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You’d love working with little kids, and maybe you’ve even done some babysitting in the past. But you’ve never had any formal experience in a childcare setting—and you’d like to change that. You want a career working with children, and with your patience and creativity, you know you’ll make a difference in their young lives.
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Don’t let your lack of experience stop you. After all, everyone has to start somewhere. Keep reading for expert advice on everything you need to know about how to get a job at a daycare with little or no experience.
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To get a daycare job without experience, it will help to have a high school diploma paired with an Early Childhood Education (ECE) certificate. Additionally, you may want to consider pursuing a professional certification like the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential from the Council for Professional Recognition.
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Certification programs vary and typically take about a year to complete, which will allow you to get on the fast-track to launching your career in childcare. Many programs also give you the option to become certified and return later to complete your schooling if you choose to pursue an Associate’s degree or Bachelor’s degree.
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An ECE degree could set you apart from the pack and help you advance your career faster. It also shows potential employers that you’re serious and dedicated to your career. You may begin as a teacher, but you could progress to overseeing multiple classrooms, become a childcare director or even open your own childcare center.
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The fact is that an ECE degree provides more options for employment.
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Networking is a great way to find out about daycare vacancies. Search the internet for institutions that offer networking opportunities for child care professionals. Attend networking events, build a rapport with the people you meet and express your interests in childcare. Creating a positive impression at these events can encourage people to connect you to daycare vacancies.
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You may not have decades of experience in a daycare but don’t dismiss all of your other relevant experience, especially from the classroom. A variety of coursework shows potential employers you have a well-rounded background that has prepared you for working in a daycare.
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As you may suspect, education and child development courses can serve as great resume boosters for childcare positions you may apply for. How do you make the connections between your courses and your career? Well, for example, a course in Developmental Psychology is very applicable to a classroom setting because it prepares you to nurture a child’s developmental needs.
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A course in sociology helps you become aware of and sensitive to cultural differences among children of different backgrounds. If you have special areas of expertise, such as music, math, art or a foreign language, then don’t forget to include these. They may come in handy in the classroom as well.
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If you want to land a daycare job without previous experience, anything to do with kids on your resume will work in your favor and make a difference to employers. Offer to babysit for friends or family to experience working one-on-one or in a small-group setting with children other than your own.
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It will allow you to work with children in a range of ages to see which age you’d most enjoy working with. After all, there’s a big difference between two-year olds and five-year olds. You could also volunteer with children at an after-school program, a summer camp or as a tutor.
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Another option is to reach out to local churches in order to work with children’s ministries or Sunday school programs. Volunteer positions show employers you are dependable, can work with others and can maintain a position over a period of time
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It's important to build a broad skill set before working in a childcare facility with no experience so that you can feel more confident handling young children. For example, you can work on your communication skills by attending communication workshops and learning how to communicate with children of all ages effectively.
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You can also improve your creative thinking and problem-solving skills by taking courses on creative solutions to common problems.