Nanny work is unlike almost any other job a person can have. It’s distinctly personal and requires a huge degree of mutual trust between employer and employee. But the intimate nature of nanny work does not mean the job is any less professional. Career nannies can make six figures, and the best way to showcase your qualifications is with a quality nanny resume. If you’ve found yourself clueless about what to put on your nanny resume, here’s how to create your own:
Education
After your name and contact information, your education should go first on your resume. Formal education like high school and college is important, but make sure to also note any additional qualifications for the job. Include classes taken in child development, CPR training, and any other formal training you have received as a nanny.
Job Experience
Your job experience comes after your education on your nanny resume, and you should start with your most recent experience. List your job title in bold, the ages of the children in your care underneath your job title, and the years you were employed at this job underneath that. This is where your chance to highlight your experience with children comes in. Don’t use buzzwords or nonspecific language. Instead, talk about specific job responsibilities in bullet points, focusing on achievements. For instance, “helped children with homework” is a mundane and poor word choice but, “Taught reading skills daily to four year old” is strong and helpful wording. Your daily tasks should be listed under one bullet point to allow more room to talk about achievements. Provided daily meals, transportation, supervision, and educational activities for four children ages 2 through 8″ is excellent wording and allows more space to talk about the most interesting things you’ve done. Try to keep each job to five bullet points or under, and read your resume like an employer, focusing on whether your experience stands out or is just humdrum.
Volunteer Experience
For many nannies, especially younger nannies, much experience comes from volunteer work, so include a section with volunteer experience with children. If the bulk of your experience has been volunteering, make sure to talk up this experience.
Other Skills
You should include a section pointing out any other skills that are useful in nannying, including instruments you play, experience with animals, or other qualifications that make you a stand out candidate above and beyond other nannies.
References
Never put reference names and numbers on your resume, because many, many people will see your resume and this is a gross invasion of your previous employers’ privacy. Instead, state, “In an effort to protect the privacy of my previous employers, references will happily and readily be provided upon request.”
Choose a simple, thick, and professional paper for your resume and print with high quality ink. Remember that a resume is not supposed to be a portfolio but a succinct statement of your experiences as a nanny, so keep it under two pages. If you’re interested in building a nanny portfolio, I’ve written an article on how to do that here
