Homemaker Sabbatical?

So, I'm rewriting my resume and I am totally overwhelmed. I've met with a guy who went over resume dos and don'ts, and he gave me a printout of homemaker duties. I feel a little silly saying "responsible for day-to-day expenses" blah, blah. to fill in the gaps between jobs. I feel like "homemaker" is self-explanatory esp. if I want companies to focus on other areas of my resume. I searched and found a suggestion of "SABBATICAL" to be sufficient without explaining in detail. What do you think about that? And do you think designing scrapbook pages could be included in a resume? I've had a couple people suggest that.

I never really thought about putting my SB things on a "work" resume. I have them on my scrappy resume, though - along with publishing stuff, designer and site CTs, etc. I'll include a general comment about "other interests" if it's applicable to the job, e.g., if it requires desktop publishing or something similar.

Hhhm, tough one on the homemaker. I agree with you - seems pretty self-explanatory to me. Working in HR, I often review resumes and applications, and will ask a candidate about gaps in employment, just so I can make sure there's nothing missing. However, if answers are things like took time off to return to school, travel, raise the kids, etc. I don't push it any further (and asking about kids is a no-no, anyway - how many, do you plan to have more, etc.).

I'm with Kat, when I look at resumes I'm always addressing gaps. if the gap is substantial though I would probably put Sabbatical and then address it later when they ask.

What type of work are you looking to get back into?

Thanks for your replies! Looks like gaps should be addressed accordingly.
Jeryn, I don't have any particular job in mind. I'd love a job where I can be back home when my boys get off the bus, but I know that's not always available. I've looked into medical office jobs (because I have experience with that) or volunteering with computers to gain experience so I can utilize my degree. I've also considered seasonal jobs just to get back into the workforce.

I had been reviewing resumes for attorney and paralegal positions for the last few months. With all the unemployment issues going on in the last 10 years or so, gaps in unemployment are not unexpected, and I don't recall anything such as "sabbatical" or anything like that to address the gaps. Nonetheless, my supervisor did address them in the interview. However, what we were most concerned with was the time spent at each employer. Job hoppers are usually an issue, although if we liked what saw on the resume and brought the person in for an interview, my supervisor asked why he/she hopped so much.

For me, if there was more than a typo or two, into the trash can the resume went.

I don't like the fact that the person advised you to put in a job description for being a homemaker. Besides being self-explanatory, why should you have to justify your being a homemaker?

Good luck, Jennifer!

Thanks Liz for your input!
I agree with you in regards to justifying "homemaker". The guy said you can apply skills from any job for the job you're applying for. For instance, a homemaker "maintains the household budget or financial planning". While this may be true, I, personally, don't feel like I need to put this down. I just don't want an employer laughing at me! I feel like it's trying too hard or something.

I can't offer any insight. I just wanted to say how interesting this is to me as I know I will be facing it in a few years.

When I left my (teaching) job, it was considered a Child Care Leave. I imagine I might just put that down as an explanation as to my employment void.

Here's a link I found addressing it:

http://work.chron.com/deal-employment-gap-resume-8941.html

Hope it helps!

Thanks Jen! You guys are awesome!