Planned Prioritized
Researched Resolved
Supervised Supported

How do you align your stay-at-home parent resume with a job description? -

If you’re ready to re-enter the workforce, it may help to look for a job in an industry projected to experience above-average growth . Often, there are more open positions, and you may face less competition from other applicants. Ensuring your resume is targeted to each role can also give you an edge over other candidates and increase the chances that your resume makes it in front of a human reviewer.

What is the best stay-at-home parent resume format? -

Avoid the traditional reverse chronological format if your resume has a significant time gap. Instead, consider a functional or combination resume. A functional resume focuses on your skills and qualifications so the hiring manager can see what a great candidate you are before noting that you have gaps in your work history. And a combination resume is the best of both worlds, letting you organize key skills like managing a home or volunteering while still showing you have traditional work experience.

Craft your perfect resume in minutes

Get 2x more interviews with Resume Builder. Access Pro Plan features for a limited time!

Your resume and cover letter are a team. The resume lets a hiring manager know who you are and what your skills are quickly, and the cover letter provides context for your professional achievements and gives you a chance to explain why you’re interested in the position. When writing a cover letter , decide whether to explain any gaps in your resume or why you’re re-entering the workforce, but keep it to just a sentence or two if you do. The focus of your application, including your resume and cover letter, should be on what you can do for the employer now.

Jacob Meade headshot

Jacob Meade

Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW, ACRW)

Jacob Meade is a resume writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience. His writing method centers on understanding and then expressing each person’s unique work history and strengths toward their career goal. Jacob has enjoyed working with jobseekers of all ages and career levels, finding that a clear and focused resume can help people from any walk of life. He is an Academy Certified Resume Writer (ACRW) with the Resume Writing Academy, and a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches.

Check Out Related Examples

Related Resume Example 1

Health Care Resume Examples and Templates

Related resume example

Human Resources Resume Examples and Templates

Related resume example

Marketing Resume Examples and Templates

Sidebar image

Build a Resume to Enhance Your Career

  • How Do You Write a Resume When You Haven’t Worked in Years? Learn More
  • How To List Volunteer Experience on a Resume Learn More
  • How To Turn Basic Duties Into Powerful Achievements on Your Resume Learn More

Essential Guides for Your Job Search

  • How to Write a Resume Learn More
  • How to Write a Cover Letter Learn More
  • Thank You Note Examples Learn More
  • Resignation Letter Examples Learn More

data analyst

How to Write a Stay at Home Mom Resume and Get Back into the Workforce

If you decide you want to reenter the workforce after some time away, we’ll help you set up your stay at home mom resume!

author image

Customers Interviewed by:

amazon

“Mom!” 

“Mom…mom, mom, mom, mom…MOM!”

MOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!”

Being a stay at home mom is tough. It’s akin to being in the workforce with an extremely needy, indecisive manager.

This position requires resilience, patience (and then probably much more patience), organization, and focus. And there is no 5 p.m. cutoff or a real end to the workday. 

Again, it’s tough. And it has only gotten tougher with the pandemic.

In this article, we’ll highlight the challenges women are currently facing in the workforce and why many of them are deciding to become stay at home moms. We’ll also share how they can create their stay at home mom resume to reenter the workforce if that’s what they decide.

Use Jobscan’s free ATS-friendly resume templates and start building your resume that gets noticed by recruiters!

resume wording for stay at home mom

Deciding to return to the workforce

So – you took a break from your career to be a stay-at-home parent and you’re thinking about returning to the workforce. This might be a return to your former career or perhaps your interests and values have changed and you are interested in something completely different. Whatever you choose, know that you have developed some incredible skills during your time away from the workforce and those skills are in demand in the workplace!

When the time comes, you might be feeling overwhelmed given the amount of information available. A quick Google search for “ how to write a resume ” yields 2,010,000,000 results. Who has time to go through all those results, much less decide what is valid information? Not a stay-at-home mom! That’s why we’re offering four top tips on what to include on your stay-at-home mom resume.

1) There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all resume

You cannot create one resume and use it for every application. You must customize each one and target it to the position. Use the job posting as your guide when writing your resume . Pull out the keywords and skills and incorporate them into your resume. Otherwise, your resume will get lost and overlooked by applicant tracking systems . It might sound like a lot of work, editing your resume for each job you apply to, but it is critical to do this so your application will catch your reader’s attention.

Jobscan removes the guesswork from this process.

Just paste your resume and a job description below to see a prioritized list of skills, keywords, and other checks to consider.

2) Identify the skills you gained while taking care of your kids

Everyone has something to offer. Everyone. Not only that, but every experience is marketable. It’s all in how you present it. As a stay-at-home mother, you didn’t necessarily get a paycheck each week, but that doesn’t make your experience any less valuable.

Being a stay-at-home parent is one of the hardest jobs you will ever have, and the skills you gained are incredibly transferrable. Some of these skills include multi-tasking, communication , persuading, listening, research, organization, managing people, collaboration, and the ultimate mom skill—negotiation. The list does not stop there.

Consider ALL aspects of your life—organizing schedules, managing a household, managing finances, helping your child with schoolwork, volunteering, being on a board, involvement in your community, etc. Ask yourself and make a list: What do I do and how do I do it?

To demonstrate this, I would like to introduce you to one of my clients. Laura left her career to stay at home and raise her two kids. When they were in school, she volunteered for the school playground project. This experience included fundraising, research, community presentations, and collaborating with the school, parents, and the company that was contracted to build the playground. 

After the project was finished, the company approached Laura to see if she would be interested in a part-time role. They were so impressed with the work that she did and the skills that she demonstrated. At the time, she didn’t think much about her involvement in the project, other than ensuring a fantastic space for her kids to play. In retrospect, it was amazing to identify the tasks she did and the skills she gained.

If you are uncertain about your skills and need help identifying them, evaluate yourself. Get help from a career development professional or do some self-assessment on your own. Try reviewing these employability skills from the Conference Board of Canada to see what skills you have.

3) Address the gap in your stay at home mom resume

A resume that has a gap in employment can be a red flag for a recruiter . It is important to include employment dates, as this is information that employers look for. You will likely create a resume that contains information about the job(s) you had prior to taking time away from the workforce. Treat your experience as a stay-at-home mom as a position you held. Give it a title, include dates, and outline the activities, skills, and accomplishments you acquired during this time.

Having said that, avoid tongue-in-cheek titles such as “Chef,” “Domestic Engineer,” “Chauffeur,” and “Housekeeper.” It’s true you have done all these roles but using them as your job title on your resume will do you a disservice, confuse recruiters and applicant tracking systems, and not sell your transferable skills very well. To be blunt—you won’t be taken seriously. Instead, try something like “Career Sabbatical to Take Care of Children.” Your bullet points can include the skills you gained in your role as a stay-at-home parent that easily transfer to the position you are applying to. These are known as transferable skills.

4) Does it add value?

As you curate and compile all the content for your resume, a couple of things to keep in the back of your mind are, “Does this add value for my reader? Does it demonstrate my skills and accomplishments for the position I am applying to?” In general, it is recommended that you avoid including the following on your resume, as many of these practices are not only dated, but they are taking up valuable space on your resume:

  • Objective statements
  • References, and the term “References available upon request”.
  • Avoid including information about your sexual orientation, religious and political affiliation, marital status, age , social security number, and physical characteristics

Include activities such as volunteer or community involvement, continuing education courses , freelance projects, professional development, or self-employment you may have had during your break from your career.

Remember, a stay-at-home parent has an incredible skillset, both from their experiences as a mom, as well as her past experiences in other areas of life. By taking the time to identify the value you bring, it will make it easier to communicate this on your stay-at-home mom resume and to demonstrate your value to your next employer.

COVID-19 and stay at home moms

COVID-19 wreaked havoc on women in the workforce, forcing as many as 4,637,000 women to lose their payroll jobs according to The New York Times . One of the main reasons is because there is now so much uncertainty when it comes to their children. Schools have had to switch back and forth between having students work from home or go to class—or a hybrid of the two.

Because of this, moms are needing to stay home. Either that or they take on additional expenses that come with childcare. But unfortunately, childcare is simply not in the budget for most. In fact, The New York Times also reported that 32 percent of women between ages 25 and 44 blamed childcare for their unemployment. 

Below are a few additional statistics when it comes to stay-at-home moms and the pandemic:

  • Nine percent —that’s the drop in the labor force participation of unpartnered mothers. This is also the largest among all of the groups of parents. ( The New York Times )
  • 66 percent of mothers reported being responsible for the childcare when it comes to “partnered parents.” ( Los Angeles Times )
  • 80 percent of mothers have reported being primarily responsible for doing housework since the onslaught of the pandemic. ( Los Angeles Times )

Working mothers are also twice as worried as working fathers that they are being judged on their performance due to having to care for their children during the pandemic, according to The New York Times .

So if you decide you want (or need) to stay at home with your children, especially during the pandemic, know that you absolutely still have the option to return to the workforce if that’s what you want. 

And if you decide to rewrite your resume from scratch, we can help! Head over to our free resume builder , choose one of our ATS-friendly templates, add your information using our simple forms, print/download, and submit your stay at home mom resume!

free resume builder

Lise Stransky is a Certified Career Development Professional and founder of the career services firm, Careers That Work for You . Lise believes work should be meaningful. This is the number one value that guides her work with clients as she helps them to identify their skills, values and interests to find their ideal job.

author image

Lise Stransky is a Certified Career Development Professional and founder of the career services firm, Careers That Work for You.

Related Articles

resume being handed

June 4, 2024

How to Write a Resume Summary Statement: Resume Summary Examples

May 14, 2024

Three people working together

March 22, 2024

Woman naming file on her computer.

March 13, 2024

Join 2 million job seekers who get bi-weekly job search tips

Get insider knowledge and ready-to-use job-seeking tips and hacks delivered to your inbox.

Stay At Home Mom Resume Example

If you’ve been a stay-at-home mom for the past 5 or even more years, returning back to work can feel extremely exciting and frightening.

Check out this article provided by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on stay-at-home mothers through the years.

After such a large gap in your employment history, you may feel like your skills have gotten a bit rusty. And you may even feel like you don’t have much to offer as a part of the workforce. The good news is that it’s not quite true. You have all it takes to land a job and, with this guide, you are just a few scrolls away from your killer stay at home mom resume example .

First of all, even if you’ve been out of the game for some time, you still have some experiences to put on your stay at home mom resume. Besides, needless to say, that stay-at-home moms do have some real superpowers. So, all you need is to know a few tricks for transforming all you have into a flawless resume .

In this guide, you’ll discover dozens of head-turning stay at home mom resumes examples , and actionable tips for creating your own resume. Follow through to learn what makes a resume perfect and get ready for your grandiose return to the workforce.

resume wording for stay at home mom

How To Write a Stay At Home Mom Resume

Writing a convincing job application that can make potential employers want to recruit and eventually employ you isn’t an easy task when you’ve been out of the workforce for a while. You may have the right level of qualification, excellent education, and even lots of relevant professional experience. But, if your experience gap is too big, rejoining the workforce can be tough.

To get back into the game, you will need to craft a winning resume that will drive the recruiter’s attention and get you employed. As you can guess, ensuring success as a stay at home parent won’t be easy. So, it’s quite natural if you are wondering how to write a resume being a stay-at-home mom.

To get you started, let’s look at some basic tips :

  • Tailor your resumes to a stay at home mom job description. Using a stay at home mom job description for resume helps you avoid making a generic resume that doesn’t stand out.
  • Focus on the key skills you already have.
  • Distract recruiters from your experience gap by putting the experiences section near the bottom of a resume, using only years for work dates, and drawing more attention to the skills section.
  • Boost your chances to succeed in the job search by acquiring new skills.
  • Complement your resume with a powerful cover letter.

Choose the Right Template for a Stay At Home Mom Resume

Now, let’s move to the actionable steps for writing a brilliant resume for stay at home mom. The first thing to take care of is the formatting and template for your resume .

The truth is, even if you’ve been out of the workforce for years, you still got everything to succeed. All you need is to lay it out for the recruiter the right way. So, here are a few handy tips for choosing a perfect stay at home mom resume template that will help you engage recruiters and employers:

  • The reverse-chronological format is your best bet. Often, writing guides advise using a functional resume format in resumes for stay at home moms as it allows you to “hide” the gaps. But, your goal is not to hide but to explain your gaps.
  • Don’t go over the limits with your design, fonts, and other elements. Keep it simple and clean.
  • Structure your resume with consistent headings.
  • Don’t make it cluttered with the info and leave lots of white space.
  • Convert to PDF.

How to Write a Resume for Stay At Home Mom with No Experience

Writing a solid stay at home mom resume is hard by default as you will have to explain to the hiring managers why you had these huge gaps in your employment history. But, if you have no employment history at all, things get even tougher. Or, at least, so it seems.

Here are a few tips to help make resume sample for stay at home mom returning to work and still prove you are a great employee:

  • Start with a resume objective.
  • Put your education and skills sections higher.
  • Emphasize the skills you have.
  • Add extra sections.
  • Bonus Tip: Consider an online job.

In this guide, we will also share with you a well-written sample resume created by pro resume writers for stay at home mom at Skillhub with no work experience created by one of our experts with years of experience in the resume writing business. Be sure to check it out to see how these tips work in practice.

Put Your Education on Resume or a Stay At Home Mom

The education requirements will always get down to the type of job you’d like to occupy. For example, opting for a job in finance, you will probably need at least a BA in a relevant field, but you may not be required to have a degree if you apply for a stay at home job. Despite this, the education section should always be included on a resume stay at home mom. After all, even if it’s not required for a job, at least it will help you make the right impression and get more interviews.

Besides, a solid education section can make up for the lack of experience or large gap.

Here is how to make it flawless:

  • Don’t list only the highest level of education. Expand your section with other entries.
  • Include such basic details as:
  • School name/location
  • Study years
  • Provide extra info, such as minors (if any), relevant coursework, GPA, awards & honors, and other valuable accomplishments.

Put Skills on a Stay At Home Mom Resume

Whether you do or don’t have previous work experience, be sure that you do have plenty of vital skills. In fact, if you are a stay at home mom returning to work you probably have much more to offer employers than you could think. All you need to do is to prove this to the hiring manager and you will become a worthy applicant.

To put skills on a stay at home mom resume sample the right way, simply list the key soft and hard skills in a separate section. Also, don’t forget to include the best skills in your resume summary or objective and confirm them in your education and experience sections.

Here is a list of some of the most valuable stay at home mom resume skills job seekers may want to have in their applications:

  • Organizational skills
  • Computer & Internet skills
  • Adaptability
  • Self-motivation
  • Written and verbal communication
  • Strong ability to work under stress and pressure
  • Time management skills
  • Multi-tasking
  • Conflict resolution
  • Decision making

Add Contact Info to Your Resume

If you ask us what is the most integral part inherent in every sample resume for stay at home mom, that’s definitely a contact info section.

It should include:

  • Phone number (important: updated and error-free)
  • Professionally-looking email address
  • Extras like links to your social media accounts.
Pro Tip: Please note that depending on the stay home moms jobs you are applying for, you may also need to show what you’re capable of through a personal portfolio. If that’s the case, be sure to make a clear and inspiring portfolio and include the link in the contact info section.

Add Other Sections to Your Effective Resume

Whether you have many years of experience gap or no past employment history at all, you will need to compensate for that through other sections of your resume . First of all, as you already know, you will need to emphasize your skills and education sections. But even that’s not all.

If you are wondering how to get a job after being a stay at home mom for 20 years, we recommend showing recruiting firms more of you with additional resume sections. Extra sections help to make up for the lack of experience and showcase your personality. Therefore, they can significantly boost your chances of being hired because (despite a common belief) employers are looking to hire humans, so they would love to learn more about your true self. 

So, what extra sections can help you land the working at home mom jobs of your choice? Here are some ideas you can use for your stay at home mom resumes samples:

  • Languages - Knowing a foreign language gives a competitive advantage.
  • Volunteering - Volunteering experiences on stay at home mom resume samples always attract attention.
  • Hobbies & interests - If you have hobbies and interests that somehow align with the job, they can be a great addition to your resume.

Add Cover Letter to Your Stay At Home Mom Resume

If you are just about to return to the workforce after a large break, you will need to seek every possibility to impress the recruiters and grab it. Namely, to land a solid work at home mom job, you will need to prepare a killer cover letter.

Even if you have a job-winning sample resume for stay at home moms, a cover letter is one more opportunity to give your career a head start. So, you should make use of this opportunity.

Now, how can one create a top-notch stay at home mom resume cover letter? Here are the main points to keep in mind while writing:

  • Keep it concise, meanwhile providing maximum value.
  • Organize your cover letter well.
  • Write it in a clear, formal, and positive tone.
  • Get straight to the point.
  • Use it to showcase your communication skills, stand out from the crowd of competitors, and make your application memorable.

Use Key Action Verbs

Why do you need resume keywords and action verbs on your resume for a stay at home mom going back to work? There are 3 big reasons:

  • This way you avoid cliches and generic phrases.
  • It helps your resume get noticed by the applicant tracking system (ATS).
  • It helps make the right impression on recruiters.

But, what words exactly do you need to use? Here is a list of effective action verbs to consider:

  • Participated
  • Volunteered
  • Contributed
  • Spearheaded
  • Accomplished
  • Succeeded in

Stay At Home Mom Returning To Work Resume

The tips and steps we’ve shared so far work for all types of resumes. However, if you are writing a stay at home mom returning to work resume specifically, there are a few more tips we’d like to give you.

If you are returning to the workforce, write a skills-focused resume. When writing your sample resume stay at home mom returning to work, you want to emphasize your skills from the time when you were professionally active, as well as those skills you gained afterward. And don’t let your employment gap distract you, if the gap was too big, you just need to de-emphasize this section of your resume.

Start your resume with a summary instead of an objective. List a few key skills and professional achievements, and quantify them where possible.

In this guide, you can find many great resume for stay at home mom returning to work examples. Be sure to check them out to see what you should do to land an interview with ease.

Work From Home Resume

Things can be a bit more tricky when applying for a stay at home work. The problem is that employers can’t really test your skills before they hire you for a particular job, which is why they will be even more attentive when checking your resume.

Here are a few tips to help you nail a work from home resume:

  • Make an extensive experiences section. List all relevant jobs and add 3-5 bullet points. You may also list positions that are not relevant to the job you are applying for, but you should indicate transferable skills.
  • Use relevant keywords.
  • List your strongest soft and hard skills.
  • If you need a portfolio, create one and add a link to your contact info section.
  • Find ways to build up some useful and relevant qualifications and/or skills.
  • Also, when applying for a stay at home job, be ready to complete some sort of a test task.

resume wording for stay at home mom

More Resume Examples

career hub professional writer

How to Write a Resume as a Stay at Home Mom Returning to Work

Stay at Home Mom Resume| How to Write & Example | Resume.com

Staying at home to take care of your children is meaningful work that develops new skills and provides you with challenging experiences. However, it can be difficult to translate this onto a resume that will distinguish you as an ideal candidate once you decide to rejoin the workforce. This article explains why creating a stay-at-home mom resume is beneficial, lists steps for updating your resume when returning to work and provides a template and example that will help you craft your own resume.

Why is a stay-at-home mom resume useful?

After spending time out of work to care for your children, it can be difficult to leverage this as an applicable experience once you decide to return to work. Additionally, an employment gap can give employers the wrong impression and discredit your employability. A resume for a stay-at-home mom can help to reintroduce you into the job market and show a hiring manager that you have maintained your skills and experience as well as developed new ones while you were parenting.

How to create a stay at home mom resume

Here are some things to consider as you revise your resume as a stay at home mom:

1. First, consider adopting an alternative resume format

A majority of resumes are written in reverse chronological order, meaning that the most recent experience is listed towards the top of the page. Though that works well for those on a traditional career path where each position usually brings an increase in pay and responsibility, it is less effective for a stay at home mom because it can accentuate the employment gap. Fortunately, there are other options, such as a combination or functional resume, that emphasize your skills rather than your professional experience.

2. Second, craft a resume summary or objective

You can draw attention to your qualifications for the position you are applying for by including additional resume sections, such as a summary statement or an objective. These additions will consolidate your skills, experience and intent, giving hiring managers a clear picture of how you could be an asset to their team.

3. Third, incorporate volunteer roles

Serving as a stay-at-home parent usually allows for opportunities to work in a volunteer capacity with your child’s school or extracurricular activities. Though the work is unpaid, it can still be a wonderful way to showcase your skills and demonstrate that you still had applicable responsibilities during your employment gap. When describing your volunteer work, use action words and direct language, just as you would with past professional experiences. Make sure to highlight any accomplishments in these areas as well.

4. Fourth, mention any freelance work

Even though staying at home with the kids meant a break in full-time, salaried work, you may still have worked as a freelancer, temporary hire or contracted employee. It is beneficial to include any of this information on your resume. It will communicate that your skills are still intact and can fill the gap in your employment history.

5. Next, utilize your references

Providing references can be a great way to assure employers of your abilities despite being away from work for an extended amount of time. Make sure that the contact information is accurate and that the reference is willing to affirm your skills or experience.

6. Then, decide whether you should include your stay at home experience

There are many arguments both for and against including your experience as a stay-at-home mom on your resume. It can be beneficial if you are looking for a role that would benefit from this experience, such as teaching, but could be inapplicable in other industries. Ultimately, only you can decide whether you would like to include this experience on your resume.

7. Lastly, keep your stay at home experience relevant and professional

In many cases, a cover letter is a more appropriate place to explain your employment gap as a stay-at-home mom. However, if you do decide to include this information on your resume, focus on the details that are relevant to the position you are applying for.

Here are some guidelines to help keep your descriptions professional:

  • Avoid giving the position a funny title
  • Only include transferrable skills and responsibilities
  • Avoid providing an exhaustive list of unrelated chores

Stay at home mom resume template

Here is a template to follow as you craft your own resume:

[First and last name]

[Phone number]

[Link to website or online portfolio]

Objective: [Strong, descriptive adjectives] [position] with [years of experience]. [Relevant accomplishments (optional)]. Seeks to use [relevant skills] as a [position] at [organization].

[Name of school], [Dates attended]

Professional Experience:

[Name of organization]

[Job title]

  • [Bulleted list of achievements and responsibilities]

Volunteer Experience:

[Position], [Dates]

  • [List of hard and soft skills that are relevant to the position being applied for]

Stay at home mom resume example

Here is an effective example of a resume for a stay at home mom who is rejoining the workforce:

Sarah Holliday

1234 Marigold Avenue, Seattle WA 98101

(555) 555-5555

[email protected]

SarahHolliday.com

Detail-oriented and tenacious writer with a Master of Arts degree in English and 7+ years of experience seeking to utilize language and communication skills as an editor for Creative Solutions.

M.A. in English from the University of Portland, August 2011 – May 2013

B.A. English from the University of Portland, August 2006 – May 2010

Professional Experience

ACME Enterprises

Lead Content Writer

August 2016 – January 2018

  • Led a team of six writers who were responsible for developing the company’s web page content including home pages, customer-facing advertising and blog pages
  • Performed quarterly performance management evaluations of three writers, sharing the responsibility of performance evaluation with the senior editor and the publisher

Quorum Publishing

May 2013 – July 2016

  • Edited manuscripts for science white papers in the areas of chemistry, pharmacology, genetics and medicine
  • Led the content editor team, supervising two other content editors and their work, which involved handling the last round of edits and providing feedback
  • Reported on their work in quarterly performance management evaluations to the senior editor
  • Evaluated manuscript submissions and worked with writers to help them improve their ideas and thesis
  • Took the lead in developing style standards for the content management team based on AP Style

Tomorrow Publications

Copy Editor

January 2011 – April 2013

  • Reviewed and corrected manuscripts to improve accuracy and readability using AP Style for manuscripts
  • Corrected manuscripts for errors, omissions, inconsistencies and repetition of text and words
  • Checked manuscripts for caption errors and graphics for consistency with the narrative and text of the manuscripts
  • Work with UX web team to create web page content in support of marketing materials

Idlewise Press

Proofreader

June 2010 – March 2011

  • Proofread and fact-checked manuscripts about open source technology and emerging technologies in artificial intelligence
  • Reported errors to the lead editor
  • Collaborated with editing team to ensure accurate and consistent quality of work involving graphic design and text

Volunteer Experience

Hillsdale Preschool Board

Volunteer Secretary

August 2019 – Present

  • Record meeting notes and read the current report at the beginning of each board meeting
  • Keep track of votes on board issues and report these at board meetings as part of meeting notes
  • Serve as a liaison between board members to update information or correct errors in meeting notes
  • Report amended information or correction of errors during board meetings
  • Maintain diaries and logs of meetings
  • Manage meeting schedules and appointments, specifically for the board president and vice president

Hillsdale Preschool

Newsletter Writer

May 2019 – Present

  • Manage and write content for the Hillsdale preschool website and newsletter paper version using AP Style for all articles
  • Manage and maintain the newspaper advertising budget
  • Meet with local advertisers to secure funding for the preschool newsletter

Skills 

  • Technical writing
  • Proofreading/editing
  • Communication
  • Microsoft Office

If you need help writing a resume, use our data-backed resume builder .

Protect your data

This site uses cookies and related technologies for site operation, and analytics as described in our Privacy Policy . You may choose to consent to our use of these technologies, reject non-essential technologies, or further manage your preferences.

  • Getting Ahead
  • A Mother's Guide to Getting...

A Mother's Guide to Getting Back Into the Workforce

10 min read · Updated on May 18, 2022

Ronda Suder

If you've decided to make the transition from full-time mom to 9-to-5, here's a guide to help get you going.

You've changed dirty diapers, tended to scrapes and bruises, and have provided your child or children with as much love and support as you know how to throughout the years. You made the choice to take some time away from your career as a parent to put your children first, and now, it's time to put some focus back on you.But where do you begin so you can assimilate back into the workforce? This is a question many stay at home moms ask themselves when they decide to pull the work attire out of the closet once again.

There is a lot of career advice for new moms out there, as well as many options and steps you can take to prepare to transition back into the workforce, some of which I've shared below. But first, as you begin this journey, be sure to step into those powerhouse shoes, tuck some patience, tenacity, and belief in yourself into your back pocket, ask for help along the way, and know that you can do it. Consider this career transition advice for new moms returning to work.

1. Get clear on what you desire

Make a list of what you're looking for when you do go back to work. What type or organization? What level of position? Do you want to work for a company with promotion opportunities, or are you looking to find a job where you can go in, do your work, and head home without having to worry about your team or how others are doing?The clearer you are with what you desire, the easier it will be to hone in on specific jobs to apply for that match your list. This will also help you to avoid becoming overwhelmed by the many job postings you might be pursuing.

2. Update or prepare your marketing materials

Similar to when you listened to initial career transition advice and landed your first job right out of college or high school, you'll want to have an up-to-date resume and cover letter that speak to your experience, skills, education, volunteer work, and capabilities when applying for this new job. When applying for positions, tailor them to fit each position for which you're applying . For help on writing and updating your resume, consider reading Avoid The Resume Black Hole With These Tips .If you've been out of the workforce for a while, then 7 Assumptions Hiring Managers Make from Reading Your Resume has some nuggets you might find helpful. 

You might also consider developing a website that includes your professional bio and resume. You can easily build a simple, yet professional website with Wordpress.com , Squarespace.com , or ehost.com , to name a few options. Wordpress offers free website options, whereas the others mentioned will host your site for a relatively low annual or monthly fee. For more insight into creating a professional website, refer to Boost Your Online Presence with A Professional Website .

3. Update your professional social media profiles

Per LinkedIn's About Page , LinkedIn has over 400 million members in more than 200 territories and countries throughout the world. LinkedIn is a great tool for you to use to promote yourself, as well as seek out potential employers. I've used it to research potential employees for hire, as well as employers I might be interested in or want to network with.

Also, employers and hiring managers often Google names of applicants these days, so it's a good idea to confirm that you'd be OK with an employer seeing what you have posted online or what comes up when you search your name . Keep your personal social media profiles set to private, as well.

4. Get out there and network!

It's not who you know, but who knows you, as the saying goes. As job seekers are preparing to get back out in the workforce, begin researching local networking events and online groups in which to participate. If you're an HR professional, for example, you might seek out the local Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) chapter to network and keep eyes and ears open for possible job openings. Meetup can also be a good resource to seek out local networking groups specific to your interests and needs, as well as LinkedIn mentioned above.

Further, send an email to family and friends and former coworkers and managers with your resume. Share with them the type of position for which you're looking and ask them to forward your resume if they know of any positions for which you might be a good fit and add value. People like to connect people to opportunities when they can.

5. Consider part-time or temp jobs

If you find that your search for a position is taking longer than expected, consider part-time work or seek out a temp agency who can help you land a temporary or temp-to-hire position. Do an online search for local staffing agencies in your area and give them a call or send them an email to request a job interview. If you get your foot in the door with the right company and prove yourself, then chances are good you'll receive a full-time offer. Another reason to consider part-time work is the fact that it gives you some time to adjust from being a stay at home parent to being back at work before going full-time.

6. Prepare to answer the inevitable question about your gap in employment

Interviewers are most certainly going to ask about any gaps in employment on your resume, especially ones that are a year or longer. You can choose to answer this question in a couple of ways, but it is important to consider this piece of career advice for new moms and provide an answer if it comes up.

You can choose from two strategies to address your employment gap: 

  • You can confirm that you took some time away for personal reasons, which was the best decision for you at the time, and you're now ready to return to work.
  • You can confirm that you took some time away to be a stay at home mom because it was the best decision for you at the time, and now you're ready to put the focus back on your career.

The first choice is vague and could leave the interviewer with suspicions as to why you wouldn't share your "personal reasons." With that said, I understand the second option can raise some sensitivities around parenthood and whether or not you'll be away from the office due to having children. It's not uncommon for mothers to take some time away, so this won't be a new scenario to most interviewers. Plus, a good and knowledgeable interviewer will focus on your ability to do the job vs. your role as a mother.

When asked about gaps in employment, be honest and brief, and always bring the interview back to the position and your qualifications for it. Assure the interviewer that you're qualified for the position and you're very excited to return to work and advance your career development.

Depending on how long you've been away, you can also choose to use a functional resume to highlight your accomplishments within certain skill sets vs. a chronological resume that highlights your time with each company. In other words, a functional resume will help detract attention away from your employment gaps. Another option is to use years for the timeframe with each company, vs. the year and month, as long as you're consistent throughout your resume if you choose to do so.

Related:  How to Address Caregiver Duties on Your Resume

7. Forgo desperation and be focused

Patience is important when it comes to searching for the right job, regardless of where you are in your career. Once you're clear on the types of positions you're interested in as discussed above, begin searching and only apply for those types of positions. Be careful not to apply for every position a company has posted, as this could reflect desperation and a lack of clarity on your part. I do understand that it can sometimes create insecurities since you've been outside of the arena for a while, but you still deserve to land a great position that's the right fit for you, so keep that in mind as you navigate the job search process.  

8. Keep your job options open

I know I mentioned being specific about the type of work you're looking for. At the same time, it's good to keep an open mind. For example, you might go into an interview for a position, but the hiring manager thinks you might be a better fit for a different position or group. Or, if you've always worked in the same industry, consider looking at similar positions in other industries that might work for you.If you have enough work experience and work history, you could explore working for a consulting firm, as well. There are lots of options, so be clear on the type of culture and position you're looking for, but be open to possibilities and opportunities that could fit within your specifics, yet expand your horizons at the same time.

9. Know your rights as a parent

My goal is not to make anyone overly sensitive to discrimination or create the mentality that it could be an issue for you. Quite the contrary, my career transition advice is to go into an interview knowing you are qualified for the position and that employers want to hire the best person for the position. Own that interview! 

With that said and all fun aside, discrimination does exist, unfortunately, and it's good to be aware of the issue. Discrimination Laws exist to protect against gender, race, disability, age and other types of discrimination for a reason. To better understand these laws and your rights, refer to the Laws Enforced by EEOC .

10. Believe you can do it, and don't be hard on yourself

If you've been out of the workforce for a while, it can be nerve-racking to go through the whole process of searching and interviewing for a job, as well as assimilating to a new company. Be gentle with yourself and take care of yourself throughout the process, from the prep stages to after you've been hired.You've done it before, so you can do it again, and with some patience and perseverance, you'll find your next position in good time. Once you're in the door, give yourself some time to adjust to your new schedule and don't expect to know or learn everything overnight.

11. Communicate with your family

Especially if your children are still school-age and living at home, having a heart-to-heart with them about your decision to return to work will support the transition for them and you. This type of conversation helps to manage expectations for the home and the new demands on your schedule due to work. It might take some adjusting for the family, but with open communication, the adjustment period will hopefully go smoother than it might without it. 

Whether you've been out of the work arena for as little as a year, or for more than twenty, congratulations on making the choice to return to work. We hope this career advice for new moms helps. Continue to research ways to help you launch back into the workforce, such as the book Back on The Career Track by Carol Fishman Cohen, and best of luck to you on your new adventure.

Let TopResume help you write the next chapter of your career with our resume writing services .

Recommended Reading:

On the Job Hunt After 40: How to Combat Ageism

TopInterview: Interview Tips for Caregivers Returning to Work

7 Powerful Ways You Can Improve Your Negotiation Skills

Related Articles:

Good Second Jobs to Earn Extra Cash Outside Your 9-to-5

5 Steps for Successfully Re-Entering the Workplace

Inspirational Career Quotes to Power Your Career Development, Part 3

See how your resume stacks up.

Career Advice Newsletter

Our experts gather the best career & resume tips weekly. Delivered weekly, always free.

Thanks! Career advice is on its way.

Share this article:

Let's stay in touch.

Subscribe today to get job tips and career advice that will come in handy.

Your information is secure. Please read our privacy policy for more information.

  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Success Stories
  • Search this website

The Work at Home Woman | Legit Work From Home Jobs

We help women find work-at-home jobs and home-based businesses that feed their souls. Find out how to start working from home today.

This post may contain paid and/or affiliate links. Please refer to our disclosure policy for more info.

19 Best Online Jobs for Stay-at-Home Moms

Author: Tania Griffis

April 17, 2024 Leave a Comment

Here are 19 real online jobs for stay-at-home moms that you can actually use to earn income from home to support your family. via @theworkathomewoman

Finding a flexible job can feel near impossible for stay-at-home parents. Luckily, there have never been more online jobs for stay-at-home moms than there are now that allow you to set your own schedule and put family first.

Many jobs offer flexibility, remote working options, and promises of lots of income, but they can turn out to be a bust. These are all real online jobs for stay-at-home moms that you can actually use to earn income from home to support your family.

So, whether you only have a few moments to work while the baby naps or are looking for virtual part-time jobs , this list has something for you.

resume wording for stay at home mom

The Best Online Jobs for Stay-at-Home Moms

1. bookkeeping.

Bookkeeping  is one of the best work-from-home jobs that earn you quite a bit of money from the get-go. All types of businesses need bookkeepers to keep track of income and expenses, so the demand is fairly high.

The average full-time bookkeeper earns about $45,860 per year. When working from home, you can choose to work part-time or full-time or  start your own bookkeeping business . While the second one is more work, you have the potential to earn more as you set your hourly wage.

To start as a bookkeeper, you will need to take a course or training.

2. Virtual Assistant

Becoming a virtual assistant  is a relatively new and booming career path. Virtual assistants work remotely and help business owners from afar with their day-to-day tasks.

Each position will vary in terms of  services , but you can offer scheduling assistance, answer emails, book appointments, write social media posts, provide research, write blog posts, and more.

Most virtual assistants create their schedules and have multiple clients they help on an ongoing basis. You can source clients on your own or join an agency.

Want to know more about running a VA business from home? Sign up for Abbey Ashley’s free training, Become a Booked Out VA !

3. Proofreader

If you’re a grammar nut, becoming a freelance proofreader may be your calling. Proofreaders work in various capacities, but overall, they ensure that a document is ready to be published or sent out. This requires high-level attention to detail.

You can proofread anywhere, so it’s excellent for stay-at-home moms who are also on the go. Proofreaders can work in various industries, including tech, law, medical, editorial, and more. You can find many  proofreading jobs  through specialized websites where clients submit documents.

If this sounds like a good option, be sure to check out Caitlin Pyle’s free proofreading webinar . You’ll learn the signs that proofreading is the right career path for you, how to find clients, and lots more!

4. Online Tutor

Do you have a specific area of expertise? Chances are, you’re pretty good with kids and have the patience to help them with their schooling by  working as a tutor .

Becoming a tutor is great for those looking for a part-time job, as this tends to be more seasonal work.

There are also many opportunities for online tutoring, especially for teaching English. For flexible ESL tutoring opportunities, check out Cambly , EF , and VIPKid .

5. Become a Blogger

The blogging world continues to thrive. Unlike social media, blog posts you wrote three years ago can still be relevant today!

While  becoming a blogger  doesn’t give you an instant payoff and requires a few years to build an audience, it can be an incredibly fulfilling online job for stay-at-home moms. Plus, you can easily work on it during the kids’ nap time.

You can choose to center your blog around whatever you love most. When you get enough views, you can earn income through affiliate marketing , advertising, sponsored posts, products, courses, and more.

6. Freelance Writer

Freelance writing  is a great way to make money in your own time. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a degree or experience to freelance. All you need is an internet connection, writing software, and a way with words.

Many businesses need writers to write blog posts, web pages, emails, newsletters, social media captions, product descriptions, grants, and more. You can easily  find a niche  within the community.

Freelance writing jobs  are often listed on platforms like FlexJobs or Upwork , but you can also pitch yourself directly to businesses.

7. Sell on Amazon

Without a doubt, Amazon is one of the top e-commerce platforms that exists. Many businesses have utilized selling on Amazon to their success, and you can too!

There are a few ways to  sell on Amazon . You can physically sell products that you have made and designed,  sell products that you purchased  for cheap at a higher cost, create print-on-demand designs, sell eBooks, and much more.

8. Transcriber

Working as a  transcriptionist  is a great role for those who type fast. Transcriptionists listen to audio recordings and then write out what is being said.

Many industries need transcriptionists, including lawyers,  medical professionals , YouTube channels, and more. There are many websites that you can work for that can help  you find transcription jobs  in your area of expertise.

Most platforms will pay either by the audio minute or at a flat rate. The faster you type, the more money you make! For higher-paying transcription jobs, you may need previous experience or training.

9. In-Home Childcare

One of the best jobs for stay-at-home moms is  providing childcare . Since you’re already at home taking care of your own child, you can help other parents in your community by providing daycare or after-school childcare.

Like any business, you will need a license, insurance, business name, funding, and more to do it all right. Taking care of someone else’s child is a big responsibility, so you want to ensure you’re doing it all correctly and legally.

10. Social Media Manager

Take a  look at any job board , and you will see a high demand for  social media managers.  It’s almost a requirement that businesses have social media accounts. They require a lot of work to run, so many companies outsource that work to individuals.

As a social media manager, you can specialize in any platform you like, whether that’s editing TikTok videos or managing a Facebook group.

For some roles, no experience is required, but you should have a love for the platform and know your way around it. You may also want to consider taking a social media management course to learn the business side of things. For more advanced social media jobs , you’ll need prior work experience and/or a degree in marketing.

11. Photography

Do you have an eye for photos? If you love snapping pics wherever you go and often get complimented on your social media photos, you can  earn income from your photography .

Many types of photographers are needed, including wedding, maternity, editorial, product, and headshot photography. It’s one of the most flexible jobs since you book photography shoots that align with your schedule.

You can also go completely hands-off and sell stock photography. This way, you upload photos to sites and get paid a commission for every download of your image.

12. Become a Reseller

The  reselling business  has boomed thanks to the rise of apps and eCommerce platforms like  eBay . Reselling is when you find used items at thrift stores, garage sales, consignment shops, and more and then sell them at a higher price.

Besides buying something and just selling it for a higher price, you can also try to make items better. Consider fixing up clothing or flipping furniture that you find from flea markets. Make something new again!

This is an excellent way to earn extra money while being a stay-at-home mom, though turning it into a full-time job can be challenging.

Stay-at-home mom working at home on the couch, while holding her baby.

13. Work in Coaching

Coaching is a big business right now that continues to grow. More people want to become entrepreneurs and seek coaches to help grow their businesses.

Other people are looking for a life coach, such as an  empath coach ,  sleep coach , self-esteem coach…you name it. If you have a subject you’re passionate about and feel like you can help others succeed with their goals, you’re well-equipped to start your coaching business.

14. Search Engine Evaluator

Becoming a search engine evaluator  is a great online job for stay-at-home moms who lean towards the techy side. As a search engine evaluator, you review websites and pages and give them ratings according to Google or Microsoft guidelines.

In these independent contracting roles, you’ll work part-time and make your own hours. However, this is a very competitive industry, so you will need to study diligently to pass the initial exam, which I’ve heard is quite challenging. The ideal candidate for this position is someone who is detail-oriented, has excellent research skills, and has knowledge of current events and trends.

15. Pet Sitting

Pet sitting is one of the best stay-at-home mom jobs for families that already have a pet in the house. Through  apps like Rover , you can easily connect online with other  pet lovers  in the area looking for help.

You can set your rates and availability, making it ideal for moms with busy or irregular schedules. You can also determine the services you offer, though most will offer dog walking and pet sitting at their own home.

16. Customer Service Representative

Customer service is a great job for those who don’t want to invest in any training and are comfortable talking on the phone. As a  customer service representative , you will answer customer questions and concerns via phone, email, social media, and online chat.

Most remote customer service representatives work on a set schedule to ensure the right amount of coverage to help customers. However, many companies will allow you to request specific hours to fit your schedule, and many have day, night , and weekend hours, but it doesn’t have the same flexibility as other suggestions on this list for stay-at-home jobs. 

Here are some companies that allow parents to create their own schedules:

  • Working Solutions

17. Graphic Designer

If you’re skilled at using design software like Photoshop, there are many online jobs for stay-at-home moms in the design field. As a graphic designer , you can offer your freelance services on platforms like Upwork , Dribbble , and Fiverr . Freelancing allows you to offer a wide variety of services, like designs for logos, social media platforms, landing pages, and more. One perk of freelancing is that you can take on as many or as few projects as your schedule allows. 

Besides offering freelance services, you can also earn passive income by creating designs, fonts, templates, printables , and patterns and selling them repeatedly on an online marketplace like Etsy or Creative Market . 

18. Data Entry Clerk

Do you have fast and accurate typing skills? If so, working on simple data entry tasks is a viable way to earn a little extra money. For this side hustle, you’ll need excellent written communication skills, attention to detail, and a working knowledge of platforms like Microsoft Office and Google Docs. If you’re able to work at least 20 hours per week, you can begin your remote data entry job search using staffing agencies like Robert Half, Adecco, and Flex Professionals. If you’re looking for more flexible gigs, explore Axion Data Services ,  SigTrack , or Study.com .

19. Content Creator

Another great stay-at-home mom job is being a content creator! As a content creator, you can create content as an influencer or UGC (user-generated content creator). 

As an influencer , you’ll need to focus on growing your social media platforms, such as Instagram , TikTok , Facebook, and YouTube . Once you’ve built an audience, you can start applying for brand sponsorships, monetize with affiliate marketing, or join one of the many creator funds that reward creators for creating unique content. How much you can earn varies depending on the number of followers you have, engagement rates, which platforms are being used, and your target niche. According to  this article , an Instagram influencer with 1 million or more followers can earn $2,000 per post. 

As a UGC creator, you’ll create content for brands, such as unboxing videos and reviews, and they will, in turn, use this content for their social media platforms. The content is generally not shared on your platforms. Again, how much you can earn will vary greatly, but according to  this article , an influencer with 10,000 followers can usually earn $100 for a 60-second video. For more info on creating UGC and where to apply to gigs, check out how to  make money as a UGC creator . 

Online Jobs for Stay-at-Home Moms Wrapup

As you can see, there are plenty of flexible job options for parents who prefer to harness the power of the internet and work remotely—just choose what fits best for your family.

Looking for more remote job leads and ideas? Sign up for our free newsletter , where you’ll get fresh and new work-from-home job leads sent directly to your inbox.

Originally published April 10, 2023. Content updated April 2024.

Work from home starter guide

Find a Remote Job That You Love

Fast-track your remote job search with this FREE 5-Day Work From Home Starter Guide and quickly land a work from home job that you LOVE! Job leads are for US residents.

About the Author

Headshot of Tania Griffis

Tania Griffis

Tania Griffis is a blogger and business owner who has a background in human resources, hiring, and recruiting. She's been featured on CNN and dozens of other blogs and online publications, putting her journalism degree to good use. Tania loves using a combination of creativity and business savvy to help business owners succeed through her services offered at, The Creative Wheelhouse . She is also a mama to a beautiful baby girl who keeps Tania and her husband on their toes.

You'll Also Love These Posts

Mom working from home at kitchen table during school hours

Reader Interactions

Leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Work at Home Woman BBB Business Review

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Savvy Mama

Home Systems, Organization, Printables

59 Empowering Stay-at-Home Mom Quotes For Home Life

Brittany Kline | Updated June 5, 2024 Family

Stay-at-Home Mom Quotes

Being a stay-at-home mom is no joke—it’s a full-time job with a packed schedule that comes with its own unique set of challenges and rewards.

As a mom, I know we all need something to keep that pep in our step and get us ready for the next challenge. If you’re looking for some inspiration or just a little pick-me-up, you’re in the right place.

In this post, I’ve put together some of the best stay-at-home mom quotes to remind you that you’re not alone in this journey.

Whether you’re dealing with endless laundry, temper tantrums, or those sweet moments that make it all worth it, these quotes will resonate with every mom juggling kids and household duties.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

  • Stay-at-home moms wear many hats, juggling everything to keep their families happy and loved, even if they don’t always get the thanks they deserve.
  • Laughter is the best medicine for stay-at-home moms because they deal with a daily dose of chaos and nonsense.
  • Self-care is important for stay-at-home moms. It’s not selfish – you need to continually restore and replenish the wellspring of energy and love you pour out to those you love.
  • Find some inspiration and encouragement all around you and in these say-at-home mom quotes!

hula hoop

Funny Parenting Quotes

1. “I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford. Then I want to move in with them.” – Phyllis Diller

2. “The quickest way for a parent to get a child’s attention is to sit down and look comfortable.” – Lane Olinghouse

3. “Nothing is really lost until your mom can’t find it.” – Unknown

4. “My house isn’t messy. It’s custom-designed by a herd of wild children.” – Unknown

5. “A two-year-old is kind of like having a blender, but you don’t have a top for it.” – Jerry Seinfeld

6. “The only time I get a break is when I’m on the phone with a telemarketer.” – Molly Shannon

7. “Cleaning up with children around is like trying to staple Jell-O to a tree.” – Margaret Atwood

Quotes About Loving Family

8. “Family is the most important thing in the world.” – Princess Diana

9. “Having somewhere to go is home. Having someone to love is family. Having both is a blessing.” – Unknown

10. “The love and effort stay-at-home moms pour into their families are what build strong, loving bonds.” – Gabrielle Union

11. “Loving family life is the ultimate reward for a stay-at-home mom’s countless sacrifices and efforts.” – Eva Longoria

12. “A stay-at-home mom’s greatest accomplishment is a loving family that grows in kindness and compassion.” – Mariska Hargitay

13. “The joy of being a stay-at-home mom is in nurturing a loving family that will cherish these moments forever.” – America Ferrera

Messy Home Quotes

mom burnout

14. “The fingerprints on the wall and the toys on the floor are signs of a home full of love and laughter.” – Thandie Newton

15. “You can have a spotless house or happy kids, but rarely both. I choose happy kids every time.” – Jessica Simpson

16. “I’ve come to love the mess. It means my children are enjoying their childhood to the fullest.” – Isla Fisher

17. “A messy home is the price of raising curious, adventurous children. It’s a price I’m happy to pay.” – Amy Poehler

18. “The sole measure of a stay-at-home mom’s success is not in the cleanliness of her home, but in the happiness and well-being of her children.” – Unknown

19. “The chaos of a messy home is a sign that you’re doing your job as a mom, creating a space where kids can be kids.” – Olivia Wilde

Quotes About A Mother’s Love

Advice for New Moms

20. “The true strength of a stay-at-home mom is in putting her children’s well-being ahead of all challenges and sacrifices.” – Unknown

21. “Stay-at-home moms work tirelessly to ensure everyone else’s happiness, sacrificing their own needs for the sake of their family’s joy.” – Drew Barrymore

22. “Being a mother is the one job that tests your patience, strength, and love every single day.” – Julia Roberts

23. “As a stay-at-home mom, I choose to prioritize my children’s happiness and well-being, leading to a life with less drama.” —-Jennifer Garner

24. “Staying home with my kids means embracing a lifestyle with less drama and more genuine connection.” – Sarah Michelle Gellar

25. “The success of a stay-at-home mom isn’t measured by clean floors but by the love and happiness of her children.” – Sheryl Sandberg

Quotes About Feeling Unappreciated

26. “Being a stay-at-home mom often means giving your all without expecting anything in return. It can be lonely and thankless, but your love is shaping future generations.” – Reese Witherspoon

27. “There are days when being a stay-at-home mom feels like you’re doing a thankless job, but never doubt the difference you are making in your children’s lives.” – Kristen Bell

28. “It’s hard to feel valued when you’re a stay-at-home mom because society often overlooks the countless sacrifices and tireless work you put in every day.” – Gwyneth Paltrow

29. “The work of a stay-at-home mom often goes unnoticed, but it’s the most important job in the world.” – Ginnifer Goodwin

30. “The work of a stay-at-home mom is never done, and often unrecognized, but it’s the most important job in the world.” – Anna Faris

Self-Care Quotes

read and enjoy coffee

31. “Finding balance is essential for stay-at-home moms, so they can nurture their families while also taking care of themselves.” – Jada Pinkett Smith

32. “A mother’s self-care is not indulgence, it’s a necessity. Taking time for yourself allows you to recharge and be fully present for your children.” – Shonda Rhimes

33. “You need to make time for your health and wellness as a stay-at-home mom. It’s not a luxury, it’s a priority.” – Gabrielle Union

34. “Your most valuable parenting skill is learning to manage yourself first.” – Laura Markham

35. “Self-care is how you take your power back.” – Lalah Delia

Quotes About Forgiving Yourself

36. “Motherhood – no matter if you’re a working mom or stay-at-home mom – is really tough sometimes.” – Hillary Clinton

37. “Hard lessons come with the territory of being a stay-at-home mom, but they also bring immense growth and love.” – Gwyneth Paltrow

38. “There’s no instruction manual for motherhood, so we all just do the best we can with what we have.” – Jennifer Garner

39. “The biggest lesson I’ve learned as a mom is to forgive myself. You have to let go of the guilt and accept that you’re doing your best.” – Jennifer Garner

40. “Motherhood is a series of mistakes and triumphs, but mostly it’s about forgiving yourself along the way.” – Tina Fey

41. “The most important part of being a mom is learning to forgive yourself. We are all works in progress, just like our children.” – Reese Witherspoon

Happiness Quotes

happy family playing soccer

42. “As a stay-at-home mom, being happy means appreciating the precious time you have with your children and making the most of it.” – Jessica Simpson

43. “A happy mother is the pillar of a happy home.” – Barbara Kingsolver

44. “The most important thing a mother can do for her children is to be happy. Happiness spreads to everyone in the family.” – Goldie Hawn

45. “A happy stay-at-home mom is a blessing to her family, creating a foundation of love and security.” – Salma Hayek

46. “The joy of being a stay-at-home mom is watching your children grow and knowing you’re there for all the little moments.” – Anne Hathaway

47. “Being a stay-at-home mom means finding happiness in the chaos and beauty in the little things.” – Jennifer Garner

48. “A happy mother is the heart of a happy home, and stay-at-home moms have the power to create that joy every day.” – Katie Holmes

Quotes About Life Purpose

49. “To raise children who thrive in this world, we must be the example we wish to see in them.” – Unknown

50. “Being a mother is the most rewarding job in the world, but it comes with the greatest challenges.” – Oprah Winfrey

51. “The best place to cry is on a mother’s arms.” – J. Picoult

52. “Stay-at-home moms are the invisible architects of a brighter future, working tirelessly behind the scenes.” – Holly Robinson Peete

53. “In every act of love and care, stay-at-home moms are shaping the leaders and dreamers of tomorrow.” – Natalie Portman

54. “Stay-at-home moms shape the future by instilling values, love, and confidence in their children every day.” – Christina Aguilera

Quotes On Sacrifice

save time mom juggles work and family life Businesswoman juggling responsibilities over colored background

55. “Stay-at-home moms are doing an amazing job, often without the recognition they deserve.” – Kelly Clarkson

56. “Being a stay-at-home mom is the most rewarding job I’ve ever had, but it’s also the most challenging.” – Gwyneth Paltrow

57. “Being a stay-at-home mother means accepting that your greatest achievements may not be seen by the world, but they will be felt deeply in the hearts of your children.” – Unknown

58. “A stay-at-home mom is a working mother; her job is just as demanding, if not more so.” – Michelle Obama

59. “The job title of ‘stay-at-home mom’ might not appear on a resume, but it’s the most impactful role one can have.” – Natalie Portman

What are the best quotes to motivate stay-at-home moms?

Being a stay-at-home mom is no small feat. It requires tons of love, patience, and dedication, and it often goes unnoticed.

Here are some great stay-at-home mom quotes to keep you motivated and inspired, reminding you just how much you mean to your family and the world.

  • “Motherhood is the greatest thing and the hardest thing.” – Ricki Lake
  • “A stay-at-home mom is a full-time multitasker, a superhero in disguise.” – Unknown
  • “There is no way to be a perfect mother, but a million ways to be a good one.” – Jill Churchill

What are some good quotes to help me through hard times?

Every stay-at-home mom knows the weight of hard times—those days when you feel invisible, when your patience is thinner than the last slice of bread, and when doubt creeps in like an unwelcome guest.

  • “Be proud every time you brush yourself off, get back up, and continue pushing through your day. You are a fighter.” – Alyssa Milano
  • “Successful mothers are not the ones that have never struggled. They are the ones that never give up, despite the struggles.” – Sharon Jaynes
  • “Mothers possess a power beyond that of a king on his throne.” – Mabel Hale
  • “The pressure to lose baby weight quickly can be overwhelming for stay-at-home moms, but remember to give yourself grace.” – Hilary Duff

Final Thoughts

mom daughter baking

Being a stay-at-home mom is full of ups and downs. From juggling daily chaos to feeling unappreciated, it’s a job that requires a lot of love and patience.

The quotes in this post capture the heart of what it means to be a stay-at-home mom, from finding balance and embracing the mess to forgiving yourself when things don’t go perfectly.

These quotes remind us how strong and amazing stay-at-home moms are. Your role is so important, and the love you pour into your family shapes their future.

Keep going, Mama—you’re doing an amazing job!

Related Articles You Might Like

How to Be a Good Mother: My 15 Tips For Love & Respect

How to Be a Good Mother: My 15 Tips For Love & Respect

5 Life Skills Everyone Should Learn and Master

5 Life Skills Everyone Should Learn and Master

19 Essential Mom Tips Every New Parent Should Know

19 Essential Mom Tips Every New Parent Should Know

25+ Inspiring Wellness Wednesday Ideas for Moms in 2024

25+ Inspiring Wellness Wednesday Ideas for Moms in 2024

FREE Birthday Party Checklist For Better Celebrations (2024)

FREE Birthday Party Checklist For Better Celebrations (2024)

Free Printable Toddler Schedule: Simple Daily Routine (2024)

Free Printable Toddler Schedule: Simple Daily Routine (2024)

resume wording for stay at home mom

About Brittany Kline

Hi, I'm Brittany Kline! A organization, productivity, and home systems expert. With my master's degree in education and life experience as a mom I help other moms simplify and organize their entires lives. I have been featured in online publications like Forbes, TIME, USA Today, Huffington Post, Business Insider, Marie Claire, The Penny Hoarder, Bankrate, Nerd Wallet, CNBC, Acorns, Yahoo Finance, MSN, GoBankingRates, Her Money, Thrive Global, The Simple Dollar, Money Crashers, Readers Digest, FinCon, Best Company, Rent Cafe, Romper, Intuit Turbo, Opp Loans, CreditCards.com, Debt.com, Discover, LifeLock, Quick Sprout, Money Geek and many more! Click here to read all of my posts.

guest

Connect with us!

As featured on.

resume wording for stay at home mom

  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

COMMENTS

  1. 14 Stay at Home Mom Resume Examples That Worked in 2024

    Why this resume works. When writing your stay at home mom resume, it's always good to quantify your impact. Numbers speak louder than words, and they're more noticeable to interviewers. For example, you might mention in your resume, "Volunteered at local garage sales to create posters and maps for buyers, increasing sales by 28%.".

  2. Stay-At-Home Mom or Dad Resume Example (Plus Writing Guide)

    3. Write a resume summary. Start the body of your resume with a two or three-sentence summary of your previous work experience and your professional goals. For example, if you were a graphic designer before becoming a stay-at-home parent and hope to return to this type of work, you can discuss your years of experience and notable career ...

  3. Stay at Home Mom Resume Example & Job Description Tips

    However, you shouldn't shy away from your experience as a stay at home mom. List it on your resume, add dates, highlight additional skills, projects, and accomplishments you achieved during your time as a SAHM. When writing your resume, make sure to: Kick off with a strong opening statement (objective or summary).

  4. Stay-at-home Mom Resume Examples & Writing Guide for 2024

    A resume summary is a 2-4 sentence paragraph that summarizes your most notable professional achievements. Stay-at-Home Mom Resume Summary Example. Fast-working and friendly receptionist with 18 years of experience working on the front desk of a local gymnasium, where I achieved a customer satisfaction score of 98%.

  5. 3 Stay at Home Mom Resume Examples & Writing Tips

    Good bullet point for a stay at home mom resume. Completed "Residential Cleaning Certification" and "Home Hygiene and Sanitization" courses with distinction, receiving top scores of 92% and 87%, respectively. You can also add such bullet points to your stay at home mom cover letter. 2. Highlight any transferable skills.

  6. Stay At Home Mom Resume: Examples, Templates and Tips

    Make the work you do as a stay at home mom stand out by using action words, along with numerical data and metrics to capture the attention of a hiring manager. Step 5. 5. Showcase your education and training on your stay at home mom resume.

  7. How to Write a Standout Resume When You're a Stay-at-Home Parent

    Key action words can help express both what you did and the impact of those actions in a more direct and digestible way. 3. Add your time as a stay-at-home parent to your experience. Now that you have an idea of what you'd like to highlight, begin building an entry for "stay-at-home parent" on your resume. Depending on the type of resume ...

  8. Stay-at-Home Mom Resume Examples & Writing Tips (2024)

    Your stay-at-home mom application should include the following elements: The resume header. The resume summary (aka profile or personal statement) The employment history section. The resume skills section. The education section. Be upfront about the time you have spent as a stay-at-home parent.

  9. Stay at Home Mom Resume Examples & Job Description for 2024

    These stay at home mom resume examples lay the ground rules: Stay at Home Mom Resume Summary—Example Good Example. Licensed Bookkeeper with 6+ years of experience. Seeking to boost efficiency as remote employee at Red Sky Construction. At Atkins Building Supply, cut AR from $175,000 to $20K with new electronic payments system.

  10. How to Craft a Stay-at-Home Mom Resume [Examples & Tips]

    Bad Example. Stay-at-home mom with no experience in graphic design looking for her first job. Eager to learn and grow under your guidance. The first resume objective is strong and focused; it shows skills, certifications, and relevant experience. The second one tells nothing about the candidate's competence.

  11. Stay at Home Mom Resume: The 2022 Guide with 10+ Examples

    Example: Joanna Aquamarine Smith should be written as "Joanna A. Smith". Take a look at the perfectly composed resume header which is an ideal stay at home mom resume example: Also Read: Tips for creating a resume header.

  12. 9 Stay at Home Mom Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

    Problem-solving abilities: As a stay-at-home mom, quick and effective problem-solving is a necessity. This is a highly sought-after skill in many work scenarios. Time management: Managing the varying needs and schedules of a household showcases strong time management, a skill highly valued by recruiters in all fields.

  13. Stay at Home Mom Resume Examples and Writing Tips for 2024

    Resume Examples for Stay-at-Home Moms. If you are a stay-at-home mom planning to re-enter the workforce, creating a well-structured and informative resume is critical. A good resume can help you to stand out from the crowd and increase your chances of securing the job you want. Here are three types of resume examples for stay-at-home moms: 1.

  14. How To Put Stay-At-Home Mom Or Dad On Your Resume (With Examples

    Summary. To put your time as a stay-at-home parent on your resume, identify the soft and hard skills you developed during that time and highlight them in your work experience section. Skills you use as a parent such as organization, time management, and financial planning are valuable to employers. Any parent knows taking care of children can ...

  15. How to Write a Resume If You're a Stay at Home Mom

    A free stay at home mom resume template. Before we dive in to our recruiter perspectives, here's a sample resume for a stay-at-home mom or parent. Feel free to use it as inspiration as you write your own resume (download links below). A free stay at home mom resume template for parents returning to the workforce in Google Docs, Word or PDF format

  16. Stay-At-Home Mom Resume Sample and Guide

    1. Stay-at-home mom seeking administrative role: Resume summary statement: Highly organized and responsible office administrator seeking a new role in the sector after a career gap of 3-years focused on raising a young family. 2. Stay-at-home mom experience seeking a bookkeeping role without prior experience:

  17. Stay-at-Home Parent Resume Examples and Templates for 2024

    Resume Builder offers free, HR-approved resume templates to help you create a professional resume in minutes. Start Building. 1. Create a profile by summarizing your stay-at-home mom qualifications. Modern resumes have traded the objective for a profile summary. This section should give a hiring manager a quick overview of your skills and the ...

  18. How to Write a Stay at Home Mom Resume to Return to the Workforce

    3) Address the gap in your stay at home mom resume. A resume that has a gap in employment can be a red flag for a recruiter. It is important to include employment dates, as this is information that employers look for. You will likely create a resume that contains information about the job (s) you had prior to taking time away from the workforce ...

  19. Stay At Home Mom Resume Sample and Tips

    Here are a few tips to help you nail a work from home resume: Make an extensive experiences section. List all relevant jobs and add 3-5 bullet points. You may also list positions that are not relevant to the job you are applying for, but you should indicate transferable skills. Use relevant keywords.

  20. How to Write a Resume as a Stay at Home Mom Returning to Work

    Make sure to highlight any accomplishments in these areas as well. 4. Fourth, mention any freelance work. Even though staying at home with the kids meant a break in full-time, salaried work, you may still have worked as a freelancer, temporary hire or contracted employee. It is beneficial to include any of this information on your resume.

  21. Stay-At-Home Mom Resume Templates and Tips

    Stay-at-home mom returning to work resume. The following is a sample of a resume for a stay-at-home mom who is looking for a new role in the same field she worked in before becoming a mother. Bree Van De Kamp, Administrative Assistant. 101-202-3034. [email protected]. Summary.

  22. Stay-At-Home Mom Resume Sample

    Stay-at-Home Mom Resume (Text Format) Text Format. 3182 Clinton Street Elma, NY, 14059. (555)-555-5555. [email protected]. Resume objective. Volunteer Coordinator with 5+ years of experience managing 30 volunteers for Habitat for Humanity and extensive knowledge of Human Resources software. A proven problem solver at the workplace with strong ...

  23. How To Write a Resume as a Stay-at-Home Parent

    1. Utilize your resume summary. At the top of your resume underneath your resume header, create a section for your professional summary or resume objective. A resume summary is a brief description of your work history and qualifications and is ideal for stay-at-home parents who have previous career experience.

  24. How to Get a Job After Being a Stay-at-Home Mom

    Here's some career advice for stay at home moms returning to work. Whether you're a mom going back to work after 10 years or just 1, the job search can be hard. Here's some career advice for stay at home moms returning to work. ... In other words, a functional resume will help detract attention away from your employment gaps. Another option ...

  25. 19 Best Online Jobs for Stay-at-Home Moms

    The Best Online Jobs for Stay-at-Home Moms. 1. Bookkeeping. Bookkeeping is one of the best work-from-home jobs that earn you quite a bit of money from the get-go. All types of businesses need bookkeepers to keep track of income and expenses, so the demand is fairly high. The average full-time bookkeeper earns about $45,860 per year.

  26. 59 Empowering Stay-at-Home Mom Quotes For Home Life

    42. "As a stay-at-home mom, being happy means appreciating the precious time you have with your children and making the most of it.". - Jessica Simpson. 43. "A happy mother is the pillar of a happy home.". - Barbara Kingsolver. 44. "The most important thing a mother can do for her children is to be happy.

  27. 100+ Inspirational Stay at Home Mom Quotes

    To combat this, it is essential for stay-at-home moms to step out of their comfort zones, seek social interactions, and build a support system. Inspiring Quotes for Moms. "Motherhood: All love ...