23 | From Resume Gaps to Career Growth: How to Own Your Value as a Working Mom featuring Dawn Rasmussen

👀 Feeling Invisible in Your Career?

👉 Are you stuck in a job that doesn’t reflect who you are anymore—but feel unsure how to update your resume?

👉 Wondering if taking time off to raise kids disqualified you from career growth?

👉 Ever feel like no matter what you’ve done, your resume just… doesn’t get seen?

In this empowering episode, I’m joined by Dawn Rasmussen, certified resume writer, international speaker, and president of Pathfinder Writing and Career Services.

We dive into what career growth really looks like for working moms—and how to turn resume gaps, confidence wobbles, and career pivots into powerful positioning.

🔥 In This Episode:
✔️ Why your resume is more than a list—it’s your leadership story
✔️ The best way to explain career breaks (and why "career sabbatical" works)
✔️ How to rewrite your resume using the CAR formula: Challenge → Action → Result
✔️ The truth about one-page resumes, ATS systems, and AI-generated job applications

💬 Key Quote:
"Don’t say you were ‘just’ a mom. You were managing people, solving problems, leading with empathy—those are real leadership skills." — Dawn Rasmussen

🛠️ Try This Action Step:
Create a "Career Wins" file—drop in:
✅ Client kudos
✅ Performance reviews
✅ Volunteer leadership roles
✅ Professional development

This gives you tangible proof of your growth—and makes resume writing 10x easier.

🔗 Connect with Dawn Rasmussen

💼 Ready to Lead with Confidence & Calm?

🚀 Take the FREE Leadership Style Quiz to uncover your strengths and unique leadership path:

📩 Join the Career EmpowHERment Collective 

🎙️ New episodes drop every Tuesday & Friday! Subscribe, share, and tag a mom friend who needs this encouragement.

Kat and Tanner by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/

Transcript

Shannon Fox:

Have you taken time off, changed directions, or just feel like your resume doesn't reflect the leader you've become? In today's episode, Certified Resume Writer Dawn Rasmussen shares how to reframe your resume, reclaim your value, and confidently step into your next career move. If you've ever wondered how to talk about gaps, or felt invisible in the hiring process, this episode is for you.

Intro:

Hey mama, welcome to Career Growth for Working Moms. If you're stuck in a job that doesn't fit or burning out trying to do it all, you're in the right place. I'm Shannon, a career coach and fellow working mom. Here, you'll get simple career strategies and strength-based leadership tips to help you grow with clarity and confidence. So grab your coffee or reheat it for the third time and let's do this.

Shannon Fox:

Hello and welcome. I am so excited to have Dawn Rasmussen with me today.

Dawn is a certified résumé writer, international speaker, and author of Forget Job Security: Build Your Marketability—the first-ever complete book on career management.

She’s also the president of Pathfinder Writing and Career Services, where she helps people understand their value, craft a strong personal brand, and manage their careers with confidence.

Dawn's mission is to help people own their story, attract better opportunities, and take charge of their career destiny. And today, she's sharing exactly how to do that.

Fun fact, during the pandemic, Dawn added a totally unique title to her resume, which I love, “Dear Mama,” after helping raise an abandoned fawn named Thor.

Dawn, welcome! I’m so excited to learn from you today.

Dawn Rasmussen:

Oh, thank you. I'm excited to chat.

Shannon Fox:

So you're a champion of career management. So what does that exactly mean and why is it important beyond having just a job?

Dawn Rasmussen:

You know, a lot of us just kind of get stuck in kind of the rut of our job. And so we kind of forget to look outside of our little bubble. So a lot of times that just means that you neglect certain things that are going to help you in the future.

And so when we think about career management, it's a concept that's the bigger picture of where is your career going in general. And as we all know, we all can end up having many different hats throughout their lifetime. I'm no exception myself.

So it's thinking about understanding what kinds of skills that you have that are transferable. If you have a different direction that you want to go eventually or gain more skill sets or gain management or leadership skills, then it's focusing on professional development. That's really important. So you keep adding to those skill sets and that knowledge and expertise.

Another thing you need to be thinking about in terms of career management is also networking so that you are building that connection list that you can either get referrals from jobs or know someone in that area who can do a warm introduction to the hiring manager. So those are really key things.

And then also just getting engaged with your industry versus just being stuck at the office, sitting in front of the desk. You want to be out there and actually getting yourself out, you know, just kind of volunteering. You know, are you in a committee or your committee chair? Are you in a board or board chair?

Not everybody has to do that. And it doesn't have to be a big commitment. Just whatever you can will put you out there amongst your peers. So you become a known quantity. So those are the kind of the three big drivers for career management.

Shannon Fox:

I love that.

So a lot of these our listeners are career moms. And so they're busy and they sometimes I feel they don't recognize their value. And so they may not take a step in their career to advance it or even just ask for raises because they don't feel as valued. Do you—can you speak on that?

Dawn Rasmussen:

Yes. And I love chatting about this topic because so many times women tend to undersell ourselves. And I hate to say this, but we have to blame the parents on that one, because a lot of times women are taught to be demure and not rock the boat. And they also question themselves so much that they end up becoming their own career obstacles.

So, you know, one thing that I always tell people, women in particular, to think about is if they're having any hesitancy about applying for a specific job because they feel like they're not qualified enough, then the question they need to ask themselves is this: Would a man be thinking this? Oh, the answer is usually no. And so you need to own your power.

And if you need a little bit of a boost in the arm as far as what you think your value is or at least owning your value—and this is actually a good practice no matter what—is to keep track of your on-the-job accomplishments.

So when we think about writing resumes or putting information on LinkedIn, you need to start thinking about how have I moved the needle at my current employer? You don't want to just list job tasks because that becomes a laundry list of job duties on your resume or LinkedIn profile. People want to know, well, what did you do to move the needle? Did you make money, save money, or save time?

So keeping track of that will help you kind of look back, and after you've done—reworked your resume, you can have an opportunity to sit down and be one with your background and own your power because you'll say, “Well, I'd hire myself.” It's like, exactly. Now somebody else can see that. So that will help you feel much more valued. So keep track of these things.

A couple places to look at are like performance reviews, plan of work, staff reports, any client kudos you may have gotten, any professional development you've taken. So it's really important to keep a file. It's like a running tab of what you've done. And that way, when you go to update your resume, then you'll have all that information. I mean, I sort of joke, but we can't even remember what we did five minutes ago, let alone five years ago. So it's better to have a file that will help you remember and jog your memory on those things.

Shannon Fox:

And is there a way when they're writing their resumes that they should put things in a special order in order to make them shine better? Or does the order not matter as much when they're seeking a job?

Dawn Rasmussen:

You know, there is. And so one thing I suggest is that when we take those examples of your on-the-job wins—so what you want to do, and this is what we do in the resume writing world—is to think: challenge, action, result. So every bullet underneath each employer is going to end up being a business case example, a specific situation. And that's what employers want to know.

If you just list job duties, it's not really telling the person reading it what you did. They're kind of in their mind thinking, “So what?” And what you're trying to do is to say, “Okay, I delivered X percent increase in ABC and here's how I did it, which solved this problem.” And if you can use the challenge, action, result formula and think about the specific examples—think of it sort of like a pre-interview interview. And so, you know, that will get you in the right mindset because that's the kind of stuff you do get asked in interviews.

So if you can kind of think through it now and get it into your resume, you'll be a lot more comfortable fielding those questions in an interview.

Shannon Fox:

Okay, so I have to ask this because I have no idea, but how has AI affected resume writing and even like—do they use it to filter people through? And how can we encourage these career moms to stay ahead of that?

Dawn Rasmussen:

Great question. So there’s kind of two—it’s actually a two-sided coin. So let's talk about the employer side of things. So absolutely—that it's called Applicant Tracking System, ATS, or keyword scanning software. What it does is the employer or HR person will add in a job posting into the software and set up a predetermined hit ratio of how many keywords in your resume match that of the actual job description. If you don’t hit that threshold, you just won’t be considered, unfortunately.

So, you know, you’re not going to game the system. You’re going to give it what it wants. But you have to understand that this is kind of a—you know, it's really an efficiency measure for HR people. When you get 300 people applying for the same job, it's a way to kind of sift out people.

And it may or may not be true that—you know, their thought is if you're qualified, you're going to use the right language, the matching language. If you're not qualified, you're not going to use the right—so there are people that are qualified and don't use the right language. So it's just understanding how that works and understanding how to parse keywords.

And just a quick tip on this: if you have a problem trying to identify what keywords are, there are word clouds out there. You can put a whole job description into an online platform that’s a word cloud, and the larger—it becomes a visual picture—and the biggest words are the ones that are keywords and used the most. So you definitely want to put that in your resume.

So that’s the employer side. So they're trying to use that software to help make their jobs a little bit easier and get through the chaff and get to the meaty stuff.

Now, on the flip side, let's talk about all of the AI tools. There's so many of them now. And so if you're trying to use that—any of those tools to write a resume, here's the rub: if you're just beginning, if you've never had much experience, yes, absolutely. These AI tools can write a fairly competent resume. I'll give it that. It can also help you start to write a more complex resume.

But the problem with AI—and that, you know, it may change. It's evolving. It's learning, right? So, you know, Skynet's next. Right? Yeah.

But, you know, the issue is that the software is only as good as you prompt it. And if you don't know how to prompt it, it's kind of the old adage: garbage in, garbage out. And the other part is that it doesn't have a personal touch. You know, you can create—train it to—excuse me—write in your own voice. But still, it's still not you.

And that's the challenge. And the third piece is that AI is going to not handle nuances. And especially when we're talking about moms—maybe they left the workforce for a little bit—so, how is the AI going to help you, you know, kind of explain that in your resume?

And so that's where, you know, you doing it or hiring someone—a real live human being—to do that can help you to navigate through those things. And, you know, sometimes, you know, when we're writing resumes, we want to infuse a little bit of our personality in there. And I don't think the AI is at that point to really get that personality in there.

And I have heard—one last thing I want to say about this—there are, I'm seeing rumblings now—I belong to a lot of recruiter groups—and they can spot an AI resume or cover letter from a mile away. They're like, “Oh my gosh, you know, another generic fluffy thing.” And so, do you want to stand out? Well, that means you're going to have to do the work. You can't be lazy and just tap into AI.

And, you know, I'm not saying that you can't use it. You can use it for a baseline starting point, but you're going to have to put some legwork and elbow grease into it.

Shannon Fox:

Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, the employers want to streamline and you need to just show who your real authentic self—your personality—because that's who they want. They don't want just AI that says, “This is what this person can do.”

So what are some other like, or maybe the biggest myths about resume and job searching that you wish people would stop believing?

Dawn Rasmussen:

Oh boy, there's so many. Most recently—I'll just give you the most recent one. A lot of people think, “Oh, I have to have a one-page resume.” That needs to end. You do not need to have a one-page resume.

Technically, when we talk about resume length, you're only looking at like, what do you have to talk about that's important? So generally, the rule of thumb is: if you're 35 or younger, you probably haven't worked a lot in your career field. You've still been figuring things out. So maybe you don't have enough jobs to really fill out more than a one-page resume.

So kind of 35 and under, probably one page—exceptions all the time, absolutely. And then anybody above that is going to be two pages. But you don't want to ever just fill up pages with floppy stuff. If you've got stuff to talk about, by all means, take the space.

Now, if you're a C-sweeter, or if you're in academia or a scientist or a technical field, then you can go to three pages. But again, you have to talk about the meaty stuff. That's the key thing.

So I hear that over and over again: “Well, I want to have a one-pager,” or, “I've heard this over and over again.” Employers—if you've got good stuff to talk about—they'll keep reading. You know? So don't feel confined.

You know, you can have a one-pager that's like a networking resume. Just a quick, “Okay, here's my quick overview.” But if you're really applying for a job, then you need to have the full meal deal.

Shannon Fox:

I love that. I love it. Because I remember back in the day when I started, it was supposed to only be a one page. And so, you know, it's changed. And I like that because—and that goes back to the file that you said, you said about keeping with all of your accomplishments so that when you go sit down to write, you have all of that.

So what do you advise for those moms that may have taken time off to be a mom and now are like—have kids that—where they can go back to school? What kind of information and how do they explain that on their resume?

Dawn Rasmussen:

I love that you asked that question. I was hoping so I could share this. So what—you know, and I want to be very clear here. A lot of women, when—working moms or moms that are trying to reenter the workforce—they'll say, “Oh gosh, well, I didn’t do anything. I just raised kids.” I’m like, what? You just did a huge amount of stuff here!

So we need to kind of pull on those threads. So—but we have to be kind of careful because having kids is like protected information and it says something. So, you know, employers discriminate. We know this to be true.

And if you say, “Oh, I had a child,” then they're gonna like, “Okay, there's gonna be a lot of doctor’s appointments and, you know, transporting between—excuse me, I gotta take a drink...” [pause]

Transporting between child care and whatnot. So anyway, so you should be thinking about creating career sabbatical. And then if you did any volunteer work with your kid’s school, or went back to school or took a class—I have a tickle, sorry—and so if you can kind of include those things underneath career sabbatical but don’t say “I took care of kids” or “had a child,” then at least you’re accounting for that time.

If you leave it blank, then it's going to raise questions—like if there's a big gap there. So that's a great way to kind of look at it.

Shannon Fox:

I like—I like that you call it a career sabbatical, because I mean, I think about—for me, I took some time and, you know, I was in—I led my MOPS group. I, you know, led a group in Bible study. I was a PTO VP. You know, so that did count and I was doing things so—but I love calling it a career sabbatical. That—that’s—I have not heard that. So thank you.

So as we're wrapping up today, how can our listeners connect with you?

Dawn Rasmussen:

Great, well thanks for asking. You can find me on LinkedIn under Dawn Rasmussen with Pathfinder Careers, and my website is PathfinderCareers.com. So you can find me either spot.

Shannon Fox:

And I will list that below. So, Dawn, this has been a great conversation. And I always ask at the very end—I like to leave my listeners with one small action step that they can take today. So what is something that they can do to feel more in control of their career?

Dawn Rasmussen:

I would say you need to focus on defining what your value is and then kind of holding it close to your heart. So, you know, I mentioned the exercise of kind of writing out those bullets and just really feeling and owning what you bring to the table.

It’s easy to either talk ourselves out of feeling our value or allow other people to make us think that we don’t have value. I know a lot of women have been in kind of what we call toxic work environments that made them question their sanity as well as their value. So be present with yourself. I think that's the biggest thing—and what you bring to the table.

Everybody has value. And if you don’t know what yours is, then you need to have an exercise like writing the resume and start thinking about those things, because that will help you determine your career destiny.

Shannon Fox:

I love that. I love that. And I just love how you keep reminding everybody that they have value because a mom—being a mom—can be a tireless, thankless job. And you—but you do bring so much value. I mean, raising people up. So I love that you concentrate on that. 

Thank you so much, Dawn, for being here today.

Dawn Rasmussen:

Thanks for having me.

Outro:

Hey, working mama, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. If so, would you take 30 seconds to share it with a friend who's stuck in her career but doesn't want to sacrifice her family to grow? Also, please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts.

It seriously lights me up to know the show is helping you navigate burnout, find clarity, and lead with confidence.

All right. Time to shut down my laptop and pretend I'm not hiding from folding that laundry. I'll meet you back here soon for another episode of Career Growth for Working Moms.

You've got this.