Discover our top adult care job CV tips to give you the best possible chance of standing out from other candidates and impressing prospective employers.
Finding a job in adult social care can provide you with a fulfilling and progressive career based on the core human values of respect, kindness, and generosity.
It’s also an evolving industry to be a part of, with training routes and continuous professional development on the horizon and the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) recent publication stating the UK Government’s £500m investment into social care reform over the next three years.
But with greater investment comes greater competition.
With this in mind, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide for writing and presenting your best CV for jobs in adult social care. Let’s explore.
What Are the Jobs Available in Adult Social Care?
Personalisation is key with any CV. So, before you begin writing your CV for jobs in adult social care, it’s worth researching what type of roles you wish to apply for and customising your CV accordingly. View our other blog on ‘Finding your Dream Job in Adult Social Care’.
Here are some typical adult social care jobs:
- Support workers
- Care assistants
- Personal assistants
- Home care/domiciliary care worker
- Social Worker
- Social Care Assessment Officer
- Care home support workers
- Mental health support worker
- Reablement support worker
- Wellbeing Assistant
- Administrative Assistant
- Registered Manager
As you can see, adult social care is brimming with many roles and possibilities.
So, if you’re new to care work or seeking a career change within the sector, it helps to find what area of adult social care motivates you most.
5 Steps for Writing Your Best Adult Social Care CV
With your ideal field of adult social care in mind, be sure to research and get a flavour of the skills, experience and personality types expected in the sector. Using your research as a reference, follow the next five steps to write a CV that will appeal to adult care providers by showcasing your skills, experience, and personality:
- Contact Details
Your first step is to clearly list all your contact details at the top of your CV.
Begin with your name, location, phone number, and email address.
For example:
- Your full name
- Location/Postcode
- Mobile: 07123456879
- Email: YourEmailAddress@Gmail.com
You can also include your LinkedIn profile address that appears in the URL of your profile page, such as – www.linkedin.com/in/your-name/. This name is customisable, so employers can search for you more conveniently if they want to visit your profile.
While you can take advantage of being more creative and expressive later in your CV to stand out from the crowd, your contact details section needs to be clear and concise. After all, you want to make it easy for your prospective employer to get in touch.
- Personal Statement
Your personal statement is the section of your CV where you can offer some insight into the passions and characteristics of your personality.
But remember, remaining professional is crucial to set the right impression. Aim to summarise your qualifications, skills, and experience alongside an insight into why you’re passionate about a career in adult social care.
For example:
A hardworking, caring, and devoted individual, with three years of professional adult social care experience. I believe care work to be an extremely fulfilling career in supporting vulnerable people to improve their independence and increase their quality of life.
Keep it as concise as possible while offering some personality that supports the relevant skills required for the role.
- Skills
Hopefully, your personal statement has made the right first impression. Next, your potential new employer wants to know if you have the right skills for the job.
Following the two-to-three lines of your personal statement, it would be nicer on the eye and better for readability if you break up the text with a few bullet points.
Relevant and suitable skills for adult social care roles will include some of the following:
- Excellent communication
- Teamwork
- Patience
- Problem-solving
- Observation
- Empathy
If you can divide your CV into split vertical sections, your skills can fit down one side below your personal statement to maximise your page space.
- Employment History/Work Experience
So, you’ve got the skills and personality, but do you have the experience?
Depending on the role you’re applying for, experience isn’t always vital. Often, it’s just preferable.
But it certainly helps the employer’s decision-making when they see you have experience doing the job with a previous employer reference to support you.
Employers will want to see your most relevant and recent experience. Even if it’s in another industry, they’ll want to know what you’ve been doing for work before looking to join their team. Think about transferrable skills – i.e. your competence in dealing with situations in different industries, which you could apply to an adult social care job.
Look to present your employment history like a timeline, starting with the company name next to the date of when you started and finished.
For example:
- Your previous employer – Jul 2016 – Sep 2023
Below you should include a description of your key roles and responsibilities that appeal to the position.
Something like:
Part of a dynamic team at a daycare centre, providing support and assistance to elderly people in the local area.
- Helped maintain the daycare client’s personal hygiene.
- Delivered mental stimulation sessions with group classes.
Depending on how many roles you’ve had in the past, try to limit your roles and responsibilities to three-to-four areas.
Not all your work experience examples need to be full-time or part-time positions. Volunteering is just as impressive and shows you have actively tried to gain experience. Again, it’s a case of figuring out what will help you sell yourself as the best candidate.
- Education and Qualifications
Finally, your employer will want to see your education and qualifications.
Although proving your abilities in adult social care with skills and experience on your CV is more important, your education is also beneficial to show your development from a younger age and potentially support any points already stated.
Include your school’s name like with your employment history but with your GCSE and A-Level results after any university degrees.
In this section, you should also include any relevant training/course qualifications, such as first aid training, End of Life Care, or an NVQ in Health and Social Care.
If your education and qualifications are a little light, don’t worry. Simply explain your situation concisely in a sentence or go into further detail in a cover letter.
Adult Social Care CV Final Points
Lastly, before sending your CV to prospective employers, it pays to check the design is suitable and inviting to read. For instance:
- Keep imagery to a minimum (Company logos, personal portraits, etc.).
- Use one standard black font for your text. To make it inclusive and accessible for employers with dyslexia, use sans serif fonts, such as Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, Trebuchet, Calibri and Open Sans. For the same reason, make the font a minimum 12-point size.
- Create space between your sections.
- Keep your CV within a two-page limit.
On this point, it helps to get yourself in the shoes of your employer who’s no doubt looking through multiple applications.
So, remember to keep it short and sweet while aligning your skills and experience with the role requirements.
Start Your Career in Adult Social Care
At Herefordshire Cares, we have a close network of organisations looking for caring individuals that can help make a positive impact on society.
Whether you’re searching for positions as a healthcare assistant, support worker or deputy management roles, we promote some of the most recent adult social care vacancies across the Herefordshire region.
So, if you feel ready to begin an enriching and fulfilling career in adult social care, visit the vacancies page or get in touch for more details. For social worker roles also see Vacancies – Community Wellbeing and Adult Social Care (spiritofherefordshire.com)