As seen in 1

Table of contents

Stay at Home Mom Resume Examples
More stay at home mom resume examples
Choose the right resume format for your stay at home mom resume
How to write a stay at home mom resume in 5 simple steps
Add a cover letter
Key takeaways for your stay at home mom resume
Commonly asked question about resume writing

Managing the needs of a household takes an incredible and diverse range of skills. From handling an entire family’s schedules, to budgeting, to owning all the little tasks that must be done to keep your home running smoothly, as a stay at home mom — or dad — you’re already a professional.

Still, entering the workforce with gaps in your career is always intimidating, even if those gaps have been filled with achievements outside of the workforce. That’s why you need to learn how to write a resume that showcases your skills as a stay at home mom and turns that employment “gap” into an opportunity to show what you’re made of.

No matter your reason for reentering the workforce or your target job or industry, with the help of some easy-to-follow instructions on how to write a resume and some excellent resume examples for reference, you have the power to write a resume that gets the job done.

Here, you’ll learn exactly what you need to know to write an impressive stay at home mom resume in a matter of minutes. Keep reading to learn more about:

Examples of resumes for stay at home mom applicants with and without experience.
What makes a stay at home mom resume example great.
Tips and tricks for writing stay at home mom resumes.
What to include in every section of your stay at home mom resume.
How to choose the right resume template and format for the role.

For a winning resume built in just a few minutes, try our professional AI Resume Builder, which includes step-by-step help writing every section.

Stay at Home Mom Resume Examples

Entry-level stay at home mom resume example

Resume example entry level stay at home mom

Create your resume

Build your resume now

What makes this a great stay at home mom resume sample?

It doesn’t hide gaps.
Gaps in work experience might feel like something you want to cover up, but an honest approach is more likely to pay off. Taking care of your family is nothing to be ashamed of and you’ll get more mileage out of a resume that treats hurdles as strengths than one that obscures the truth.
It focuses on skills.
Even ignoring her resume gap, this candidate has relatively little work experience. For that reason, focusing on transferable skills goes a lot further than trying to inflate her experience.
It lists certifications.
This candidate seems to have prepared to reenter the workforce by obtaining certifications in her desired field. This shows professional development, even though she wasn’t employed at the time.

Experienced stay at home mom resume example

Resume experienced example stay at home mom

Create your resume

Build your resume now

What makes this a great stay at home mom resume sample?

It’s creative.
The resume template that this candidate chose shows personality and flair. Because she is targeting a role that emphasizes customer service, showing a bit of character makes her resume pop.
It uses active language.
Active verbs like “managed” and “spearheaded” give this resume energy and momentum.
It lists volunteer work.
Although this candidate has gaps in her resume, her commitment to volunteer work shows that she has continued to engage with her community and collaborate with teams.

More stay at home mom resume examples

Looking for inspiration for a specific role? Check out some of our library of entry-level resume examples, as well as specific titles for your desired field.

Related Guides & Tips

A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Returning to Work

Choose the right resume format for your stay at home mom resume

To land the job you want, you need to get the right information in front of a recruiter. How do you accomplish that? By selecting the right resume format.

Experienced applicants should consider a chronological resume format to highlight work experience and a strong career progression. This isn’t the best choice for applicants with long career gaps, so it may not be a good fit for most stay at home moms.
Applicants with little to no experience should consider using a functional resume format. This is a great way to incorporate your experience as a stay at home mom on your resume. Your skills are very transferable, so focusing on skills is a good bet.
Midlevel applicants with three to five years of relevant experience benefit from the combination resume format. This is also a good choice for career changers. If you had significant work experience before becoming a stay at home mom, this might be the choice for you. Use this format to showcase both your transferable mom skills and your history in the workforce.

Visit our guide to learn more about how to format a resume to highlight your candidacy.

Select an appropriate stay at home mom resume template

Create your resume

While every resume template will have the same basic sections — a professional summary or resume objective, skills, work history and education — you can customize the look and feel of your resume by selecting the right template.

As a stay at home mom, you might be thinking of transitioning to any number of fields. For more artistic or expressive careers, such as a day care teacher or an event planner, a creative resume template is the perfect way to show some individuality. For a more conservative career path, like that of an accountant or a data entry administrator, a modern resume is another great choice.

How to write a stay at home mom resume in 5 simple steps

While there are some basic rules for writing a great resume, top candidates know that the key to getting noticed is to write a resume that is specific to the industry and the role they seek.

Let’s learn how to make a tailored, winning resume — step by step.

Step 1

1. Study the job description

A well-written resume is customized to include keywords that show employers that you have what it takes to perform the role. Why is this important?

Many employers run resumes through applicant tracking systems (ATS) that screen out unqualified candidates based on preset keywords. If your resume doesn’t contain the right keywords, you’ll be eliminated before a human ever sees your resume. To make your resume ATS-friendly, you’ll need to customize it to the job description. Look for keywords in the job listing that match up with skills that you’ve mastered during your time as a stay at home mom.

You may be asking yourself, “Each job is different. How do I know which keywords to use?”

Don’t worry — the job listing has what you need.

While every role is different, most job descriptions are chock full of clues as to which keywords the hiring department is looking for.

For example, if you are a stay at home mom looking to take on a role as an administrative assistant and the job post asks for candidates who are skilled with scheduling, written and verbal communication and travel planning, you’ll want to emphasize those skills. It’s never a good idea to lie about what you can do, but if your skills do line up with the job listing then there’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of that!

It may sound like a lot, but once you get used to the process, it should only take you a few minutes to do and will get your resume better results.

Step 2

2. Write a professional summary or resume objective

Depending on your level of experience, your SAHM resume should include either a professional summary or a resume objective to start. Think of this section as your resume profile, where you provide potential employers with a summary of your most relevant skills and experience, be it in the workforce or the home.

Candidates with less experience should choose a resume objective, which states your transferable skills and your career goals.This is also the recommended resume profile for career changers, so most stay at home moms will benefit from using a resume objective.

If you have extensive experience in the field that you’re entering, a professional summary, which outlines your skills and experience and highlights some of your most notable professional accomplishments, might be the way to go. Just keep in mind that this works best for applicants applying to a role for which they have many years of experience.

Here are some strong examples for your stay at home mom resume:

Stay at home mom professional summary example:

Dedicated and accomplished HR professional with seven years of diverse experience, poised to reenter the workforce as an HR assistant director after a fulfilling two-year hiatus as a stay at home mom. Recognized for exceptional expertise in talent acquisition, employee relations and policy development. Accomplished at minimizing budgets, raising employee satisfaction and supporting organizational growth through data-driven insights. Eager to leverage skills and commitment to fostering a positive work environment to contribute to the success of a dynamic organization.

Stay at home mom objective example:

Motivated and adaptable professional with nine years of experience as a dedicated stay at home mom, seeking to transition into the workforce as a sales associate. Eager to apply strong communication and interpersonal skills, combined with a customer-centric approach, to contribute to a dynamic sales team and drive business growth. Aspiring to leverage ability to connect with clients and deliver exceptional service in a retail environment while achieving personal and organizational success.

Step 3

3. Highlight your most relevant stay at home mom skills

Whether you’ve been a stay at home mom your entire career or you’ve spent years in the workforce, your skills are the backbone of your resume. Don’t sell yourself short. Your stay at home mom skills can be valuable assets on your resume and in the workplace.

Skills for a stay at home mom resume should be added to your resume skills section and peppered into your resume objective and your work experience section. It’s critical that you provide employers with a solid mix of hard and soft skills.

Hard skills are the measurable skills needed to perform a job. These skills are easily taught in a classroom.

Soft skills, on the other hand, are nontechnical, making them difficult to measure. They are behaviors and personality traits that help you do your job well.

Below, we provide a side-by-side list of hard and soft skills to help you see the difference between the two. For most stay at home moms, soft skills will be an especially critical aspect of your resume, so pay extra attention to them.

Hard and soft skills for a stay at home mom resume

Hard Skills

Excel
PowerPoint
Budgeting and financial planning
Scheduling and event coordination
Sales
Customer service

Soft Skills

Communication
Resourcefulness
Enthusiasm
Leadership
Creativity
Teamwork

Here is an example of a strong stay at home mom skills section:

Dedicated lifelong learner with a teamwork mindset
Skilled in office software including Excel and Google Suite
Resourceful and detail-oriented with an eye for creative budget management
Enthusiastic about customer outcomes

Pro tip

Your kids might not be customers, but your ability to manage their needs says a lot about your communication and customer service skills. Find the soft skills you use on the daily with your kids and list them on your resume.

Step 4

4. Write a strong stay at home mom work experience section

For a stay at home mom, the most intimidating part of your resume is probably writing a work experience section that demonstrates what you will bring to the table. Fear not! We’ll help you get started.

If you have some work experience, then list it. If parenthood is your primary experience then be honest about that fact and put your energy into showing off the skills that you’ve earned.

Here is an example of a great stay at home mom work experience entry:

Stay At Home Mom
Little Rock, AR
January 2017 – Present

Manage a household budget for a nine person home by minimizing costs and identifying opportunities for creative savings opportunities.
Operate a blog focused on the parenthood space receiving 6,000 visitors per month and collaborating with web content creators from a variety of different backgrounds.
Identify learning opportunities to enrich daily experiences for four children under the age of 12.
Facilitate activities and manage schedules for nine individuals including two busy professionals and four children with multiple extra-curricular activities.

Pro tip

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

Now that you’re ready to reenter the workforce, it’s time to revisit your education and training. Whether or not you went to college, you’ll want to list the education you have as a crucial part of your stay at home mom resume.

How to list your stay at home mom education:

Education:

Bachelor of Arts
Performing Arts
Arkansas College of the Arts
Little Rock, AR

Certifications:

CPR Certified

Pro tip

Professional certifications can give you a real advantage when it comes to showing off your competency. As a stay at home mom, it might be a good idea to look into earning some certifications in your desired field to help jumpstart your return to the workforce.

Optional sections for your stay at home mom resume

Awards and certifications

Adding accolades to your resume is a smart way to show off your abilities, achievements and qualifications. Awards emphasize exceptional performance or leadership, whereas certifications offer hard evidence of your expertise and abilities in a specific domain.

Including certificates and awards on your resume sets you apart from other contenders. They tell the employer you are truly dedicated to your field and capable of making significant contributions to their organization — ultimately increasing your chances of landing the job.

How to list awards on your stay at home mom resume:

2016 Teacher of the Year: Earned in recognition of exceptional student success rate while teaching music at Flowerfield Elementary School.

Projects

Projects are a great addition to your resume because they show you’re capable of using theoretical knowledge in real-world situations. It’s one thing to learn something in class — it’s another thing to put the ideas into practice.

Projects are also a tangible demonstration of the types of skills — from problem-solving and time management to teamwork and leadership — that are valuable to employers. Not only that but also a relevant project can highlight your long-standing passion and expertise in a given subject.

For a stay at home mom, projects can be a way of showing that you’ve kept up to date in your field while you’ve been out of the workforce. They’re a great way to make up for some of those pesky resume gaps.

How to list projects on your stay at home mom resume:

Social Media Outreach Campaign: Facilitated a 45% increase in traffic to personal parenthood blog through the successful leveraging of social media skills and resources over the course of six months.
Web Design: Successfully built a personal blog from the ground up by designing a logo, building landing pages, authoring posts and managing content delivery using WordPress and Mailchimp.

Languages

Languages give you a chance to showcase your cultural awareness and adaptability, two qualities highly prized in today’s globalized job market. Being multilingual also expands your communication abilities, giving you access to a wider variety of clients, customers and stakeholders, and opening the door to international opportunities.

Additionally, knowing multiple languages suggests you have impressive mental agility and determination. Ultimately, all else being equal, if a job opening comes down to two candidates and one of them lists multiple languages on their resume, the multilingual candidate will be more attractive to the employer.

How to list languages on your stay at home mom resume:

Fluent in English and German
Proficient in Spanish

Interests and hobbies

Adding hobbies to your resume is appropriate as long as they’re relevant to the job. They offer an opportunity to show your personality and meaningfully connect with a potential employer. Plus, they emphasize your transferable skills, like creativity or leadership — qualities you take from job to job.

Finally, hobbies and interests can demonstrate whether you’re the right culture fit for a company. They enrich your overall profile, showing the employer how you are a unique and fully defined person.

For a stay at home mom resume, it’s possible that you’re struggling to fill some of your resume’s white space. While you should never resort to adding sections as filler, identifying some hobbies that may be relevant to your desired career is a great way to make use of that space.

How to list interests and hobbies on your stay at home mom resume:

Creative and inquisitive blogger and writer
Enthusiastic event planner
Passionate about personal fitness and mindfulness

Add a cover letter

Create your cover letter

Adding a cover letter to your application can help you stand out. Why? Because it gives you extra space to convince the employer that you’re the right person for the job.

Learning how to write a cover letter for a stay at home mom is extra important because the function of a cover letter is to add context to your resume. Use your cover letter to elaborate on gaps in your resume and explain your circumstances, all while persuading your potential employer that your experience makes you the perfect fit for the job. Study our cover letter examples to learn how to express your unique candidacy in a compelling way and how to format your cover letter for success.

A cover letter is especially crucial for a stay at home parent because it gives you the opportunity to explain your resume in your own terms. Add context to your achievements and argue for why your hard-earned skills show that you have what it takes to excel in your desired position.

Or, if you want a job-specific cover letter in a matter of minutes, use our professional Cover Letter Builder, which offers professionally written text suggestions for every section. Use the wording as-is or customize it to suit your needs.

Key takeaways for your stay at home mom resume

Follow our steps for a standout resume:

Take care to write all five sections of your resume in a way that is specific to the job you seek. Your professional summary, skills, work experience and education section should all contain information that is targeted to the job ad.
Select the appropriate resume format:

Decide what you’d like to emphasize the most on your resume — strong skills, an impressive work history or both — and then select the template that will help you put your best foot forward. For a stay at home mom, this will usually be a format that emphasizes skills.
Be specific to the role:

Use specific information from the job ad rather than generic resume filler when crafting your document. Again, a well-written job description will tell you the critical credentials you must emphasize on your resume.
Include both hard and soft skills:

Being a stay at home mom requires a mix of technical and personal skills to keep your home running smoothly. Take special care to highlight your incredible soft skills because they are endlessly transferable.
Make your work experience section shine:

Accomplish this by using action verbs, data and metrics to show the impact of your work.
Choose an appropriate resume template:

When in doubt, keep it simple. We’ve already discussed the merits of creative and modern resume templates, but if you aren’t sure where to start, then you should probably stick to the basics. A simple resume template has just what you need.
Go the extra mile:

Including a well-written stay at home mom cover letter can increase your chances of landing a job interview.

Commonly asked question about resume writing

Was this information about Stay At Home Mom Resume: Examples, Templates And Tips helpful? Let us know!

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Hailey Brophy is an experienced writer with a diverse career in digital publication. She is passionate about using her unique skills and experiences to help job seekers find the information that they need to succeed.