Excelle

I've been out of the workforce for almost 5 years because I've been home raising my son.  Now that he's started kindergarten f/t, I am ready, willing and able to go back to work.

I've been looking on craigslist, monster, careerbuilders, etc. and have applied to many jobs but never hear back.  I know with this economy, companies are receiving hundreds of resumes, but how can I make my resume stand out considering the gap?  During the past 5 years I've worked from home doing some contract recruiting as well admin stuff at a real estate office just to make some extra income.  One question I have is in my cover letter, I've been indicating the reason for my absence from "corporate" - should I not be doing that???  I just want them to know upfront that I left my job to stay home with my son.  What is the best strategy for someone in my situation, whose been out of the market for a few years but now ready to get back.  I have almost 15 yrs Human Resources experience including Recruiting, Employee Relations, etc... - at my last employer I was the Director of HR - I know being away all these years I wouldn't get that level of responsibility nor do I want that, but I would love to even have a generalist position just to get my foot in.  I also have my Master in HR.

Anyway, any help, guidance or information that you can give me to help me get my food in the door and be more marketable would be appreciated.

Thanks for the input.....I will give it a shot and take out anything that indicates being home with my son for a few years from my cover letter and see how that works.  It's just that on some sites that I've been on indicated to include that information....so it's kind of confusing.