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I took a break and recently went back to work, though it was only a 1 year break. I found that I could apply to a lot of jobs through LinkedIn and I had a lot of recruiters contact me through LinkedIn as well.

During the screen with the recruiters, I did have questions related to my break in employment and I was just upfront about taking a break to be a SAHM. Most of the recruiters/hiring managers seemed supportive of that (well, nobody made any inappropriate strange comments to me!) and didn't really press me further about it, except to ask what my motivation was for returning to the workforce.

I'm not in the same transition as you are (good luck!), but I do have a couple of tips for job searching. Linkedin is a great tool, and probably the best for job hunting these days over the job sites like Monster. Make sure your resume information on there is in tip top shape, have as many people as you can read over it for any typos. Also, if you can, and it's a little annoying, take a professional headshot and use that as your profile picture. It really steps up your game. Don't be afraid to put feelers out to any contacts you may have in the field you want to work in and ask them if their company is hiring, a lot of jobs are gotten because someone knew someone at the company. Lastly, brush up on interview questions, some places will do phone interviews first and while they seem relaxing they aren't, haha, and they will ask questions to weed you out, feel free to have prepared statements you can read from and use those same stories when you get your face-to-face interviews.

I don't think you need to explain your absence too much beyond you chose to stay at home, and job hunting takes awhile even when you are currently employed so don't get discouraged if it seems like it's taking a long time.

Hope all of that can help in some way!

I don't have any advice but I wanted to send you encouragement! I imagine it to be quite scary but you created and birthed a baby...Nothing scarier and more life-changing than that! You can do it!!!

Try indeed.com and simplyhired.com.

I wouldn't talk about your kids until a job offer is extended. Similar to how you wouldn't negotiate pay during an interview, don't discuss kids/scheduling until you have them on the hook. That's my opinion from the interviewing I have gone through and the people I have interviewed!

Edit: Of course you will talk about your kids in the sense you were a SAHM, I forgot! But beyond that (needing to leave at a certain time each day to pick LO up from daycare,etc.) save that for later.

And yes, paper resumes still rule! Bring several copies to any interviews and write some talking points/notes on one!

@Cchoi4: Some above posters will probably have touched on some of this, but here's my advice:

-Update your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is also a great place to look for jobs, because they match the jobs to what you put on your profile. Lots of recruiters on there as well.
-Update your paper resume. Paper resumes are still relevant, but you will probably just email PDFs of it to 99% of the places you apply for
-Get your references together - make sure their contact information is correct

As for other sites, Indeed.com seems to be pretty helpful.

Network! Tell everyone you know that you are getting back into the workforce, and if you feel comfortable, ask them to pass along any positions they might find out about.

Like others have said, just be honest about the break in your resume. You don't want to come off as misleading, but you also don't have to whip out pictures of your kids, ya know? And no, they are not supposed to ask you about your kids, but you can open the door to that topic if they ask about the employment gap.

Good luck!

Agree with indeed.com, and any local sites (for example, in dc, Washington post jobs)

Also buy a suit! good luck!

No advice but good luck! I just started working PT after SAHM for two years. I am working at the place I worked before LO was born. But I'm also going back to school to get some certifications so my resume looks fresh again. I live on an area with a depressed economy though so I am trying to be more competitive. I am sure you will have fantastic luck!