Creating an aged care resume with no experience
In this guide we will explain what an aged care resumé is, share tips on how to write a strong one and provide an aged care resumé sample you can use as a guide when crafting your own.
Aged care workers provide meaningful support to older people, typically either at a residential aged care centre or at home through home care. Having an effective résumé can make or break your job application because it’s the first thing potential employers look at for a summary of you and your career experience. It needs to showcase why you are the perfect candidate for an aged care position, however this can be tricky if you are lacking experience.
Understand the aged care industry
It’s it vital when writing your aged care worker resumé that you understand the aged care industry and tailor your resumé to the type of role you are seeking in the workforce.
While there are certain qualities that all resumés need to possess, such as being easy to read and up-to-date, it’s worth taking time to do some research on the aged care industry, the challenges it currently faces, what attributes are valued in employees and then incorporating this into your experience and skills. This will ensure your aged care resumé is relevant and more likely to impress potential employers.
Key components of an aged care resumé
Make sure you cover the following key components below to help you craft a tailored aged care resumé that is clear and concise.
1. Choose a good aged care resumé format that’s easy-to-follow
Gone are the days of having a daggy resumé that starts with your DOB and tax file number! When crafting your aged care resumé, or any resumé for that matter, make sure you’ve presented the relevant information in an accessible way that’s enjoyable to read. While a seemingly small thing, the layout and design coveys a lot about your personal “brand” and having a nice clean structure is key.
Here’s how to make sure your resumé delivers the right message:
- Choose a font that’s neat and easy to read
- Use bold type for headers to make them stand out
- Use these headers: name, career summary/objective, work experience, goals and skills, achievement/strengths, contact details
- Start with your most recent job/education
- List qualifications, responsibilities and key achievements
- Set even page margins
- Aim for 2-4 pages length for an aged care resumé with 11/12 pts font size
- Use dot points
Become an aged care worker
Want to truly make a difference in the lives of older Australians? ITeC Academy is a nationally-recognised training organisation offering online and face-to-face job-ready training in aged care. Find out more and take the first step towards becoming an aged care worker.
Find out more2. List relevant qualifications
For the vast majority of roles out there, it’s really important to have relevant qualifications for the job you’re applying for, and this is no different for the aged care industry. While some employers certainly offer on-the-job training, having a relevant aged care qualification such as a Cert 3 in individual Support (Ageing) will make you stand apart from other applicants.
If you don’t currently have an aged care qualification under your belt, be sure to check out ITeC Academy, a registered training organisation that offers multiple qualifications that can help you get started within the aged care industry. By taking one of these courses and qualifications, you’ll also demonstrate your passion to learn.
One of the great things about studying with ITeC Academy is that you’ll have access to expert educators working in the industry, plus by studying with an aged care provider, the chances of a job at the end of your course are high.
Find out more about ITeC Academy : Academy Courses Page
3. Write targeted aged care duties on your resumé
The bulk of a resumé should be made up of a solid and convincing description of your previous work. If you’re writing an aged care resumé with no experience in the field, tailor your resumé entries to the job ad, and describe experiences that support your career objective, even if they haven’t been in aged care.
- Start with your most recent position
- Include the job title, name of the organisation, dates of employment, and 3–6 bullet points
- Use powerful and compelling language such as “Effectively delivered” or “Consistently demonstrated”
- Show your results. Like the STAR method used in job interviews (Situation, Task, Action, Result), you need to back your aged care resumé claims.
- Keep things relevant. Check the position description and align your resumé with it as much as is factual.
4. Focus on your work placements
If you have little or no experience, you can focus on the work placements that you did when completing your designated qualification. This is another added bonus of studying an aged care qualification.
You work placement acts a bit like a previous role that you had, so treat it as such and share everything you learned. Make sure you discuss what you were required to do and what relevant experience you have gained. These work placements and volunteer experiences help display your passion to help others and develop new skills.
Did you know that if you study with ITeC Academy, you’re guaranteed a work placement? This makes studying aged care so much easier!
5. Showcase your transferable skills
A really common mistake people make with resumés is forgetting to include skills from other fields and industries or experiences such as volunteering. You’d be surprised by how many skills you have that are transferable!
If you have little or no experience in aged care, it is super important to highlight your transferable skills from other fields and show how this can be valuable to the aged care sector. Some relevant skills include:
- Communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Customer service
- Teamwork
- Time management
- Problem solving
You may also have done some training that is highly relevant in aged care, such as a first aid course. Really dig deep and think about what you’ve done that can be included on your resumé. The more comprehensive you can be, the better!
6. Emphasise your soft skills in your skills section
When writing a resumé, it can be easy to focus on tangible hard skills and forget about the value of soft skills, such as empathy and having a caring nature. Being an aged care worker and working with vulnerable members of society can be emotionally challenging at times, so soft skills are just as important. And the great thing is, these are not reliant on previous experience.
When looking at your soft skills, be sure to align these with the ones that are relevant to the job and likely to reinforce your application. If you’re able to align them to organisational values, that’s worth noting too. It’s not a good idea to pretend you have soft skills that you don’t possess, but if there’s crossover, definitely include it in your resumé.
7. Incorporate personal experiences
While you may have limited work experience, your personal experiences are still important and should be mentioned because they can make up for what you’re missing work-wise. This could include volunteering, internships, overseas travel and even your hobbies and interests.
Take the time to reflect on what you’ve done and achieved in your life, and don’t underestimate the value of your personal experiences in showcasing why you’re the right person for the job.
You can include them in an additional section as an added bonus. Feature things such as:
- Professional memberships
- Language skills (highly relevant at a multicultural aged care centre)
- External projects or even hobbies and interests, as long as they make sense for the job. For example, Toastmasters shows you have strong verbal skills and presentation abilities or being on the local netball committee demonstrates strong organisational skills.
8. Craft a compelling resumé summary
Your resumé is your first impression to the employer and should be used to convey your passion for helping people and desire to be in the aged care industry. If you don’t have experience to develop a professional summary, then focus on your career objective and why you’re applying for the job.
- Think of relevant transferable skills (more on this below)
- Say why you’d like to work in the aged care industry and for this specific organisation and why you’d be successful at it
- Refer to the job description, using it to help inspire your ideas
You may also need an effective cover letter, but this really depends on the role you’re applying for, so check the particular job application. This is a chance to say why you’re the ideal candidate by directly addressing the job requirements. It’s also an opportunity to show some personality and enthusiasm, which is harder to do in a resumé.
To find out more about how to prepare for an aged care interview, check out our popular blog article.
How to prepare for an aged care interview TGL blog.
Proofread and polish your resumé
Once you’ve crafted your dream resumé, be sure to thoroughly proofread and polish it. There’s nothing worse than reading a job application with typos! Ensuring your resumé is error-free and professional will help boost your chances. It shows that you care about doing a good job and have good attention to detail.
Find your perfect role with IRT
If you’re keen to work in aged care, we'd love to hear from you! IRT has been working to improve the lives of older people for more than 50 years with compassionate and personalised care. We're currently hiring for a range of positions for both experienced and entry-level aged care workers, so why not apply today?
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