Returning to work after 8 years

Hi
I am been a stay at home mother for the past 8 years. Now that my children are in school full time I am hoping to return to work.

I had an interview recently during which the interviewer asked why I hadn't worked for the last 8 years. When I explained that I had chosen to stay at home while my children were very young, he didn't really accept this. I didn't really know what to say ... it really threw me, that he didn't believe I chose to be at home ...

Now my question is how should I prepare myself to deal with a similar situatation if it arises again? (In another interview) How can I show that I have the same level of committment to returning to work as giving up in the first place? Also any advice on re-phrasing my cv to reflect my stay at home status in a more positive light?

Thanks in advance

HP

My instinctive answer is that you tell bozos like that to mind your own bloody business! I mean, really, it's not a legitamate question imo. Sorry, it's just I have been out the last number of months after a bereavement and now when I try to return to work these HR people think they have some right to know what I've been doing with myself. It really bugs me. Get to know a person sure & ask about their CV.

But HP, given the world is at it is you can't spout off in an interview. However, I think your explanation is perfectly valid and the reaction of your last intervewer is more a reflection of them than you. I think you should stick to it and be positive about it. It will seem bad if you seem at all embarrassed. Make your interviewer mirror you!

Henny Penny, think of all the skills you need to master as a stay-at-home mum: how to prioritise, exceptional time-management, the ability to multi-task, negotiation and communication skills, conflict resolution, budgeting, leadership and team-building skills, coaching and mentoring, the ability to deal with challenging situations and difficult people (some people act like children, whether they're 5 or 55), incredible tact, infinite patience...

Any company would be lucky to have an employee with these abilities, so jump in there and convince your interview panels that these skills transfer readily to the workplace.

I can't remember where I came across it (probably on one of those Quote-A-Day calendars), but I remember reading a comment that dealing with three year olds is good training for dealing with executives... both have short attention spans and are prone to temper tantrums! Might not be something you'd want to quote in interviews, though!!

Best of luck with the job hunt

Hi HP. I will be in the same situation as you in a couple of years time. I always thought that employers liked mothers returning to work. Maybe you could do some kind of refresher course, to show that your skills and knowledge are upto date.
To be honest I have no idea what kind of job I want when I return to work, so I am looking for courses now to keep my brain from turning to Teletubby muss.

Best of luck with the job hunting.

The nerve of him to suggest you hadn't been working for 8 years! Being a full time mother is a job! So I would represent it on my CV as a job listing the responsibilities! If an agency or an employer suggested that I was not telling the truth I would probably decide on the spot that I didn't want to work for them in any case!

I know that some employers are wary of placing women in key positions in case they leave to raise their children. You can point out that you have done this and it is very unlikely that you will be doing so again in the future. You are now in a position to concentrate on your new job.
Also because your children are older it is less likely that you will have to take time off because they are sick etc (this should be something that is shared equally between both parents but it seems to be women who are expected to shoulder most of the burden of childcare hiccups, even if she had the higher pressure/ higher earning job).

I agree with Chamar ad Lauren that the interviewer is the problem here and if that is the attitude of the company you may find it has a sexist working environment so you are better off somewhere else.

Penny,
My advice to you would be to go and talk to an Adult Education Guidance person who will tell you how you can highlight your strengths and present a CV properly. G.C'S are good and those employed by the VEC are very well qualified and also free of charge.

Purple said:

I know that some employers are wary of placing women in key positions in case they leave to raise their children.

Click to expand...

Would an employer taking this attitude be guilty of discrimination?

Joe1234 said:

Would an employer taking this attitude be guilty of discrimination?

Click to expand...

Yes.