A professional nanny resume is one of the most powerful tools you have in your job search.
We interview dozens of nannies each week for placement with our Concierge Service families, and one question comes up again and again:
“How can I increase my chances of finding an amazing family to work with?”
Our first piece of advice is to always have a professional nanny resume ready to go that clearly shows why you would be an excellent choice.
Below, we’ll walk you through one of our favorite nanny resume templates and highlight what really makes a resume stand out, plus some additional tips about including hobbies, experience and a cover letter.
Click here to check out the nanny resume template we reference from resumegenius.com
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Here is a closer look at how to write an amazing nanny resume.
Nanny resumes come up all week long during interviews for nanny positions. When someone connects with us about a position, one of the first things we ask for is a resume, and we’re often surprised at how many child care providers don’t have one ready. A resume is a really important way to convey professionalism in the industry.
Some nannies share that they don’t have a resume because they don’t need one. That may be true, since a lot of nannies find their next positions through referrals from family, friends, or neighbors. However, having a resume is still a really important way to present yourself professionally.
When a nanny has a resume ready to go the moment it’s requested, it signals that they’re organized and serious about their job search.
Do make sure to update your resume routinely. This could be a habit you get into each time you take a new nanny role. You can just write the start date until present, and that leaves your resume open and ready to go for your next position.
A resume that needs updating suggests you’re not quite as prepared for an interview as you could have been.
Do make your resume look nice and professional. Search online for ideas on resume writing or templates.
One great template we love is from resumegenius.com.
Take a look at their nanny resume sample.
What’s great about this resume is that it’s just very clear-cut.
It has different sections that tell you exactly where to find the relevant information.
It has a lovely header, it has your contact information on the upper left, and it has a nice summary of the professional profile so you can highlight how many years of experience you have, along with some of the skill sets you might not initially think would be relevant to nanny care.
Any music skills you have, any organizational or time management skills, multitasking, the ability to work well under pressure, reliability. Make sure you list those relevant skills. A lot of parents tend to seek out skills such as musical abilities or language skills when they are searching for nannies. While these aren’t always required, they are the icing on the cake, so it’s a really good way to set yourself apart from the pack.
Don’t forget to list your experience, and lead with your most relevant experience first.
In this example, the person has listed their two most recent positions, and there’s also a section on the left toward the bottom listing “education and credentials”.
This person has a music degree, some nanny certifications and awards, and their driver’s license.
One important thing that is not listed here but is always worth including is CPR first aid certification. That’s something that’s nice to have in any nanny situation. Because you’re working around kids, it’s reassuring to know that someone is trained to know what to do in the event of an emergency. That’s the one thing missing here that we would recommend having. And don’t forget that many parents will REQUIRE First Aid/CPR certification!
Make sure that you have a professional-looking resume. Check out the different templates, there are a ton online, and again this resume example we like is on resumegenius.com.
Make sure you spell-check and proofread your resume.
It’s surprising how often punctuation marks are missing or capital letters are dropped. Whenever you’re writing a resume, make sure you’re not writing in all lower case, for example. Grammar matters, and sometimes we don’t catch the things we write ourselves. It’s really helpful to just ask a friend or a family member, ”Hey, can you look this over and make sure I didn’t make any errors, or maybe give me some feedback if there’s anything you’d recommend changing!” That’s a really important piece.
Grammar errors are really common, and a resume that’s well put together, with no spelling or grammar errors, always makes a strong impression.
On a nanny resume, don’t leave out the babysitting experience.
If you’ve been a professional nanny for several years, you probably don’t need to include this, but if you’re newer and you have more recent experience, make sure that you summarize your babysitting experience. Don’t list every role unless it was a more permanent position. But, you could just say “I’ve babysat between 2018 to 2020”.
Make sure you list the ages of children, the number of children you cared for, you can word it like this, “Cared for up to three children at a time”.
And, make sure to list out some of the job duties. Some great, relevant skill-sets, safely driving children to and from activities, meal prep for children, etc.
Don’t leave out any relevant skill sets. These could be things like languages, musical abilities, artistic skills, anything like that.
Parents love to see a well-rounded candidate with some skill-sets and hobbies and things that can be incorporated into the nanny role.
For example, if you’re a master Lego builder, say that! If you make an incredible sensory bin, say that, have fun with it. That’s another great way to set yourself apart from the pack.
Have fun with it and list those skills that are transferable into nanny care.
Do consider adding your interests or hobbies to your resume.
They can be a great way to provide some insight as to who you are as a person so that you’re a little bit more personable instead of just information on a piece of paper.
Make sure to include any special licensures or certifications. This could even be your driver’s license, any education, any special training that you have done such as if you’re a newborn care specialist, anything like that will make your resume pop.
Do make sure to include your contact information and make sure that your email address is correct.
We have seen resumes with incorrect or old phone numbers or email addresses, so just scan through everything and make sure that things are accurate and up to date.
E.g. If you have a resume that has your email address from when you created it back when you were 13, “Miss sassypants@gmail.com” time to upgrade that to “Sashahjones@gmail.com” for example.
Consider switching up your email address, make sure it’s correct, it’s accurate, and make sure it has a professional tone.
Do translate your skill sets if you are transitioning from a different role into nannying or your experience is on the light side.
Make sure that you talk about your organizational skills, your reliability, any volunteer work, anything like that.
If you have been around children as a camp counselor, lifeguard, tutor, etc. All of those things really have transferable skill sets, so talk that up and make sure you include those, if your resume is a little bit on the light side with actual nanny experience.
It’s surprising how many resumes come in each week where someone has applied for a child care role yet there is no child care experience listed on the resume.
Make sure you help connect the dots. If you have child care experience, great! Either have it on your resume or have a stellar cover letter that helps to connect the dots and show why you would be great for the role.
Now speaking of cover letters, do make sure you include a cover letter.
It’s an amazing way to help personalize your resume for the role without actually having to personalize your resume.
It can be concise, it can just be a few lines ”e.g. Thank you for taking the time to read my resume. I think I would be great for this role because… I would love to discuss this position with you further.”
Something really succinct is great, but it’s a fantastic way to just show that you take an extra step, you’re going to go the extra mile and you’re serious about your job search.
That’s it for now. We hope these tips for writing an amazing nanny resume were helpful. These are things we see and deal with each week, so they’re common in the industry, and we hope you find this information useful as you prepare for your next role.