greentea3

Hi everyone,

Can anyone recommend a good way to write a cover letter for a job whilst explaining that you are a mom and that is why you haven't worked for a while. I am getting fed up trying to explain myself and it is making me feel totally inadequate.

This job hunting business is beginning to send me around the the twist

Thanks

Aviator

Explain it as having taken time out of the workplace to raise a family and you are now looking to re enter the workplace. We have hired a number of people re entering the workplace, with mixed results I might add.

Some cities have employment training centres funded by HRSDC to help people back into the workplace and with the preparation of a resume.

sarah_matt

I went to a temping agency...explained it all there, and they found me a fantastic job, that fits around the kids school hours. I was employed by the company after 6 months and have never looked back. Its worth a try.

Just to add to that, it also cuts out all the questions into why did you move from the UK in the first place etc etc etc......
Sarah

gryphea

Explain you took timeout to raise a family and project manage a family move to canada.......

dbd33

Wouldn't that imply to the prospective employer that the OP is involved with her children? I don't see how she can avoid admitting to having them but think she needs to distance herself from them as much as possible. Useful phrases to mitigate motherhood might be "live in nanny" and "boarding school abroad".

lifeisajourney

Hi,

My approach to it was to explain the move to Canada as the most section under the 'work experience' section of my CV (resume I know!). I put the following:

Managing the emigration of my family from the UK to Canada.
This involved selling our home and most of our personal effects in England and the purchasing and setting up of a home and a new life in Canada. Attention to detail, the ability to problem solve and coping well with stress have been key to our successful integration into Canada.

Moving to another country DOES require a lot of hard work, planning and problem solving. Don't ignore it in your covering letter and resume if that's pretty much what you've been focusing on most recently. I chose not to talk about being a mum too much but if it's relevant for the type of work you're looking for then you need to talk about it, just do so in fancy ways that demonstrate skills - multitasking, managing stress, creativity etc. Furthermore the whole immigration paperwork element gives you great opportunity to say something like 'project managed the increasingly complex immigration process which lead to us recently being granted permanent residency'.

I hope that helps.

dbd33

Pass the sick bag, Alice. That's the sort of prose that renders making beans on toast as "co-ordinated disparate nutritional elements according to an established paradigm while bringing the full force of my creative originality to bear".

Why not go with something simple that attempts to dispell the obvious concern. "Stay-at-home Mom. My children are now relatively independent and I am once again able to commit myself to a full time role in the workplace.".

Canadians love "roles".

greentea3

Thanks for your replies.

I did originally explain that we'd emigrated etc, then I spoke to a careers counsellor here that said not to put that in! as sometimes it confuses employers ie, they see the word immigration then don't really take the time out read the rest of it.

I'll try dbd's one about now able to commit myself back to a 'role'.

I'll keep you updated on how it goes

lifeisajourney

You may not like my wording, but I got me a great job!

dbd33

In management consultancy, one assumes.

el_richo

^^^^^^^^
What he said


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