How to Put Nanny Experience on Your Resume — Like a Pro

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Nannying is childcare taken to the next level. It often means long hours, multiple responsibilities, and a level of care beyond that of other jobs.

However, should this experience be included on a resume? And if so, for how long? 

 

Should You Include a Nanny Experience on a Resume?

As nannying is usually a full-time job, it should be listed on a resume. It is just as much an experience as any other job would be, therefore it should be written out fully. If the experience is irrelevant to the desired job, do not include it if you have relevant jobs you can include instead.

Nannying should usually be included on a resume. This is especially true if it was a long-term job that would otherwise leave a gap in your employment experience.  

You should not list a nannying experience that was very short-term, such as a one-month job. An employer may wonder why you were only able to stay in the position for such a short amount of time.

They may also assume it was a bad parting, thus causing them to question any of your listed skills in that area. 

Only include a nannying experience if it was at least a few months long, or in the case of a summer position, mention the job duration in the description. 

If you are seeking a job that consists of childcare in some way, such as in the childcare or education industries, then this should absolutely be included on your resume.

If your nannying experience may help you succeed in a new job in any way, perhaps if you’re looking to do some volunteering to tutor kids, then it’s even better. 

Childcare is an industry that will never fade away, which makes nannying experience invaluable for those who choose to pursue career paths involving children.

For jobs such as teaching, babysitting, or even a new nanny job, nannying should be included on a resume. How can you best format this experience?

 

How Can You List Nannying Experience on a Resume?

Nannying experience should be listed in the experience section on a resume. It is a job, so it should be formatted as other jobs in the sections are, which means including responsibilities and skills. If you have a lot of relevant job experience, you may list it in the skills section. 

Nannying differs from babysitting because nannying is often a full-time position.

It is raising the children on a near-daily basis, whereas babysitting is often only watching children during certain times, or certain days when the parents are out.

Because it is a full-time job, the best place to include this section is in the experience section on a resume.

Format this section in reverse-chronological order, and be sure to include the job position title, and the dates on your resume. 

If it was a live-in experience, you may include this information in the position title only if it is relevant.

Unless you are applying to do home-care or home-nannying, this information is not important to an employer and should be left out.

Since nannying does not have a company title, leave the position title as the main text under the “experience” header. Do not include your employer’s name at all in your description.

Describe your responsibilities in a way that makes them both relevant and impressive.

When formatted correctly, this looks like the following:

Experience

Household Nanny (March 2016 ) – (December 2020)

• Ensured the proper daily care of three children aged 6-12
• Completed task lists which included driving, cooking, and tutoring
• Maintained a daily schedule of appointments and deadlines

 

What skills can you include when listing nannying experience on a resume?

When listing nannying experience in the experience section, there are many different skills you can highlight. Typical tasks include childcare, cooking, cleaning, and task management, however being a nanny means you might complete several more tasks than can fit in one section. 

Choose the tasks which are most relevant to your desired job, as you want to tailor each experience to fit each new employer’s needs. Let’s look at a list of some skills which might come from a nannying job:

• Childcare
• Infant care
• Homework assistance/Tutoring
• Personal shopping
• Cooking/Diet management
• Cleaning
• Appointment scheduling/Appointment management

 

Many of these skills are self-taught skills!

Including these skills as a part of the experience in the experience section is a great way to make a nannying experience relevant, even if the desired job is outside of the childcare industry. 

If you have many other relevant jobs which you feel are a better representation of your skillset for a desired job, you may choose to leave the nannying job out of the experience section.

You may still wish to include certain skills gained from this job, however, so you may list this experience in the skills section.

 

Nanny Job Description (Experience Section)

Nannying typically uses the job title “household nanny” or “nanny”. Include the number of years which you’ve worked, the dates from start to finish, and the most impressive or relevant skills and responsibilities beneath as bullet points. 

 

How to write a nanny job description

In the experience section, you should break down your past experiences with nannying into 2-4 bullet points of your main responsibilities. These responsibilities should also highlight your skills. 

The main goal of an experience section is not just to describe what you did, but to show an employer what you can do for them.

The first bullet point is typically a “job description” sentence that gives a brief overview of the job, and might include the ages of children you have experience in. 

The second bullet point and onward should contain a responsibility and a skill in one such as cooking, cleaning, or homework help. 

The main point to remember when writing the job description is that you are highlighting what you have to offer, not summarizing the job itself.

 

Nanny job description examples

 

Professional Experience

 

You should never include the words “babysat” or “babysitter” in the nanny job description. Babysitting is a work experience, but nannying is a profession which is more similar to caretaker. 

If the nannying job involves infant care, this is a valuable asset you may include on your resume.

Infants are delicate and require timeliness and attention to detail, which an employer may take interest in.

Let’s look at another way to describe skills as a nanny in the job description section:

 

Experience

 

How can you list nannying experience in the skills section?

In the skills section, nannying can be briefly referred to in connection to a relevant skill.

Because the skills section should be kept much more concise, you can do one of two things: you may mention the skill without specifying where it came from, or you may give it a half-sentence of description. 

While new graduates or people with little job experience may stretch this rule and give a bit more description in the skills section, working professionals should not.

When formatted properly without description, this may look like the following example:

 

Skills

• Cooking
• Cleaning
• Home-childcare
• Appointment scheduling

 

As you can see, there is no mention of the nannying position or the duration of experience.

This format is widely used but should only be used if you have a powerful experience section or if the skills are not entirely relevant to the desired job.

Here’s an example for you:

 

Skills

• Cooking– Professionally oversaw diet management of children for two years
• Appointment Scheduling– Placed appointments by phone and online, and set up e-mail reminders for clients
• Childcare– Ensured the care and safety of young children for two years as a live-in nanny

 

The nannying experience does not have to be explicitly stated as in the childcare example, but it may be impressive if it is relevant.

Decide for yourself whether or not these skills are worth expanding upon, and choose the formatting based on relevance to your desired job. 

 

How to make nanny sound good on a resume

Nannying should be listed as the job title “household nanny” or “nanny”. Include all relevant skills of the job such as cooking, cleaning, infant care, appointment setting, and driving. Avoid generalized sentences about childcare, and highlight tasks which make you seem beneficial as an employee. 

Nannying is a job which requires high levels of patience, attention to detail, time management, and various skills. 

The key to making this experience stand out on a resume is to highlight the skills which you have cultivated from the job. 

There is a huge difference between a resume that says “I was a babysitter for 2 years” and “I was a household nanny with 2 years experience in cooking nutritious meals, tutoring children, infant care, and housework.”

Use your skills to your advantage on a nannying resume, because those are the most important parts of the job.

 

Professional names for “nanny” on a resume

Nanny is a word which is often used for those who take care of children on a regular basis. Other similar job titles include babysitter, sitter, child-minder, caretaker, caregiver, and nursery caretaker. Choose your title based on the specifics of your past work, and the job which you are seeking. For instance, job ads which specify they are seeking a “child-minder” may prefer that term,  so that would be a good title for you to use when applying. 

“Nanny” is a great way to title a job on a resume because it insinuates a longer, more regular childcare job than most others. 

Nannies historically and to this day often live in their client’s houses, and have taken care of children’s needs on a day-to-day basis.

Cooking, cleaning, tutoring, and more are all a part of a nanny’s responsibilities, so this is a job title that should not be taken lightly!

The most common alternative to nanny is “babysitter”, though this job is most often thought of as a part-time or temporary job.

Many teenagers babysit as their first real job, so the title has a bit of a bad reputation as an unprofessional job. 

Unless an ad is specifically seeking a “babysitter”, it is typically best to use other terms.

“Child-minder” and “children’s caretaker” are also commonly used terms which are well-suited to a resume.

They are professional sounding titles, and can be used in place of “nanny”. 

The easiest way to make a decision on what title to use is to take a look at the job ads you are interested in.

If a job is seeking a professional nanny, then that is a good title to use on your resume.