Childcare Resume Example

This comprehensive guide will give you all the tools you need to craft a childcare resume that positions you strongly against other candidates. You'll find useful insights on constructing a resume that makes the most of your unique skills, experience and strengths. You'll also learn how to tailor your resume according to the job description, and depending on your experience levels. Continue reading to find expert tips and advice from Jobseeker that will help you with your childcare resume.

Key sections for a childcare resume

The key sections to include in a childcare resume are similar to those for any role or profession. For junior candidates with little work experience, other sections of the resume take on more prominence and might be placed before the work experience section. These could include education, skills, projects, hobbies and volunteer work.

You will have some choice over your resume layout and structure, but be sure to include these sections as the core of your document:

Header and Personal Information

Your childcare resume header should contain your name and contact details. These include your email address and phone number. If you have a LinkedIn profile, you can also add that, to give employers the chance to learn more about your skills and experience. It's not necessary to include a photo or any other personal information. Make sure your resume header is as brief as possible and doesn't take up too much valuable space. Choose a clear, professional design that sets the tone for your application.

Only include professional, name-based email addresses in your resume header. If you have an old email address that uses nicknames, puns, references to your personal interests or anything else that could appear unprofessional, set up a new email just for your job applications. Finally, always double-check your contact details are correct and up-to-date before sending your resume.

Resume Objective

The next section is the resume summary. The section might also be called 'resume objective' or 'personal profile'. This is a brief introduction to you, your key skills and your career achievements and ambitions. While a resume summary focuses on your career achievements and experience, a resume objective typically focuses on your ambitions for the future. In addition, your objective should highlight why you're an ideal candidate for childcare worker roles by showing key skills and qualities that reflect the job description.

Alternatively, you could use this section to reference your objectives and ambitions, and how this role would fit into your career journey.

A strong resume summary focuses on two or three key skills and achievements that showcase your suitability for childcare worker roles in a clear, quantifiable way. It also gives an insight into your personal qualities, to help the reader understand why you're a suitable candidate. The graphic below showcases some good examples of what to include in your childcare resume summary.

Conversely, a bad resume summary might be too generic, lacking focus on the specifics of the job description. It will also fail to provide any useful insights on what makes you a unique candidate. See above for some examples of things to avoid when writing your childcare resume summary.

Hard and Soft Skills

Listing your key skills can help to prove your suitability for childcare worker jobs. These could be behavior management strategies, active listening skills or various other relevant skills. Again, refer to the childcare worker job description for an indication of the types of skills the employer is looking for, and make sure your skills section reflects these.

Listing hard skills on your childcare resume

For your hard skills list, include any technical abilities or specific industry knowledge that's essential to working as a childcare worker. These could be skills gained through work experience or qualifications. Furthermore, your list of hard skills provides a strong indication to the reader of your expertise in childcare worker roles, and how well you'll fit into the position. Aim to include four or five key hard skills. If you have space, explain how and where you've used that skill to create successful outcomes in your career. These skills will demonstrate your credentials and show how you meet the job description.

The best resume hard skills sections focus on specific technical skills necessary for the job, showcasing skills that you have particular expertise in. There are some examples of valuable hard skills for a childcare resume below.

Showcasing your best soft skills

In your soft skills list, include any personal characteristics that make you a good fit for a childcare worker job. Soft skills tend to be more universal than hard skills, but they're no less important. In fact, you can develop soft skills throughout your career, and they tend to be suitable for various roles and professions. You should generally look to include up to five soft or transferable skills that match the job description.

The strongest resume soft skills sections include a mix of skills that match your best personal strengths, and that reflect the skills listed in the job description. See below for some examples of effective soft skills for a daycare worker resume.

Education and Qualifications

In your education section, include details of your most relevant childcare worker qualifications and educational achievements.

It's not usually necessary to have a degree for jobs as a childcare worker. Nevertheless, it's still crucial to list your highest or most relevant educational achievements. These might include Pediatric First Aid, and other certifications or courses that highlight your CPR certification or behavior management strategies.

For each entry in this section, add the name and level of your qualification, the institution you studied at, its location and your dates of study. Include bullet points to show any specialist modules you studied, awards or exceptional grades and achievements that can set you apart from other candidates. These will all contribute to creating a positive impression on employers.

If you organized or participated in any clubs or societies while at university, or you took part in any voluntary work, you could also mention these here.

Certifications and Training

In your certifications section, list any professional certifications or licenses that are relevant to working as a childcare worker. These might be licenses that show you're qualified to operate certain equipment, or certifications that give you the edge over candidates with otherwise similar career history. Therefore, include the details of any licenses and professional certifications required for childcare worker roles, along with completion dates so employers can see you're up-to-date.

See below for some suggestions of relevant certifications for a childcare resume:

Work History

Under your work experience section, add any jobs you've had in the past that are relevant to the position of a childcare worker. For each entry, list the job title, the name of the employer, its location and the dates you worked there. Add each job in reverse-chronological order, starting with your current or most recent role.

Also include some bullet points for each job mentioned, showcasing your achievements so the employer can see the impact you made on the company. Pay attention to the job description and make sure each point is relevant to childcare worker roles.

A good resume work experience section includes your most relevant previous jobs and highlights your key achievements in each role. To make the best possible impression on hiring managers, make sure each entry in your work experience section references skills and experience listed in the job description, and shows how you added value to each role with quantifiable evidence and outcomes. Take a look at the examples below for some guidance on what works best for your work experience section.

The example above can give you some idea of what not to include in your resume work experience section. Ineffective work experience sections tend to focus too much on everyday responsibilities over skills and achievements. If you use vague descriptions of activities and fail to back up your achievements with evidence, you're likely to fail to make an impact on the reader.

Optional Sections

In addition to the core sections of a daycare worker resume, there are several optional sections you could include to enhance your chances. Choose any optional sections that showcase essential or desirable skills or experience for childcare worker jobs.

Hobbies

Add any hobbies and interests that reinforce your credentials for the position. Hobbies can help you show different sides of your personality and make your resume more memorable to hiring managers. They're ideal to include if you're a junior candidate who might lack real world childcare worker experience. Only include hobbies and interests that showcase your personality and personal qualities, and add something different to your application.

Volunteer Work

This section can be valuable for a daycare worker resume, if you've done any voluntary work that showcases your relevant skills. Write your volunteer section in a similar format to your work experience, including your role, the organization name, relevant dates and the details of your contribution.

References

It's relatively unusual to include references in a standard childcare resume, but they are required occasionally. Check the job advert to see if you'll need to add references to your resume. Include a maximum of three professional references, being sure to check with your referees before including them in your resume.

Best words to use in a daycare worker resume

Add strong verbs to your work experience section to show the hiring manager the impact you made in your previous roles. Add strong verbs from the list below to create a greater impact with your work experience section.

If you need help creating a resume that impresses HR managers, take a look at Jobseeker's professional resume templates. You can also access beautiful cover letter templates that help your application stand out.

Example of a childcare resume

The childcare resume example below includes all the sections above, so you can see how a completed resume looks:

How to make your resume ATS compliant

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is just one of the tools employers and recruiters can use to streamline their hiring practices. This typically includes screening candidates by scanning and ranking their resumes based on their likely suitability for any vacancy. There are several things you can do when writing your childcare resume, to give yourself the strongest chance of ranking highly in the ATS stage and progressing through the recruitment process.

Here a some simple tips to follow for an ATS-friendly resume:

• Adopt a traditional structure for your resume, such as a reverse-chronological format or a functional format. These are likely to be the easiest layouts for ATS software to scan.
• Add keywords that match the job description throughout your resume, as ATS applications scan for these and well-placed, considered use can help your resume rank more highly.
• Include clear headings in each section that match the traditional resume structure and format. This will make it easier for the ATS software to scan your resume.
• Utilize a clean, clear resume design that helps make your content more readable. Use simple fonts and subtle color accents and design elements that don't detract from the written content.
• Use concise language to keep the length of your resume to between one and two pages. This will make it easier to scan for ATS applications.

Takeaways for your childcare resume

The key to a strong resume is to showcase your relevant skills and achievements through your work experience and other activities. Choose a resume structure that makes the most of your relevant experience, whether through work or other activities, and be sure to tailor your resume to match the job description.

Jobseeker has a wealth of resume tools, including resume templates and examples, to help you create a winning job application. Sign up today to get started. To make the best possible impression with your applications, write a cover letter with the help of Jobseeker. You can also find plenty of expert-designed cover letter examples for inspiration.

Sources:

(1) Writing a Resume, California Department of Human Resources: https://www.calhr.ca.gov/employees/Pages/resume-tips.aspx

(2) Resumes, Cover Letters and Job Applications, New York State Department of Labor: https://dol.ny.gov/resumes-cover-letters-and-job-applications