How to Write a Babysitting Resume (With a Free Template)
Most families hire the sitter who feels easiest to trust. A one-page resume does that work for you before you ever meet them.
Most babysitting resumes fail for the same reason: they are a list of adjectives. “Responsible, caring, great with kids.” Every other applicant wrote the same sentence, so it carries no information. Here is what to put on it instead.
Do you even need a resume to babysit?
For a neighbor down the street, no. For a platform profile, a family you have never met, or a summer nanny job, yes — and having one when nobody else does is most of the advantage.
Keep it to one page. A parent will spend under a minute on it.
What goes on it, in order
- Name and contact. Phone and email. No home address.
- One-line summary. Age or stage, area, how long you have been sitting, best ages.
- Certifications. Highest first. This is the section that does the work.
- Experience. Families, ages, how long, what you handled.
- Availability. Named days and times.
- References. Two, with permission, with phone numbers.
The summary line
One sentence, no adjectives. Compare:
Weak: “Hardworking and reliable student who loves children and is passionate about childcare.”
Strong: “16-year-old sitter in Oak Park, two years with three families, best with ages 2 to 8, certified in babysitting and pediatric first aid.”
The second one is shorter and tells a parent five checkable facts.
How to write the experience section
Do not write “babysat for various families.” Write what you actually handled, because that is what a parent is trying to picture.
The Martinez family — Oak Park, 2024 to present
Two children, ages 3 and 6. Regular Friday evenings. Dinner, bath and bedtime routine, including a bedtime story routine the 3-year-old needed to settle. Handled one fever incident and called the parents per their instructions.
That last sentence is worth more than the rest of the resume. It says something went wrong and you did the right thing.
No experience yet? Write this instead
Everyone starts somewhere, and a parent knows it. Fill the gap with things that are still true and still checkable:
- Certification and first aid — you can get these before you have a single family.
- Younger siblings or cousins you have genuinely looked after, with ages and how often.
- Volunteering with children: a summer camp, a nursery at your place of worship, a sports team you helped coach.
- A character reference from a teacher or coach, if you have no family references yet.
The fastest thing on this list to fix is training. It takes an evening, and it is the only line on a resume with no experience that a stranger can independently verify. See the certification.
A resume template you can copy
[Your name]
[phone] · [email] · [town]
About
[Age or stage] sitter in [area], [x] years with [x] families. Best with ages [range]. Certified in [certifications].
Certifications
[Certification, issuing body, year, verification link]
[First aid or CPR, issuing body, year]
Experience
[Family name] — [area], [dates]
[Number] children, ages [x]. [How often]. [What you handled]. [Anything that went wrong and what you did].
Availability
[Named days and times]. [Minimum booking, if you have one].
References
[Name], [relationship], [phone] — available on request
Five things to leave off
- Your home address. Town is enough.
- Your date of birth or school ID. Age is fine, identifying details are not.
- Unrelated jobs unless they show responsibility with people.
- A photo, unless a platform specifically asks for a profile picture.
- Adjectives about yourself. Every one of them can be replaced with a fact.
Babysitting resume: frequently asked questions
How long should a babysitting resume be?
One page, and realistically half of one. A parent scans it in under a minute.
What if I have never babysat before?
Lead with certification and first aid, then any supervised experience with children — siblings, camp, a nursery. Training is the fastest credible thing to add.
Should I put my certification on it?
Yes, near the top, with the year and a link a parent can check. It is the only claim on the page they can verify without phoning anyone.
Do I need references?
Two is plenty. Ask permission first, and tell them roughly what they will be asked so they are not caught cold.
Keep reading
How to become a babysitter — the full walkthrough from zero to first booking.
How much to charge — set your own rate, and how to say it without flinching.
Tips that get you rebooked — the first ten minutes, bedtime, and the handover that matters.
The babysitting apps — which ones are worth your time and which are not.
Step two is the one that changes everything.
Six classes, reviewed by a nurse, an educator and a therapist, and a certificate parents can look up. $45. Applications take two minutes and we reply within 12 hours.
Apply for the certification