Most of the time, candidates do not have the same definition of “professional childcare work experience” as recruiters or employers.
When talking about professional experience, recruiters and employers only take into account paid experience acquired after the age of 18, and they do not take into account personal experience with family, or acquaintances for example.
Personal experience with children is certainly childcare experience, but it cannot be included in professional experience, otherwise almost everyone on earth would be an experienced nanny!
Here is what nanny recruiters consider professional childcare work experience :
- Babysitting, Au Pair, or nannying experience
- Camp counselor or volunteer experience
- Daycare, preschool or teaching experience
- Any other paid position where you have held a job working with children (tutor, coach etc…)
- Paid experience acquired after the age of 18
And here is what nanny recruiters do not consider professional childcare work experience :
- Being a mom, an aunty, an older sibling etc…
- Babysitting for family and friends
- Having a mom who ran a daycare, or was a nanny herself
- Having helped your parents with your younger brothers and sisters
- Experience acquired before the age of 18