I've been a professional resume writer for nearly seven years now, and one of the most common questions I get asked is how do you talk about parental or maternity leave on your resume/CV.
We all know that taking time out from your career to have babies and look after children is super common.
But the big question is, how do you represent parental leave on your resume? Do you even need to list it? If so, what do you call it?
Everyone has a different and valid opinion on how to represent a career break due to parental leave on your resume.
It's going to depend on your particular circumstances and how much time you've had away from the workforce.
If there are long, noticeable gaps in your resume it's best to say what you were doing in that time.
Below are some things for you to consider, but ultimately what you put on your resume is your decision and you need to feel comfortable with it.
Timing: How long were you on parental leave? It will impact what you write on your resume
How long were you on leave from work? If it was less than one year, you could choose to ignore the gap and leave it off your resume.
And if you left and went back to the same job, there is no real need to say that you had time off in the middle - you still did the job!
For a longer gap (more than one year) it's best to acknowledge the gap in the 'career history' section of your resume, if your resume is chronological.
Terminology: What to actually write
So if you are going to list it in your resume, what do you call your career break due to children?
The best thing is to keep it simple and put 'Parental Leave' with the dates.
This terminology is in preference to (in my opinion) 'Maternity leave', 'Stay at home mum', 'Lead parent', 'Primary carer' or 'Home duties'.
There is no need to list how many children you have or what your 'home duties' are. (An exception to this might be if you are the carer of a child with a disability or illness.)
Skills-based resume
Even with a longer career break, you could leave it off your resume if you have a skills-based (rather than chronological) resume.
This is where you chunk your experience into sections based on the types of jobs. This style of resume is particularly useful if you have experience in different areas/sectors at different times throughout your career.
Volunteer work
Have you done any volunteer work while on parental leave that might be relevant?
You might be on the committee of your children's kinder or school committee, or maybe you are your local environment group's marketing and sponsorship coordinator, or helped out at an animal shelter?
Substantial volunteer work can be listed under your 'Career History/Experience' section to fill in any gaps. Just put in brackets that it's volunteer or pro bono work.
The skills and responsibilities that you need for most volunteer roles are not dissimilar to paid jobs, and they can be listed on your resume with the same level of detail - particularly if you focus on the transferable skills that will be relevant to the job that you are applying for.
It's also an excellent way to show a prospective employer that you are community minded and have shown leadership, organisational and other relevant skills.
Focus on your skills - not the break!
Finally, remember that your resume is a sales document, selling YOU to a prospective employer.
There is no need to focus on your break from work. Make sure that you sell your skills and attributes and how they match the job.
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Emma Maslen runs Rescue my Resume where she helps busy professionals to overhaul their resume/CV, cover letter, and LinkedIn profiles so that they really sell their skills and achievements - and win job interviews!
She does this via her resume and cover letter template, Rescue your Resume complete job application program, and Next Level Career package.
Emma then helps people prepare for job interviews with her Job Interview Confidence program and interview coaching.
Emma has helped 650+ people with their job applications since 2018, and loves getting emails from clients saying they won the job!