I came back from a caregiving break last year and my resume was a disaster. 2020-era formatting, objective statement at the top (yes, really), roles described in passive voice throughout.
Here's what I actually had to fix:
Objective statement: deleted it. Replaced with a 2-line summary that names my function and the type of role I'm targeting. Still not sure it's great but it's not actively hurting me anymore.
Passive voice bullets: "Was responsible for managing..." became "Managed...". Sounds obvious but I had to go line by line.
Dates format: I had month/year for everything, which made my gap super visible in a bad way. Switched older roles to year-only. Newer stuff stays month/year. This felt dishonest at first but I looked it up and it's normal.
The gap itself: I have a single line under my most recent role that says "Career break (caregiving)" with the years. I don't elaborate. Two recruiters have told me they appreciate the directness.
What I still haven't solved: my skills section. I have a long list of tools that are a mix of still-relevant and pretty outdated. Not sure whether to prune aggressively or keep everything and let them filter.
5 replies
recruiter_rita
the year-only dates thing is completely standard, please don't feel weird about it. i see it constantly and it's a non-issue.
for the skills section: prune. if you're listing tools from more than 5-6 years ago that you haven't touched since, drop them. what gets people is when they list something and then can't speak to it in an interview. that's more damaging than a shorter skills section.
returner_ren
ok this helps a lot. i've been scared to cut things in case the ATS is looking for keywords but i think you're right that being quizzed on something i barely remember is worse.
corp_refugee
went through basically the same thing two years ago after leaving big company life. the passive voice problem is so common in corporate resumes, that culture breeds it.
one thing that helped me: for each bullet i asked "what would be different if i hadn't done this?" if the answer is nothing, the bullet is probably filler. if the answer is something concrete, lead with that.
qa_quinn
the two-line summary at the top: what does yours say? genuinely curious what a good one looks like for someone returning after a break vs someone who never left. mine feels like a generic elevator pitch and i don't love it.
returner_ren
mine is something like: "Operations manager with 8 years in logistics and supply chain. Returning after a caregiving break and targeting mid-size ops or COO-track roles at growth-stage companies." Pretty functional, not fancy. I've been told it's fine but I'm not sure it's doing much work for me.