How to Write a Care Assistant CV, with Tips

Key Sections to Include in a Care Assistant CV

A carer CV should contain all the standard sections of a CV, but their order and emphasis depends on your experience levels. If you’re an experienced care worker, you’ll want to emphasise your work experience in your CV by using a traditional, reverse-chronological structure. If, however, you’re just starting out in your carer career, you could adopt a functional, or skills-based CV. This emphasises your skills and education over your work experience. Because care assistant roles tend to be entry-level, employers often pay just as much attention to your transferable skills as they do to your work history.

Take a look below at the key sections to include in your care assistant CV:

CV header

In your CV header, add your name and your contact details, including your phone number, your email address and your location. It’s not usually necessary to include your full address. Avoid adding a photo or any other personal information, such as your age, gender or nationality, as this can risk introducing bias to the recruitment process.

CV objective or summary

Your CV objective or summary provides an introduction to the CV, highlighting your key skills and relevant experience. Aim for a length of two-to-three sentences that will grab the attention of the reader and compel them to read the rest of your document. If you choose to write a CV objective instead of a summary, add some details about your ambitions, and how this role fits your career objectives.

Your CV personal statement might look something like this:

Work experience

The work experience section is traditionally the most important part of any CV. It’s your chance to show you have the necessary experience for the job. List your roles in reverse-chronological order, starting with the most recent. Add your job title, the organisation name, its location and the dates you worked there. Under each job, write some bullet points explaining your responsibilities and achievements in the role.

For care assistant roles, mention any previous positions in the care sector, or any other roles working closely with people. Review the job description for an understanding of the types of experience and skills the hiring company are seeking, and make sure your bullet points reflect these.

Here’s a work experience section from a caregiver CV example:

Education

In your education section, list your highest or most recent qualifications. While there aren’t typically any set educational requirements for care assistant positions, it’s important to demonstrate you have reasonable levels of literacy and numeracy. If you have any qualifications that are particularly relevant to the care sector, these will also help your chances.

For each entry, add the course name and level, the institution name, its location and your dates of study. If you have space, you could add some details underneath outlining any areas of specialist study, awards you won or groups you were a member of while studying, if these are relevant.

Structure your education section as follows:

Skills

Refer to the job advert for a list of the key skills required for the role, and make sure your skills section reflects this. You could either divide your skills section into separate lists for hard and soft skills, or combine them into one list. It’s important to strike a balance between making sure your skills reflect the requirements of the employer, but also represent your unique strengths and qualities.

For a care assistant CV, the skills section might include some of the following:

Technical skills:

• Knowledge of the Care Act 2014
• Knowledge of GDPR and data protection principles
• Writing risk assessments
• Creating care support plans
• Changing dressings
• Administering medication
• Washing and dressing patients

Soft skills:

• Relationship building
• Problem-solving
• Flexibility
• Time-management
• Compassion and sensitivity
• Working under pressure

Optional sections

If necessary, you can add several optional sections to your CV to help prove you have the skills and experience to make you a stand-out candidate for the role. You could include any relevant certifications or training, any foreign languages you speak, hobbies and interests or volunteer work. As with the rest of your CV, only add these if they’re relevant to your application and show skills or experience listed as essential or desirable in the job description.

Tips for Writing a Care Assistant CV

Following these quick tips when writing your CV should enhance your chances of success in care assistant job applications:

• Choose a suitable CV format: if you have plenty of prior experience in care sector roles, use a traditional, reverse-chronological CV that prioritises your work experience. If you’re just starting out in your career in the care sector, opt for a functional CV, which places your skills and education above your work experience.
• Tailor your CV: always adapt your CV according to the job description, to prove you’re suitable for the role. Using keywords from the job description throughout your document not only shows why you’re a strong match, it will help you pass the ATS stage of the recruitment process.
• Focus on your achievements: when writing about your employment history, try to focus on your achievements, rather than simply listing your everyday responsibilities. Include any positive feedback or satisfaction scores you received, the number of patients you’ve worked with or any other quantifiable evidence that proves your qualities and strengths.
• Be concise: aim for a CV that’s a maximum of two pages of A4 long. If you can communicate all you need to in a single side of A4, this is even better. Recruiters and hiring managers don’t typically spend very long reading each application, so short and to-the-point is usually the best approach.
• Proofread your CV: CV spelling and grammar errors can really undermine your job prospects. Proofread your CV and correct any errors before you send your application.
• Write a strong cover letter: your cover letter gives you the chance to expand on some of your key strengths and qualities. Make sure your letter explains why you want the job, and emphasises key skills and experience featured in the job description.
• Use a professional CV design: adding subtle, attractive design elements to your CV can really help it to stand out. Use CVwizard’s simple, step-by-step CV maker to create a CV that really catches the eye of employers.

Key Takeaways for a Successful Care Assistant CV

When writing your care assistant CV, make sure you emphasise the key skills and experience listed in the job description, and tailor your CV for each application for maximum impact. Explain in your CV summary why you want to work in the care sector and focus on demonstrating the key transferable skills that make you suited to care work. Sign up with CVwizard to access CV templates that really make your application stand out from the crowd. With CVwizard, you can also learn more about how to create a winning CV with our extensive range of CV articles.