What to say if I'm unemployed

[rbaker]

Hi everyone,

I have been out of work for a few years taking care of my daughter and out of school for about three years. On the applications I am unsure how to handle the questions about occupation. Is it going to look bad if I put unemployed (meaning will it look like I am going back to school because I can't get a job even though grad school is my primary goal)? I was a public school teacher previously, so I could put that, but since I am not working as that now nor gaining an income from it, I feel that might be sort of a stretch and I do not have a way to show how to back it up.

Can anyone who has had a similar situation please let me know how they approached this question and how this might be "read" by the school? :roll:

[rising_star]

I haven't actually put this but I would put something like "Stay-at-home mother" or "Homemaker" or something like that.

[kent shakespeare]

I agree with the other. There is nothing wrong with stating "mother" or "homemaker." Those are both undeniably jobs. You were not unemployed, even if your employment was not one rewarded by direct currency remuneration.

[UnlikelyGrad]

I went back to school after being a mom for 15 years.

When I put together my resume (lots of places ask for one, and I sent it to the others anyway), I showed not only the paying jobs I'd dabbled in over the years but also my 10,001 (ok, more like 101) volunteer experiences. Few of the paying jobs had anything to do with my field of interest--they were all part-time because I was primarily a mom--but they were all, ahem, interesting!

Of course, I'm the type who always has a zillion irons in the fire. Even when I didn't have a paying job, I had a lot of stuff going on. Not sure if this is the case with you.