In addition to being a great work experience in the childcare field, being an au pair gives you a wide variety of desirable skills that many employers look for when hiring. Yet, how can you present what you’ve learned as an au pair in a way that will impress potential employers?
Here are some clever ways to include your experience as an au pair successfully in your CV and Linkedin profile.
Explain why you wanted to become an au pair
Whatever your reason or reasons might be, identifying what your goals were and how you accomplished them during your time as an au pair needs to be included your CV as well.
For instance, if your goal was to learn more about your host country’s culture, then mention that in your resume: being able to work in a multicultural environment is something that many employers look for.
Have you run out of ideas? Here our 5 reasons why it's worth it to become an au pair.
Include clear details about your au pair experience
Try to be as specific as possible about the details of your experience:
The more specific you are, the more skills you can show to your potential new employer.
Example: How to include your au pair experience in your CV
Au Pair | Madrid, Spain | 2024–2025
- Cared for 2 children aged 5 and 8
- Organised daily schedules and school routines
- Assisted with homework and daily activities
- Improved Spanish language skills through daily immersion
- Supported communication in an international household
Highlight your transferable skills
When you are writing or updating your CV to reflect your au pair experience, it’s important to recognise and include all the skills that you picked up that are transferrable to other jobs. Yes, you looked after children and probably did some basic housekeeping, which on the surface doesn’t sound exciting and relevant for an office job, for example.
However, if you take a closer look you picked up skills like:
- organising daily schedules
- collaborative communication skills
- being able to prioritise tasks
- time management
- adapting to a new environment quickly
These skills are skills that transfer from your experience as an au pair to the office, and these are what the focus should be on when writing your CV.
Identifying and include the hard and soft skills you learned as an au pair
Hard skills are abilities that you’re taught, they’re often learned in school, through certifications or in previous work experience, are quantifiable, and their proficiency can often be measured. Some examples are skills like typing, reading comprehension, Maths, and writing.
On the other hand, soft skills are traits that speak to your work etiquette and personality, are non-measurable, and subjective skills that aren’t specific to any one job or career. Some examples of soft skills are problem-solving, leadership, and teamwork.
Chances are you have learned several hard and soft skills while you were an au pair. Make sure to list and clarify any of the hard and soft skills you have learned along your journey as an au pair and highlight how they can serve you in the position you are applying for.
Keep your LinkedIn profile updated
Most employers look for their employees online and LinkedIn is one of those sites. LinkedIn acts as your personal online business card. Therefore, it is wise to make sure that has been updated and the best it can be.
Add your au pair experience correctly
This includes your au pair experience, similar to what you will include on your CV. Make sure that you are using the right keywords when you are updating your profile. Also, make sure that any dates and relevant information you include from your au pair experience match the dates and information you have included in your CV.
Tip: When adding your au pair experience on LinkedIn, list your host family as your employer rather than AuPairWorld. AuPairWorld is the platform you used to find your host family, not your employer.
Update your LinkedIn headline and About section
Also, don’t just write “Student” in your LinkedIn headline if you are actively looking for your next opportunity. Instead, use this space to show what you’re interested in or what kind of role you’re looking for.
For example: “International experience | Childcare & communication skills | Looking for opportunities in education, tourism or customer service.”
You can also use your LinkedIn “About” section to briefly explain what your au pair experience taught you, such as independence, responsibility, language skills and the ability to adapt to a new culture.
Your au pair experience is valuable
Including your au pair experience in your CV for your next job is essential. Being an au pair gives you valuable skills that can help you stand out to future employers and demonstrate responsibility, adaptability and international experience.
Sobre la autora:
Lauren Groff writes CV’s at Ukwritings and Academic Writing Services. She writes about changing careers, as well as other topics. Lauren also is a blogger at Custom paper writing service UK.