Care Assistant CV Example & Guide [2024]

As a care assistant, your caring nature, empathy, patience, and creativity are just as important as your skills. These traits may be challenging to convey on paper, but you can showcase them indirectly in your care assistant CV.

In this guide, you'll find practical tips, key skills for care assistant CVs, and sample duties to help you create a standout care worker CV by highlighting your unique strengths and abilities in the healthcare field.

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We created the sample on the right using our builder. See other good CV examples like this one.

Looking for other CV examples? See our guides for:

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Care assistant CV example

Now here’s more on how to write a CV for care assistants, especially if that's your first CV:

1. Perfect your care assistant's CV format first

First impressions are crucial, and the layout of your care assistant's CV plays a key role in capturing the attention of potential employers. Avoid complex templates and bright colours; instead, prioritise simplicity with a clean, well-organised design. This not only reflects your attention to detail but also makes your skills and experience easy to navigate. Follow these key CV layout rules:

• Present your information in reverse chronological order, the most widely recommended CV format for highlighting your work experience and key achievements.
• Put the contact details near the top of your CV for easy access. In the UK, avoid adding a photo as it may be not well-received.
• Use clear subheadings and the power of white space to break your CV structure down into sections clearly. A clean CV layout is key to a good CV.
• Choose an appropriate CV font, such as Arial, Noto, Liberation, or Calibri—anything that looks professional and doesn’t draw attention to itself. 
• Stick to a one-page CV if you have less than 10 years of experience. If you have more, limit your CV to one page per decade of experience, keeping it as concise as possible.
• Use one of the best CV templates for care assistant workers: they’re clean and free of fancy infographics (you can find them among free CV templates, too). If you're using an MS Word CV template, save or export your CV as a PDF file unless explicitly asked for something else. Even if another format is requested, consider including a PDF as a backup.

Lastly, make sure to optimise your health care assistant CV for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). This means using clear, straightforward language and avoiding complex formatting or images that could confuse the software. Incorporate relevant keywords from the job description to ensure your care worker CV gets past automated filters.

2. Include key information in the header of your CV for care assistant jobs

The header section at the top of your health care assistant CV is where you provide essential details like your name, email, phone number, and the city and country you are based in. If you're including an address, keep it simple by listing only the city and country abbreviation—no need for full details.

Consider adding a link to your LinkedIn profile or professional portfolio to give employers further insight into your experience. Only include a professional photo if you're applying for roles outside the UK or US, where it is more commonly accepted.

Sometimes, a CV header includes a headline—a concise, impactful statement designed to grab recruiters' attention. A strong care assistant CV headline should be customised for the specific job by showcasing relevant skills and achievements, while also including key qualifications or job titles to meet ATS requirements.

3. Write a personal statement and put it at the top of your care assistant CV

Writing a CV personal statement (also called a CV profile) can be a daunting task, but it wouldn’t be the first time you pushed through and made it to the end. Your care assistant CV introduction is like a handshake with the recruiter: it gives them an idea of what you can bring to the company and lets them see how your goals line up with theirs.

You can achieve the above by answering the following questions one after another:

• What kind of care assistant are you? How long have you been working? In what fields?
• What’s an achievement that you’re particularly proud of?
• What do you hope to achieve in this new job? Think about the benefits to your employer.

Address each bullet point above in 1–2 sentences, keeping to 3–4 sentences and between 50 and 150 words in total. Be sure to mention the job title as it appears in the advert and the name of the company. Yes, you’ll have to rewrite at least the last sentence every time you apply for a different job.

The personal statement goes first in your health care assistant CV, but it’s best to write it last (that's why it's also called a CV summary). Come back to this part once you’ve got your work experience and skills sections written. The practice of writing accomplishment statements will come in handy here, too.

Care worker CV example: personal statement

A strong CV summary will convince the recruiter you’re the perfect candidate. Save time and choose a ready-made personal statement written by career experts and adjust it to your needs in the LiveCareer CV builder.

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4. Demonstrate care assistant duties in the CV work experience section

Use a chronological CV format when listing your previous work experience and care assistant duties, especially when writing a senior care assistant CV. This means starting with your most recent job description and working your way back from there. This is what care assistant employers are used to seeing. It’s also easier for an ATS to scan through a chronologically ordered senior carer CV.

This is where you can really let your potential new employer get a glimpse of the kind of care assistant you are or can be (if you’re writing a CV for a care assistant with no experience). The trick is to focus on your achievements rather than your duties. You’ll need to put numbers and statistics to each and every achievement.

Use accomplishment statements to structure your bullet points and start each point with an appropriate action word. Aim for up to six points for each job description. Use the following template to create a heading for each position:

[Job Title]

[Company Name, Location]

[Dates of Employment]

Be as specific as possible in describing and quantifying your accomplishments. Don’t repeat yourself across job descriptions if you have similar achievements under different positions. If two job descriptions share a bullet point that’s basically the same, then the newer position wins out.

Writing a CV with no experience? Many of the skills required in hospitality, retail, and customer service roles are transferable to care work. You might also have relevant experience from work placements, your personal life, volunteer work, or from a traineeship or apprenticeship.

If you have very little or no relevant work experience of any kind, then put this section after your education section or drop it from your CV entirely. A student CV might be a better option for you if you’re a student, recent school-leaver, or graduate.

Senior care assistant job description for a CV

5. Add an education section to your care worker CV

Order this section chronologically from most to least recent, just like your work experience section. If you have a university degree and some work experience under your belt, then you can safely leave high school education off your care assistant CV template.

When including university degrees, list the name of your degree, the years you attended (with an expected graduation date if you’re still studying), and the name of the institution and its location. Use the following pattern: 

[Degree Class] [Degree Type] [Degree Name], [Year Graduated]

[University Name], [Location]

The same pattern holds for diplomas and NVQ levels. You won’t have a degree class to add, but everything else will fit. For example:

When describing your high school education, list all of your A-levels by subject name, the years during which you studied them, the name of the school, and its location. For GCSEs, state how many you completed, the years over which you completed them, the name of the school, and its location.

It’s a good idea to mention Mathematics and English when mentioning how many GCSEs you’ve completed. Employers might need to see that you have passes in Maths and English. Having good communication skills and being good with numbers are both important to care work.

If you’ve just finished school or graduated from university and don’t have much experience yet, bump this section up past your work experience section. If you have only a little work experience, you may want to add bullet points here to highlight your achievements or areas of excellence while studying.

Care assistant CV examples: education section

6. Showcase the key skills for care assistant CVs

To be a good care worker you need a wide range of skills but you also need to have a particular set of qualities (read more about employability skills). Attributes like empathy, patience, and good humour aren’t skills exactly, but they’re absolutely critical to making a good care assistant. So mix these character traits with your care assistant skills.

You’re aiming for a list of 5–10 skills and attributes which can come in three flavours:

• Soft, like teamwork or communication skills.
• Hard skills, like first aid or CPR skills.
• Technical, like operating moving and handling equipment or medical equipment.

Lack ideas? Here’s an exemplary list of key soft and hard skills for a care assistant’s CV:

Sample soft skills for a care assistant CV

• Communication
• Empathy
• Patience
• Adaptability
• Problem-solving
• Time management
• Teamwork
• Active listening
• Emotional resilience
• Attention to detail

Sample hard skills for a care assistant CV

• Personal care assistance
• Medication administration
• Manual handling
• First aid and CPR
• Basic healthcare documentation
• Knowledge of health and safety regulations
• Infection control procedures
• Meal preparation
• Dementia care
• Use of mobility aids

You should aim for a mix of personal qualities as well as soft, hard, and technical skills in your care assistant CV. Demonstrate that you have these assets by adding a sentence to each point that gives concrete examples of the given skill or quality in action. Make sure you at least cover each of the skills and qualities mentioned in the job ad (don’t overdo it, though).

Organise and keep all your brainstorming and rough notes to make a master list of all your care assistant skills and attributes, whether relevant to this particular position or not. You’ll be rewriting this section for other adverts and having a master list like this will make doing that a piece of cake.

Key skills for a care assistant CV: example

7. Include additional sections in your care worker CV

Your CV is there to paint a portrait of you as a care worker. Your work history, job skills, and education can only go so far in doing this, though. Fill in the picture by adding extra sections to your CV for care assistant.

You could add sections with additional qualifications or certifications, awards, hobbies and interests, or anything else that shows who you are as a qualified support worker. Do you speak any languages other than English? Having language skills is connected to empathy, so being bi- or multi-lingual can be doubly beneficial. 

Don't list references on your CV, though. It's better to save space for more relevant things.

Sample CV for care workers: additional sections

8. Write a cover letter to go with your care assistant CV

Not every job advert will mention it, but it’s generally expected that you include a cover letter with your application. In fact, unless you’re asked not to include one, you should always write a cover letter to go with your CV. Indeed, it won’t always get read, but it can make all the difference if it does.

A good, well laid-out cover letter will use a standard British business letter format and contain the following elements:

• Header
• Salutation
• Cover letter opening (60–80 words)
• Main paragraph(s) (120–200 words)
• Cover letter closing and call to action (40–60 words)
• Sign off

How long can a cover letter be? It should end up being between half and a full A4 page, about 200–350 words in total. The work you put into the skills and work experience sections of your CV now will mean that you’re easily halfway there to having your care assistant cover letter done.

Once you have your care work CV and a cover letter ready, proofread and spellcheck before attaching the job application in an email. Ask someone to help you check both documents. Use any of the apps or programs that can help you with spelling and grammar. It’s vital that you have everything right, mistakes stand out like sore thumbs.

One last CV tip: follow up if you haven’t heard back after a week. A quick phone call or email is all it takes and could make a huge difference.

You don’t have to be a CV writing expert. In the LiveCareer CV builder you’ll find ready-made content for every industry and position, which you can then add with a single click.

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I hope this article has been helpful to you! Let me know in the comments below if there’s anything else you need to know about care worker CV. Got any advice on how to write a care assistant CV? Comments or feedback? We’d love to hear from you.

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Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.