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How to Update Resume After Maternity Leave: A Quick Guide (+Resume Example)

• Kaja Jurcisinova , 
• Updated March 27, 2023 5 min read

Returning back to work — or even looking for a new job — may be a real challenge after a maternity leave. The best thing to do is to prepare and know how to update your resume after maternity leave.

Because once you leave for a maternity leave, you’ll be confronted with a gap in your resume. And future prospective employers will be curious to know why you didn't work for weeks or even months. 

There’s nothing to fear, though. Your skillset hasn’t shrunk. In fact, it's expanded. 

Mothers have to fill in plenty of roles — they're managers, psychologists, doctors, and storytellers. All at the same time.

To help you burnish this experience and get your career back on track, here's a short guide on how to update your resume after maternity leave and explain the gap in your resume.

Resume example included, of course.

Table of Contents

Click on a section to skip

What do recruiters think about maternity leave? 

Things to avoid when addressing your maternity leave , how to update your resume after maternity leave, sample of a resume updated after maternity leave .

Most recruiters will understand the gap in your resume. After all, this won't be their first time reading a resume of a recent mother who's applying for a full-time job. 

It's good to remember though that it's illegal for potential employers to ask questions about your personal life. 

At the same time, leaving an unexplained career gap in your resume isn't a good idea either.

To admit to an HR manager that your recent resume gap was due to maternity leave has its plus sides but also its downfalls. 

While some recruiters may l assume that — thanks to colic and midnight feedings — you may not be able to deliver the best performance at work right now, others may see your recent birth as a good thing. 

If nothing else, they may assume that you won't be taking another maternity leave anytime soon.

One thing that you should surely avoid is to hope that the potential employer won’t notice the gap or that you won't have to include it in your resume at all. 

The best approach is to address the maternity leave head-on in your “Work Experience” section.

And even though the mention of maternity leave concerns your life outside of work, it's still advised to remain professional when talking about it. 

Resist the temptation to use euphemisms or joke about it. 

Naming your months (or even years) as "Domestic Executive" is just a little cringe on top of it being misleading. 

To put it simply, being honest and explaining the CV gap openly (but still in professional terms) is the way to go. 

First, choose a resume format that will highlight the most important details about your professional qualities and your personality traits.

This type of resume is called a functional resume. This CV format lets you introduce your skills first — which is precisely something that you want to do after maternity leave. 

Here's a list of resume sections to include in your updated CV: 

• Professional summary
• Additional skills
• Work experience

Volunteering

• Optional (Awards, Accomplishments, Courses, etc.) 

1. Skills 

The next step of updating your resume after maternity leave is to add newly gained abilities into your pre-existing list of professional “Skills” that you had listed on your old resume. 

However, don't add just whatever skill. 

Remember to include those skills that are relevant to the job you're hoping to land and that reflect your experience in your field. 

If you don't know what we have in mind, take a look at the example of the skills resume section below: 

• Flexibility
• Attention to detail
• Logical thinking
• Social intelligence
• Negotiation
• Client Acquisition
• Active listening
• Public speaking
• Problem sensitivity

2. Additional/relevant skills section

Employers still often see large employment gaps as a red flag. So, you need to show you stayed on top of the most recent developments in your field. 

If relevant, show them that you're up to date with the trends in the field by filling in sections such as “Relevant skills” or “Additional skills.” 

Here's an example of how you can do it:

Additional Skills 

During my maternity leave, I focused on maintaining and enhancing my skill set. That involved enrolling in an online course, continuing education, and participating in a sales conference to ensure that I remained up-to-date with industry happenings.

Sales Success Summit, Boston (June 2019)

• Joining fellow sales leaders, trainers, and enablement professionals to learn expert secrets about sales and marketing.

The Art of Sales: Mastering the Selling Process (Northwestern University) – Online course (March 2019 – June 2019)

• Coursework focused on standing out in the crowd, attracting customers, and building support for initiatives within one’s company.

A description like this will enable you to show that you used your time away from work for self-development, and will also boost your value as an employee. 

Your potential employer will probably appreciate that you're still committed to your career and can contribute to the company's success. 

However, in no way this means that you should be pressured into focusing on work during your maternity leave. It's absolutely more than enough to focus on one thing at a time. 

And thankfully, many modern workplaces are finally starting to acknowledge this as well.

3. Work experience 

After all of the skills are filled in, the following thing to do is to fill in the “Work Experience.”

It's here where you can briefly mention that your career gap was due to maternity leave . 

This way, your maternity leave won't be the first thing that the recruiter will notice, but it also won't be ignored completely. 

In this section, make sure to put emphasis on the work you did before you took time off. 

Talk about it — ideally in bullet points — as if it were yesterday. Focus on the details of the projects you worked on.

Recall your accomplishments and the projects you're proud of from that period of your life. Time doesn’t devalue those experiences and skills you learned working on them.

See the sample below for inspiration: 

Work Experience

Career break for maternity leave (January 2019 – Present)

• An extended period of maternity leave to bring up my daughter until she was old enough to start nursery school

Sales Coordinator, Boston (July 2015 – December 2019)

• Managed $500,000 monthly sales figures operated at an average of 28% profit margin
• Generated over 100 clients and approximately $50,000 in sales within 6 months.
• Prepared contracts, productivity reports, proposals, and letters.
• Reviewed and coordinated the implementation of marketing strategies.
• Generated a monthly revenue report and communicated the results to managers, directors, and executives.
• Created email correspondence to enhance client communication and maintained the agency calendar.

4. Education

The importance of having a solid education or training doesn't go away just because you took a couple of months (or years) off. 

That's why in your updated resume, you should highlight your academic accomplishments and again draw some attention to them — even if you've finished your studies years ago. 

Have you graduated with excellent grades or an award? Perfect! Make sure you mention it. 

On the other hand, remember that skills and work experience still carry more importance, especially if you're a somewhat seasoned professional. 

Therefore, make sure you place your education lower than more important sections.

5. Volunteer activities 

Have you participated in non-professional activities while you were on your maternity leave? 

Maybe you and your children visited a nearby shelter and walked some dogs. Or you helped out during a community event in your neighborhood. 

If yes, let these activities speak of your determination and a spirit of goodwill. 

Mention any relevant community service or voluntary work that you engaged in during (or before) your time away from work in a separate “Volunteering” section.

Try to draw a conclusion on what you gained in terms of professional insights and technical skills from these volunteer activities. 

Employers will like seeing you're an active person using their skills and free time in a useful way:

Animal Rescue League, Boston (March 2019 – June 2019)

• responsible for updating the website and sending out weekly newsletters
• staffing special events and providing general office support

6. Optional

Now think — “ What else have I done that makes my professional journey different from everyone else?”

Have you completed any courses ? Won an award? 

Put it in your resume! 

In other words, demonstrate that you're an active person with drive and many interests in any way you can. 

Finally, any freelancing projects or short-term gigs also work as great resume enhancers.

7. References

Finally, you can use the power of networking — even during or after the parental leave. 

Stay in touch with others working in your professional field. And think of anyone that could help you find a job and provide a better starting point in your job search.

Call up your former colleagues, send out emails asking for references and recommendations and use your LinkedIn to make new connections (by the way, your LinkedIn profile deserves a makeover, too).

Hiring managers will appreciate recommendations from trusted authorities — be it your former employers or seasoned field professionals: 

Mark Stenson, CEO of Total Quality Logistics (TQL), [email protected], 999-999-9999

The ability of people to vouch for your skills will ease the potential employer’s concerns and help them focus on your skills and qualifications rather than your career gap.

One image can speak more than a thousand words. See all of the above points summarized in the resume sample below. 

This is how you do it. 

Jane has correctly:

• chose a functional resume format
• briefly mentioned maternity leave in the “Work experience” section
• included industry-relevant skills gained during maternity leave
• added volunteering experience 
• included a reference

On top of having a good selection and order of resume sections, Jane also selected a resume template that catches the eye of the recruiter with its nice design. 

Her resume is also well-organized and airy as she doesn't waste words and leaves enough space between various sections.

Maternity Leave Sales Manager Resume Sample

This resume was written by our experienced resume writers specifically for this profession.

As you can see, maternity leave resume gaps shouldn't make you feel less skilled or less professional. There are very elegant ways to deal with it on your resume and turn it into an advantage.

All in all, you just need to make it clear that you’ve remained committed to your career goals and have the skills and expertise necessary to play a vital role in the company. 

And if you get questions about your career gap during your interview , keep it brief and to the point. Don't lie about it or avoid the question. Rather, just quickly move on to other profession-related topics. 

And remember — in uncomfortable situations like this, being confident and self-assured can always get you far. 

Best of luck to you!

This article was recently updated. The original article was written by Jakub Kaprál in 2019.

Kaja Jurcisinova is a junior copywriter at Kickresume. Kaja completed her undergraduate degree in Art History at the University of St Andrews in 2018 and graduated with a Master’s in Arts and Culture from the University of Groningen in 2021. She was an intern at multiple cultural institutions across Europe, including the Dutch Museum Association in Amsterdam, the Matter of Art Biennale in Prague, and the European Cultural Centre in Venice. At the moment, she resides in Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland.

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How to List Maternity Leave on Your Resume (+Examples)

Parents – moms and dads – who take time off to raise children often struggle to figure out how to explain the resultant gap in their resume. 

Obviously, prospective employers want to know why you weren’t working during certain periods of your life. They need to know that you’re a reliable candidate who will be there when they need you. So, how should you explain gaps in employment when you’re a stay-at-home mom or dad? 

Well, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, you’ll learn how to list maternity leave on your resume and also find examples of bridging the gap between working and not working by leveraging useful keywords and skills you’ve learned during your time at home. 

Should you include details about your maternity leave?

The first thing to mention is that you don’t have to provide every single detail about why you were out of the workforce. All you need to do is explain the gap, especially if your time outside the workforce was more than a few months. 

Keep your explanation simple and to the point, focusing on skills and achievements you had that will emphasize your value to prospective employers.

A keep-it-simple example:

Work sabbatical | MM/YYYY-MM/YYYY: Became a stay-at-home mom (or dad) and coordinated school workloads, researched homeschool curriculums, managed education and household budgets, and maintained complex calendars for a family of 5. 

As you can see, this example explains the gap and only briefly mentions what it was for. Then, it goes into detail about what you did while you were out, injecting some relevant keywords that will help a future employer understand your abilities and skills. 

With all of that said, you may be tempted to use clever euphemisms to pretend that your months or years as a caretaker were an actual job. While child-rearing is one of the most challenging jobs out there, you need to be honest about your reasons for being out of the workforce. 

For example, avoid saying that you were the CEO of the Roberts family and trying to make your time at home look like an actual job. That is the best way to turn a hiring manager away from your application. 

Instead, you should focus on the skills you learned – especially if you took any professional development courses. If you explain the gap properly during the job search, your potential employer will understand. On the other hand, if you lie about your time away, that could lead to other problems down the road.

Tips for addressing the maternity leave resume gap

The following tips can help you explain gaps in employment that occurred when you were a stay-at-home mom (or dad):

Don’t ignore the issue

If you see a gap in your resume, deal with it. Don’t just hope that the employer won’t notice, because that’s not going to happen! At some point in your resume, you are going to want to address that career break.

Focus on updated skills

One of the best ways to deal with the maternity leave issue is to concentrate on making your presentation about your skills. Make a list of skills that you learned or updated during your time out of the workforce and describe the most relevant ones under your resume skills section. When you do that, you can also mention your time away, and how it provided you with an opportunity to add new skills to your skill set.

That option for explaining your maternity leave resume gap enables you to show that you used your time away to enhance your potential value as an employee. 

Include community work and volunteer activity

You should also be sure to include any non-professional activities that you engaged in during stay-at-home time. Whether you coached a school sports team or volunteered at the community center, chances are that you used important skills that employers might appreciate. Potential employers and hiring managers will want to see that you remained actively committed to using your skills.

Don’t forget freelance work

Did you do any type of work while you were on maternity leave? Freelance work, short-term projects, consulting, and similar jobs can provide great resume enhancers. They also enable you to at least partially close any resume gaps. More importantly, they reinforce the fact that you’ve continued to sharpen your skills.

Focus on the value

One mistake that job seekers often make is to focus on their time away more than they emphasize the value they can provide. You should work to demonstrate that you deal well with change, and consistently provide tangible value for your employers. Highlight your relevant skills and times when you’ve successfully responded to changing work circumstances.

Get recommendations and use your network

Finally, maximize your network and work to get references or recommendations. That hiring manager who is wondering whether you’re a good employment risk will appreciate a timely recommendation. That can help to ease his concerns and enable him to better focus on your skills and qualifications.

Use the right resume format

Now that you have an understanding of how to explain gaps in employment during the time you took to be a stay-at-home mom, it’s time to write your resume. You have to choose the right format though. 

You’ll find that there are three widely accepted resume formats – the reverse-chronological, the hybrid (sometimes called combination), and the functional. You’ll probably see a lot of advice about the reverse-chronological format being the best option. However, for someone who is changing careers or has a big gap in employment, the hybrid is your best option. 

Hybrid resume 

The reason the hybrid format will serve you best is that its main focus is on the value you bring to future employers – your qualifications and skills. Rather than placing a heavy burden on your work history to sing your story, you should spend more time creating career qualification statements. 

Functional resume

The functional resume is an option, but one that should be used as a last resort. Sadly, there is a bit of a stigma behind its use as it’s often used to hide employment gaps. Employers know this, so when they get a functional resume, they go straight to the employment listing to see if that’s what’s going on. You don’t want the first impression your resume makes to be negative.

Example of how to explain gaps in employment

There’s no one-size-fits-all way to address gaps caused by being a stay-at-home mom (or dad).

We wrote a good post here on how to deal with employment gaps on a resume . 

However, the following resume example can serve as inspiration when you craft your stay-at-home mom (or dad) resume.

First and Last Name

Baton Rouge, LA 70810 | (225) 123-4567 | [email protected]

Website Manager with 10+ Years of Experience in Development & Optimization

Strategic visionary known for delivering impactful results in everything from digital strategy to user engagement. Consistently leverage a keen eye for industry trends to bring fresh insights to the most challenging projects. 

During 3-year maternity leave, maintained and enhanced skill set by taking several online courses, engaging in leadership activities at [ORGANIZATION], and focusing on continuing education to remain up-to-date on industry happenings.

APTITUDES, SKILLS, & QUALIFICATIONS:

Proficient in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

Utilize A/B testing and Google Analytics to test and optimize landing pages and marketing campaigns

Employ Agile and Scrum methodologies, working cross-functionally to prioritize competing priorities on multiple and concurrent projects

Uncanny ability to articulate complex concepts to technical and non-technical audiences

Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design | Major University

Relevant coursework: Digital Imaging, Illustration, Web Design, User Experience, User Interface, Coding Basics

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

AnyTown Leadership Summit 2016

Served on the Leadership Council for the 2016 Summit. Led the creation of leadership training programs, workshops, and labs. Helped institute the Young Leaders Award, given out to worthy youth leaders in our city’s schools.

Digital Media Basics – Online Study (May 2015 – Oct 2015)

Studied website management, server basics, and other business-related digital media topics

Dynamic Business Writing – Online Course (June 2015 – December 2015)

Developed business writing skills and effective written communication

WORK HISTORY

STAY-AT-HOME PARENT | mm/yyyy to Present

You don’t have to put bullets under this listing. 

If you do, make sure that you’re using language that is tailored to the job you want with keywords you find in the job description

NAME OF COMPANY | Position Held | mm/yyyy

3-5 bullets MAX that show achievements you had.

Anytime you can use numbers, it is best to do so.

ATS scans search for measurable accomplishments 

NAME OF COMPANY | Position Held | mm/yyyy to mm/yyyy

Your resume isn’t meant to be a record of your professional life’s events

Talk about achievements that will intrigue a hiring manager to call you for an interview

Notice how the work history section is at the bottom of the resume?  

That’s intentional! This is so that your skills and qualifications are featured prominently which helps future employers know exactly what you bring to the table right up front. 

Did you also notice that the mention of your time as a stay-at-home mom (or dad) was brief?  

You’ve explained the gap created in your work history and that’s all you need to do. Always remember that you can keep the explanation simple!

Employment gaps don’t have to be barriers to employment

Maternity leave is no obstacle! As you can see, there are ways to explain employment gaps on your resume after you spend time as a stay-at-home mom (or dad). You just need to show the employer that you’ve remained committed to your career and have the skills and expertise needed to play a vital role in the company. So, polish up that resume and get back in the game!

If you’re still feeling uneasy about jumping back into the work saddle, ZipJob has a team of professional resume writers and career coaches who can help you. 

Recommended reading:

9 Stay at Home Parent Resume Tips to Land a Job Fast

Stay at Home Mom Resume Example & Cover Letter Tips  

30 Strengths to Put on a Resume or Mention in a Job Interview

Marsha Hebert, Professional Resume Writer

Marsha is a resume writer with a strong background in marketing and writing. After completing a Business Marketing degree, she discovered that she could combine her passion for writing with a natural talent for marketing. For more than 10 years, Marsha has helped companies and individuals market themselves. Read more advice from Marsha on ZipJob's blog .

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   Cover Letter After Maternity Leave

I am writing to apply for the Chemical Engineer position at XYZ Inc. I am excited to be returning fully to the industry I love and received a degree in. Before starting a family, I worked for two years as a chemical engineer at TUV Co. For the last four years, I have been out on maternity leave in order to raise my two children. However, I have remained up-to-date and engaged in the community during that absence.

Over the last two years, I have completed ABC Program, which has supplemented my B.S. from Oregon State University in 2011. In addition, I have been reading up on the discoveries presented in "How to Science" from DEF Magazine and "Scientific Method" from GHI Journal, as well as tutoring high school and undergraduate students in chemistry and physics.

I hope to put my skills to good use upon my return to the field, and I can think of no better place than XYZ Inc., which I have always admired for your work on air separation and the Haber-Bosch process. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Download this cover letter — free!

Formatted and ready to use with Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or any other word processor that can open the .DOC file format.

Index of Cover Letter Examples

• Search Search Please fill out this field.
• Career Planning
• Succeeding at Work
• Work Benefits
• Family Leave

Sample Maternity Leave Email to Clients

A Client Maternity Email That Will Make You Feel Good To Send

• Why Send an Email to Clients

What Topics To Cover

• Sample Email for Clients

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

BJI / Blue Jean Images / Getty Images

Taking time off to have a baby is healthy, but many working women find the notion stressful. According to a survey by the London Business School, 70% of career women feel anxious about taking a career break. You may worry about how your work will get done while you're out, or about the break hurting your career.

If you work with clients, one way to alleviate some stress is to communicate clearly with them about your maternity leave, and making sure they're taken care of while you're out. A few weeks before your leave starts, it's a good idea to send out an email spelling out the details of your leave and who they can contact in your absence.  

Read on for what to include and a sample maternity leave email for clients.

Key Takeaways

• Sending an email before you go on maternity leave can help your clients feel taken care of and clear up questions they may have.
• Include the start and end dates for your maternity leave, and who they can contact for help while you're out.
• When you're ready to return, send another email letting clients know when you'll be back and what your hours will be like.

Why Sending a Client Maternity Leave Email Is a Good Idea

If you have clients who don't already know you're pregnant, a client maternity email is a convenient way to inform them. For those who do know, this is the time to get all the details they'll need in writing about your maternity leave.

An email specifically tailored for your clients will be a great resource for them. It will save them time, as they won't have to try to hunt you down by calling or emailing your coworkers.

This email shows your clients you're thinking of them. They will have something in writing that they can refer to on how to get support from your company in your absence. This type of letter may not a requirement but is a nice gesture that ensures your clients are taken care of.  

The content of your email depends on who your client is and how often you are in touch with them. If you are sending out the same email to 200 clients, you will want to keep it short and sweet. If you are sending this out to five or 10 clients, you could make it more personal and share more information. Here are a few topics you can include in your client maternity leave email:

• How many weeks you'll be out of the office
• When you will leave the office
• When you will return to the office
• Who they can contact for support while you are out
• That you'll be unavailable while on leave

View this email as setting expectations with your client. For you, this will protect the time you have with your newborn and can ease your mind that you didn't leave loose ends at work.

Sample Client Maternity Leave Email

Below, find an example of a client maternity leave email. Where you see (parentheses), you should insert the appropriate words or phrases for your circumstances. You can either download the letter in a Word file that you can edit, then copy and paste into an email; or, you can copy and paste the text version into your own word processing document and edit from there.

Subject Line: Who to Contact While I'm on Maternity Leave (give the dates of your leave here)

Dear (Client Name),

I am pregnant (or in the process of adopting a child) and expect to take a (fill in the number of weeks) maternity leave beginning on (the date you wish your leave to begin) and returning on ( the date you expect to return from maternity leave).

As you know, I take great pride in my performance and the quality of my work for (name of client's company). I have already submitted a detailed plan to my manager to ensure that your needs will be taken care of in my absence.

While I am on leave I will not be available for consultation, so my job responsibilities will be managed by the following co-workers.

(Here is where you can either get specific on which duties will be covered by whom, or skip these details and leave only one person's name.)

During my absence, your point of contact will be (name of colleague covering for you, with contact details such as email address and direct phone number).

Please let me know if you have any particular concerns or questions about how your needs will be addressed during my maternity leave. I will let you know if any changes occur that may impact you.

Thank you for your confidence in my work. I look forward to working with you up until my maternity leave and then again after I return to the office.

Sincerely yours,

(Your name)

What subject line should I use for my maternity leave email?

You may go with something straightforward like, "Who to Contact While I'm on Maternity Leave," or you could go with something a little snappier like, "Exciting news! Plus what this means for you" or "Having a baby. Contact (colleague's name)." You want to make sure they'll read it when they need it without being so cute, it's not clear what you're trying to say.

How should you alert clients when you return from maternity leave?

You may choose to stay silent until you're officially back at work, or give clients a heads-up a week or two in advance. Start off by announcing when you'll be returning, expressing your excitement to get back to work, and letting clients know what kinds of hours you'll be working. Depending on your company culture and the nature of your client relationships, you may also want to include a few details about your baby with a photo.

London Business School. " Women Expect 4 Plus Career Switches in a Working Lifetime ."

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Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. It also requires that their group health benefits be maintained during the leave.

FMLA is designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by allowing them to take reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. It also seeks to accommodate the legitimate interests of employers and promote equal employment opportunity for men and women.

FMLA applies to all public agencies, all public and private elementary and secondary schools, and companies with 50 or more employees. These employers must provide an eligible employee with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for any of the following reasons:

• For the birth and care of the newborn child of an employee;
• For placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care;
• To care for an immediate family member (i.e., spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
• To take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.

Employees are eligible for leave if they have worked for their employer at least 12 months, at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months, and work at a location where the company employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Whether an employee has worked the minimum 1,250 hours of service is determined according to FLSA principles for determining compensable hours or work.

Time taken off work due to pregnancy complications can be counted against the 12 weeks of family and medical leave.

Military family leave provisions, first added to the FMLA in 2008, afford FMLA protections specific to the needs of military families.

Special rules apply to employees of local education agencies. The U.S. Department of Labor administers FMLA; however, the Office of Personnel Management administers FMLA for most federal employees.

Webpages on this Topic

Compliance Assistance: Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Links to various sources of information about FMLA.

Fact Sheet on FMLA Covers the major requirements of FMLA and updates to the FMLA regulations.

FMLA Compliance Guide Summarizes FMLA provisions and regulations and provides answers to the most frequently asked questions.

elaws FMLA Advisor The FMLA Advisor provides information about employee eligibility under the law; including valid reasons for leave; employee/employer notification responsibilities; and employee rights and benefits.

FMLA Poster All covered employers are required to display and keep displayed a poster prepared by the Department of Labor summarizing the major provisions of the FMLA.

Regulations on this Topic

29 CFR Part 825 - The Family and Medical Leave Act

Employee Leave Entitlements - Reduced or intermittent leave to care for parent, other family member or servicemember