YOUR CV AND REFERENCES

What your CV should include
Your curriculum vitae should be a neat and attractive document that represents you well. Take plenty of time preparing it, and remember to update it every time you change jobs or gain a new qualification or experience.
It should have the following sections:

Personal details
This should include your name (and any previous name/s), address, phone number, email address, age, sex, marital status and ages of any children.
Also include here whether you are a driving licence holder and/or a car owner.

Education and qualifications
You should list the names and addresses of the schools and colleges that you attended, with the dates that you were there and the qualifications gained.
You should include any professional qualifications (e.g. NNEB), and where and when they were gained.
Add any further qualifications that you have, such as swimming certificates, First Aid qualifications, and the date you gained it.

Experience
This is where you put your previous employment, any college placements, or other relevant experience.
Starting with the most recent, include:

• start and finishing date;
• the age and number of children that you were caring for;
• a brief summary of your duties;
• reasons why you left

References
You should supply the names and contact details of three or more references. You should say who they are, such as college tutor or past employer. If you are newly qualified you should include your college tutor. You could also use staff members or parents from your placements. One of your references could be a character reference, but it should be from someone like a bank manager, or a teacher, rather than from your best friend!

Interests and activities
In this section, give a flavour of what you like to do when you are not working. You might enjoy visiting the gym and socialising, or you may be a member of a club, or play a musical instrument.
Your interests don't have to be based outside the home: you might enjoy reading or cookery.
But don't put watching television as one of your interests - people might get the idea that you're a couch potato!

Tips for CV preparation

• Keep your CV short and to the point. The nitty gritty can be covered at interview.
• Produce a document that is clear, uncluttered and easy to read.
• Don't use a fancy font - keep it plain.
• If possible, produce your CV on a personal computer. Then you can save it and update it regularly. It also looks more professional.
• Check for spelling mistakes.

A few points about your references
Your new employer will want to see your references, and don't be surprised (or offended) if they want to check and re-check your background, even if you have already been vetted by an agency.

You should supply at least three references and it's likely that two or more of them will be followed up. At Best Bear we encourage employers to check as many references as possible. You should have a reference from all of your previous employers, and prospective employers should look for gaps in your CV and want you to explain them.

Remember that your prospective employers will often telephone your references to get a more detailed picture of you. You should let people know that this is likely to happen so they can be prepared.

If you don't want references from your current employer to be taken up when you are first applying for jobs, you should say so, both to the nanny agency and the prospective employer, but it is unlikely that you would get a firm job offer until this is done.

Don't forget that even if you are looking for short-term assignments, you will be expected to provide the same amount of detailed information.

You can make a very positive impression at an interview if you do the following:

• Take the originals of training certificates and qualifications with you, and include the contact details of your college tutor.
  
  
• Take original identification with you, such as your passport or birth certificate and driving licence. Two items are better than one. Also remember that if you have changed your name, you should bring your marriage certificate with you, or whatever official document verifies the change.
  
  
• Account for your whole career. It is easy to miss things out and sometimes tempting to gloss over jobs that went wrong. You need to be honest and open about every job. Write down exactly what happened and how long it lasted. If a job went wrong, include it in the CV. A prospective employer will appreciate your honesty and certainly would not employ you if it were discovered that you had covered anything up.
  
  
• Don't include family members as references. They could be biased!
  
  
• Even if this is your first job, you should supply three references.
  
  
  Good Luck!