Childcare skills for a resumé
If your jobs involves taking care of kids, you might be wondering how to add childcare worker skills to your resumé in a way that makes you stand out to recruiters. Knowing which skills to add and how to format your professional experience will make your resumé more persuasive and eye-catching to potential employers.
In this guide we cover how to add your childcare skills to your resumé in an easy-to-read way, which specific skills are required for early educators, and an expanded list of skills to get you started.
Hard skills required for early childhood educators in Australia
Soft skills required for early childhood educators in Australia
What are skills for childcare?
Childcare skills encompass any personal traits, abilities, technical skills and experience involved in taking care of children aged roughly from six weeks to 12 years. Some of the personal attributes and soft skills for childcare include:
Patience
Creativity
Energy
Good communication
Organisational skills
To work in childcare in Australia, you need at minimum a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education & Care (CHC30121), as well as a First Aid Certificate. You also need a Working with Children Check (WWCC) for your state (which is different from a police check).
Hard skills required for early childhood educators in Australia
Hard skills are technical skills – specialised abilities that you need training and education to learn, and that can be tracked and measured. Employers in childcare will often include hard skills in your employment agreement that are part of your role’s responsibilities. Here are some of the most desirable early childhood educator skills you need to work in childcare.
Child development knowledge (Australian curriculum)
The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLD) is the standard for childcare in Australia, created by child experts led by Charles Sturt University in collaboration with the Australian Government. It gives you a framework for helping nurture the values of ‘belonging, being and becoming’ in children, and generally helping them learn and grow. For more information, read the full EYLF document and the Australian Government’s Guide to the EYLF.
Safety and first aid
To work in childcare in Australia, you need first-aid certification covering CPR, anaphylaxis and asthma-awareness training. This training is important to ensure you’re prepared in the event of an emergency, such as choking, allergic reaction or asthma attack. The standard in Australia is Provide First Aid certification from a registered provider.
Hygiene best practices
Good hygiene is essential when working in childcare. There are established best practices in toileting and nappy-changing standards you must be trained in if you’re working with young children. There are also guidelines for hand sanitising, food preparation, infant feeding and routine cleaning you’ll need to know to work in a childcare facility. Knowledge of cultural sensitivities as they relate to hygiene and toileting is also worth including on a resumé.
Lesson planning and implementation
As part of your role as a childcare provider, you should have at least basic knowledge of child development and education. Your role may require you to plan and implement lessons in line with the EYLF. For example, using play-based learning or adjusting teaching styles for different children. To gain this hard skill, you may need to get an early childcare diploma or gain accreditation from a registered training organisation like the Montessori Institute.
Soft skills required for early childhood educators in Australia
There’s a wide range of soft skills related to the different professional strengths of a childcare worker. Soft skills are often known as interpersonal skills or transferable skills, that help you both at work and in your personal life. Here are some of the soft skills to put on a childcare worker’s resumé.
Good child-appropriate communication
As a childcare worker, you need to adapt your communication style to suit children of different ages and skill levels. This involves first assessing the children in your care to identify their communication level and then adjusting your own language to suit. Using ‘graded language’ and an appropriate communication style helps you provide better care and education for young children. To learn more about early childhood communication, there are online resources you can access, like those offered by Early Childhood Learning Australia.
Active listening
Active listening is giving someone your undivided attention while they speak to you. With children, it’s even more important as they’re still learning basic language and communication skills. Getting down to the child’s eye level, letting them speak without interruption and repeating what they say in the way you understand it will help them know you’re listening.
Patience
Patience is an important trait to develop in any workplace, but especially when working with children, who don’t know how to regulate their emotions and are still learning how to behave appropriately. Demonstrating patience is also beneficial to your own wellbeing and sets a good example for the children in your care. To cultivate patience, consider guided meditation or breathing exercises, or research different methods online, where you’ll find many free resources.
Organisation
Being organised when working in childcare is essential, as children need structure and routine to thrive. When you’re organised and prepared for the day’s activities, you’re able to deliver the most effective care and education. You will also feel calmer and more in control. Passing on organisation skills to children, like putting toys away and keeping spaces clean, is also helpful for their social development.
Time management
Time management is essential to keeping a routine, which helps children feel more in control, as they know what to expect. To improve your time-management skills, keep a detailed record of all the tasks you do in a day, how long they take and things that prevent you from finishing them on time. Then restructure your schedule around learnings from the previous day or week.
Compassion
Treating children with compassion and respect helps build trust and models good behaviour when working in daycare. By showing kindness and empathy when children are hurt or upset, you’re able to earn their respect and more easily resolve any issues.
Decision-making
Being a confident decision-maker is a good skill to have in any job, even more so when you’re looking after children, who can't make any decisions for themselves. Being able to make the right decisions quickly is essential, especially when it comes to potential emergencies or unexpected situations where you are in charge.
Ability to entertain
Keeping kids entertained is essential to helping them stay engaged and focused. Playtime is important in childcare, as it is naturally the way children develop skills and learn how to socialise. The EYLF lays out guidelines on creating fun activities to support early childhood development, so familiarity with its approaches is a good thing to include on your resumés.
Being calm under pressure
Being able to stay calm is an important trait for any childcare specialist, and one that employers want to see on a resumé. Much like patience, it’s an essential trait when working with children, who may be easily excitable and are still learning how to behave. Cultivating calmness helps you maintain composure in any situation, which is essential to children feeling safe.
How to include skills in childcare on your resumé
Whether you’re a seasoned professional or new to working in daycare, knowing how to include skills in childcare on your resumé can help make applying for jobs easier. Here are a few tips to get you started.
Tailor your resumé for a childcare role
For every job you apply for, you should tailor your resumé to the role. Carefully read the job ad and ensure your resumé lists all the skills and essential criteria they’re looking for. Hiring managers use software to scan for priority keywords, so matching the words in your resumé to the exact phrasing in the job ad – and in the Early Years Learning Framework – will help get your application through to the next stage.
Use action words
Using action words in your resumé is an impactful way of showcasing your skills in childcare. Words like supervised, managed, engaged, assisted, planned, adapted and organised frame your skills in a strong and convincing way. For example, instead of saying ‘lesson planning’ you could say ‘created and executed play-based lesson plans’ to more impactfully convey your abilities.
Quantify your impact
Being able to apply a number to your skills helps hiring managers see the impact you had in a past workplace. Where possible, use specific numbers or measurements that demonstrate your abilities. For example, you could say student retention increased by 20% or that parent satisfaction scores rose by 3% during your time as a teacher. Add impacts that are relevant to your experience.
Focus on how you’ve made use of childcare skills in your career
Always be specific in your resumé and cover letter. For example, instead of saying ‘communication skills’, explain where you have used specific communication skills in what situations, such as communicating with parents to fulfil their needs in childcare and at home, or learning to adapt language for children with specific special needs.
Skills to list on a resumé for childcare educator
Now you know more about the skills hiring managers are looking for and how to make your skills stand out, let’s look at how to format your skills.
Skills section on resumé
When you’re working childcare jobs and looking to update your resumé, here’s how to format the skills section. This section on your resumé is for the general skills you possess. For example:
Detail-oriented
Team player
Compassionate
Patient
EYLF-led
You can go into more detail in your cover letter, providing real-world examples.
Work experience details on resumé
Under each job in your work experience section, you should go into detail about the main skills and experience that are relevant for the job. For example:
Supervising children between the ages of six weeks to seven years.
Maintained child progress records, providing parents with a minimum of three daily updates via the Childcare App.
Achieved at least a 98% parent satisfaction score 12 months in a row.
Managed child dietary needs, including special dietary requirements.
Each point should provide detail as concisely as possible so as not to take up too much space on your resumé.
Properly showcasing your skills in childcare on your resumé will help catch the attention of hiring managers. By knowing which skills to focus on and further develop, you can make sure you always have relevant abilities to progress your career in childcare.
When writing your resumé, remember to keep it to a maximum of two pages and tailor it to every job application. With your childcare skills clearly presented in a well-formatted resumé, you’re giving yourself the best chance of success.
FAQs
What are the most important childcare qualifications in Australia?
A Certificate III in Early Childhood Education & Care is the most important childcare qualification in Australia. It is the minimum qualification you need to work in childcare in the country.
What specific aspects of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) should I highlight on my resumé?
The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) is the national framework for childcare in Australia, so be sure to highlight your understanding of it on your resumé. Specifically mention your skills in the three prime areas: Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED), Communication and Language (CL), and Physical Development (PD).
Are there any Australian-specific first aid certifications I need for a childcare role?
You will need an approved first aid qualification, approved anaphylaxis management training and approved emergency asthma treatment management training to work in childcare.
How can I showcase my experience with diverse backgrounds in childcare on my resumé?
To showcase your experience with diverse backgrounds in childcare on your resumé, highlight:
Working with different age groups
Any special skills or qualifications you’ve attained
If you are fluent in other languages apart from English
If you’ve worked with neurodivergent children or those with special needs
What are some strong action verbs I can use to describe my childcare achievements?
Some strong action verbs you can use to describe your childcare achievements include:
Supervised
Managed
Nurtured
Engaged
Facilitated
Assisted
Planned
Adapted
Organised
Supported
Maintained
Is it okay to include references on my resumé when applying for childcare jobs?
You shouldn’t include references on a resumé for childcare jobs unless asked to do so in the job ad or by the employer. Referee information can take up valuable space on your resumé. Read more about whether to include ‘References available upon request’.
What are some common mistakes to avoid when writing a childcare resume?
Common mistakes to avoid when writing a childcare resumé include:
Listing every job you’ve ever had
Not highlighting your accomplishments
Not tailoring your resumé to the job ad
Not proofreading
Writing your contact details incorrectly
Are there any online portals or software used in Australian childcare that I should mention on my resumé?
You should mention any online portals or software you have used in childcare on your resumé. This may include Illumine, Famly, HiMama, OWNA, Storypark and more.
How can I quantify my experience in childcare to make my resumé stand out?
Adding your achievements and quantifiable results can help you show off your experience in childcare to help your resumé to stand out. For example, adding qualifications, certificates and awards, as well as specific results you have achieved can help you quantify your experience.
What are some additional resources I can use to improve my childcare resumé for the Australian market?
Online resources, like YouTube for tip videos, SEEK.com.au for resumé examples, and Facebook groups for childcare workers, can help you improve your childcare resumé for the Australian market. You can also ask for feedback from a colleague or mentor about how to improve your current resumé.
