Babysitting Guide

Is Babysitting Considered Work Experience?

6 Mar 2020

Written & Illustrated by
Matthew James Taylor

Reviewed & Edited by
Renee Irving Lee, B.Ed.

Babysitting is a very common first job for many teenagers that are still attending school. It’s a great way to earn extra money in the evenings and weekends, as well as gain valuable skills that will help you in other job settings.

Can babysitting be considered work experience? Babysitting can definitely be considered work experience for any type of resume, job application, or even a college application. Babysitting is a way to demonstrate responsibility and a willingness to work, as well as many self-management skills.

Let’s go over what specifically you learn from babysitting, as well as how to make the most of this work experience when applying for another job.

Marketable Skills Learned from Babysitting

One thing to remember when you’re applying for a job is that you have to sell yourself. That doesn’t mean being untruthful about your qualifications. Instead, it means giving careful thought to how your past experiences and training have prepared you for future positions and challenges.

Here are some examples of things that you might learn from babysitting that employers love to see in potential employees.

• Responsibility – If parents are willing to let you watch their children while they’re away, it’s probably because they think you’re responsible. Really, to be a decent babysitter, you have to be! You need to show up and take care of these little people instead of sitting on the couch while you’re on the phone the whole time. You need to make decisions and keep everyone happy. This can be a lot to juggle, and it takes a responsible person to handle it.
• Punctuality – If the parents are heading out to go to the movies, there’s no way that they’d be cool with you showing up half an hour late. Punctuality and reliability are often #1 skills that employers look for when reviewing candidates. If you put the parents down as references and they back up your claims of punctuality, this could be a major win!
• Activity Planning – Lots of parents will want you to do more than just leave the TV on for the children. These mini-humans have very short attention spans! Engaging little minds takes constant effort, and pulling this off successfully means that you’ll probably have to plan ahead with games and activities. Browse our 200+ kids games and activities for creative entertainment ideas.
• Tutoring – Did you help children with their homework? To say that this counts as tutoring experience isn’t even a stretch! Whether you were helping a little kindergartener learn to read, teaching ABCs or helping a 10-year old solve math problems, you’ve been tutoring.
• Scheduling – Maybe you’ve babysat for multiple families. At the very least, you’d need to juggle your own schedule with your babysitting. Either way, you had to take note of your appointments, make sure there were no conflicts, and possibly even balance your commitments so you don’t leave anyone hanging. Try our recommended time management apps to make scheduling a breeze.

If you want a full list of what you can learn from babysitting, here’s a list of 28 different skills that you could potentially put on your resume!

Can Babysitting Go on Your Resume?

Babysitting can most definitely go on your resume. This can demonstrate how long you’ve been doing it for, which will indicate how long you can hold a job. It can show off how you’re able to think about what the experience has taught you and how you can use it to advance in future positions.

If you’d like your resume to look, extra professional, let’s tweak the term “babysitter”. Instead, why not use a super-fancy term like “childcare provider”? It’s 100% what you’ve been doing, and it sounds more professional.

See my article Professional Words For Babysitting for lots of great suggestions to make babysitting sound more professional on your resume.

What Does a Babysitting Resume Look Like?

Your babysitting resume can look pretty simple but professional once it’s all put together. The general format of a resume is to list the name of the position, when you did the work, where you did the work, along with a paragraph about how it applies to the position you’re wanting.

Here’s an example:

Make sure that you add any certifications for childcare or first aid that you might have received. This will show that you’re interested in applying yourself to progress.

Of course, there are lots of formatting options for resumes. Whether you decide to write it as a paragraph or a formatted list, this example should inspire you to think about how your experience as a childcare provider is an asset for the job you have your eye on.

See our complete guide to adding babysitting to your resume for more useful tips and examples.

Can You Put Babysitting on Your Job Application?

It’s a very good idea to put babysitting on your job application. It’s typically done in a similar manner as it would be for a resume, and a similar format can be followed.

The main thing about applications, though, is that they are a lot more focused on what the employer is looking for. Sometimes all they want to know is the last 3 places that you worked (if you’ve had that many jobs yet). Other times they’ll ask you to write a paragraph about what makes you a good candidate for the position.

When you’re adding your history as a childcare provider on a job application, you should be concise and professional. Sharing what you accomplished can highlight you as a hardworking individual and an excellent potential employee.

Can You Put Babysitting on Your College Application?

If you spent any considerable amount of time doing it, then putting babysitting as work experience on your college application is definitely worthwhile. This is another example of where it’s important to show that you’re a hard worker.

Here’s the logic behind why you should absolutely include babysitting on your college application:

If you’re young and applying to college after high school, they won’t expect anything too fancy for work experience on your application. Honestly, there will be a lot of applicants that won’t have anything to use as work experience.

Stating that you were a childcare provider shows that you’re interested in working and applying yourself, which is exactly what colleges want to see. If you can demonstrate that you earnt good grades while you were holding a job, then they’ll have confidence that you’ll be able to maintain the workload of demanding studies paired with the need to support yourself.

Ultimately, being a childcare provider can be a great addition to add to your resume or job/college application. Don’t just list yourself as a “babysitter” and describe the experience as “took care of little kids”. By carefully thinking through how you can present yourself, you’ll be an excellent candidate that can quickly rise to the top of the application pile.

Related Questions

What is childcare experience?

Childcare experience refers to the care of one or more children. Typically, these children range in ages between 6 months and 13 years old. Childcare experience can be obtained through babysitting, working at a daycare, as a teacher, or as a nanny.

Do you need a resume for your first job?

Many entry-level jobs do not require a resume. To facilitate the hiring process, you might only be required to fill in an application. The complexity of this application will vary based on employer, but usually, an application for your first job will be fairly straightforward.