How to Describe Your "Mommy Time"?

The mid-2008 job market is a tumultuous place. On the one hand, employers complain about a shortage of talent so dire that the media has dubbed the phenomenon "The Talent War." At the same time, qualified job-seekers bemoan the tedious and insulting processes that employers subject them to before even a phone interview is granted. What gives?

Employers DO need people, in some cases to the point of desperation. The bad news is that corporate HR and recruiting departments haven't figured out how to simply identify and interview talented people without running them through the Seven Trials of Hercules first.

The byzantine selection processes knock too many good candidates out of the pipeline, as they fail to hear back from employers or simply opt out of overly complicated, demeaning selection hurdles. And already challenging job searches are often especially tough for moms returning to the workforce.

Fearful HR folks and corporate recruiters can be quick to treat returning mothers like modern-day Rip Van Winkles, perhaps believing that five or ten years away from the workforce transforms an intelligent woman into a relic who'd be undone by the latest version of Word.

It's a ridiculous bias—After all, how many office types spend their days juggling babies, schedules, budgets and household logistics with the precision that most moms do?—but a prevalent one. In a climate where hiring managers don't want to take a chance on anyone—including an applicant with sixteen out of seventeen 'must-have' skills listed on the job requisition—returning moms are often seen as dicey contenders.

The silver lining to this returning-mom obstacle is that a clever marketer—that’s you—can rise to the challenge by making her returning-to-the-rat-race story a plus in her job-search efforts. There are three critical elements to promoting your returning-mom status as a positive feature:

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