Child Life Specialist Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Child Life Specialist resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Child life specialists are highly trained professionals who help children and their families cope with the stresses of hospitalization or other health-related events. They provide age-appropriate, developmentally appropriate support through direct services such as play therapy, story time, and art therapy. They also provide indirect support by educating families on how to best navigate the healthcare system, helping them understand what to expect during different procedures or tests, and supporting them through difficult procedures.
Child life specialists work in a variety of settings including hospitals, outpatient clinics, rehabilitation centers, mental health facilities, and pediatric offices. They may work directly with patients or indirectly through education or advocacy. Child life specialists may be employed full-time or part-time depending on their role.
If you want to break into this field or advance your career as a child life specialist, you’ll need a resume that will help you stand out amongst your peers. Here are some tips and an example to help you write a great child life specialist resume.
How to Write a Child Life Specialist Resume
Here’s how to write a child life specialist resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
When you’re writing bullet points, it can be tempting to focus on the responsibilities of your job. But that’s not always the most effective approach.
Instead, you can use your bullet points to showcase your skills and qualifications. So rather than saying you “provided emotional support for children,” you could say you “provided emotional support for children by using therapeutic play to address their needs and concerns.”
The second bullet point paints a clearer picture of what you did and how you did it. And it also provides some specific examples of how you helped children.
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a job as a child life specialist, your resume is likely to be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. This system looks for keywords related to the work of a child life specialist, like
- Child Life
- Play Therapy
- Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
- Trauma Informed Care
- Hospitals
- Child Development
- Crisis Intervention
- Psychology
- Group Therapy
- Nonprofit Organizations
- Healthcare
- Community Outreach
- Play Therapy Training
- Psychotherapy
- Working with Adolescents
- Early Childhood Education
- Special Education
- Pediatric Nursing
- Social Services
- Public Speaking
- Occupational Therapy
- Program Development
- Curriculum Development
- Inpatient Care
- Working with Children
- Discharge Planning
- Staff Development
- Leadership
- Teamwork
- Behavioral Health
Showcase Your Technical Skills
As a child life specialist, you work with children and their families to help them cope with hospitalization and other medical procedures. In order to do your job effectively, you need to be proficient in the use of technology. This might include experience with electronic health records (EHR) systems, patient monitoring systems, and medical devices. You should also list any other technical skills that are relevant to your field, such as experience with child development theory and practices.