I am an HR Manager and was a SAHM for 13 years. Have a BS in Accounting and it was difficult to get back into the workforce. I was at home when the tech world took off and desktop computers had become common in the businesses world.
That said, I was looking for an accounting job but had very little real experience not only out of college but with most of the software that companies were using. Many companies that were hiring were hesitant due to the gap in my career experience. After college I was a clerk for a year (to prove myself) and then a supervisor but only for a total of 3 years prior to taking off to start a family.
Lucky I was to SAH and raise my 3 kids and during that time I was very active in the Parent's Club (PTA), on the budget committee for our elementary school, was a docent for our Arts Alive program, a coach and parent coordinator for my kid's sports teams, very involved in their theater programs, etc . . . I put a few of these things on my resume and then added them to my cover letter to explain a little further in the few things I had accomplished.
Examples: I was Treasurer of our Parent's Club for two years and switched the budget from being done by hand to Quicken. I also had a craft business which I ran for numerous years - small, but a business no less. I had a few awards from the City in which I live for community service, etc. That's about all you can do to get in the door to get an interview. From there, your personality and talents will take you further if it is meant to be.
I had a few companies that pretty much "cut the interviews short" because I didn't have recent experience. So be it . . .
I've been at my current company for over 11 years because they understood the Work/Life ideas and balances that we run across in life and they actually hired me as a clerk with the hopes that I'd someday grow into a larger role. That took all of 9 months when I went from accounting clerk to Accounting Supervisor to HR manager in another year.
ITA with Nancy and dragonf1y that a "perfect resume & cover letter" and a professional attitude are necessary. Especially in this day and age - heck, all the poor kids who have been working on degrees and those who have been employed for decades out of work with no employment available . . . ?
As for Nancy's interviews for jobs that require detail, (I once was a legal secretary and understand what can happen with one small mistake
in a legal setting), but perfectionism does outshow BS which many can give freely. When reviewing resumes and cover letters, those errors and lack of professionalism are the first things I point out to my hiring managers.
Also, when having someone review your resume have them only correct your grammar or spelling - don't reinvent your resume to portray something you cannot keep up with in an interview. As in - you must be able to "speak" the language/knowledge you have put in your resume. (Hope that makes sense - my DH wanted to use loads of fancy terms and grammar that he didn't really understand and I convinced him to "say it in his own words" so he could back it up when interviewed).
Hope that has helped a bit from not only one who HBTDT but also from one who is responsible for recruiting.
Put your skillsets out there (in your cover letter and resume) and then you must sell yourself once you get in the door.
Best of luck with your future job search . . .
