Care Assistant CV Example (UK)

A care home manager reading a Care Assistant CV is looking for someone residents will be glad to see: kind, patient, dependable on early, late and night shifts, and confident with personal care, moving and handling and the daily records that the home is inspected on. They also want to know whether you have the Care Certificate and how far you are with the diploma, because that decides whether you join as a Care Assistant or a Senior.

The Sample CV below is for a Care Assistant in a 60-bed residential and nursing home for older people, about two thirds of whom live with dementia. Its bullets describe the residents, the routines and the small things that make a home feel like home, and they show the move towards a senior role with medicines training and shift leading.

Tailor it to the home. A nursing home wants experience with frail, bed-bound residents and end of life care; a dementia unit wants patience and distraction techniques; a residential home wants activities and independence; home care wants a driving licence and lone working. The US counterpart of this page is the caregiver resume example, written for American home care and assisted living. The Civic template keeps a care CV clean and easy to read on a phone, which is how many home managers first see it.

Updated . The person and employers in this Sample CV are fictional. Written for applicants in the UK; the page for applicants in the US is the caregiver resume example.

Care Assistant sample CV

Drawn at A4 proportions, the paper a UK CV is printed on.

Bethany Quarmby

Care Assistant, Residential and Dementia Care, Care Certificate, Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care in progress

Huddersfield, HD3bethany.quarmby@example.com07700 900347

Summary

Care Assistant with three years in a 60-bed residential and nursing home for older people, most of them living with dementia. Confident with personal care, safe moving and handling, continence care and digital care records, trained to administer medicines and starting to lead shifts. Residents and families describe me as patient and cheerful, and I am happy to work earlies, lates, nights and weekends.

Experience

Care Assistant, moving to Senior Care Assistant, Ashcombe Grange Care Home

– Present

Huddersfield

  • Support up to eight residents a shift with washing, dressing, continence care, eating and drinking, always offering choices and protecting their dignity.
  • Move and reposition residents safely with hoists, stand aids and slide sheets, and keep turning charts for residents at risk of pressure sores.
  • Record care, food and fluid intake and changes in mood or skin on the home's digital care planning system during each shift, ready for handover and inspection.
  • Completed medicines training and competency checks, and now give medicines on the residential floor under the senior's supervision.
Dementia and Activities Lead (alongside care role), Ashcombe Grange Care Home

– Present

Huddersfield

  • Started a weekly reminiscence afternoon with music, photographs and old household objects, which became the best attended activity in the home.
  • Worked with families to fill in life story books for twelve residents so new staff could talk to them about their own history.
  • Noticed one resident was eating more when she sat with a friend and suggested changes to the dining room seating, which the manager adopted.
Kitchen Assistant, Colne Valley Garden Centre Cafe

–

Huddersfield

  • Prepared food and served customers on busy weekends, and held a Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate.
  • Cleaned down and restocked the kitchen at close, following the allergen and temperature checks to the letter.

Education

Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care (in progress)

Holme Moss College, Huddersfield

Funded by the home as part of the route to Senior Care Assistant.

Level 2 Diploma in Care

Holme Moss College, Huddersfield

Skills

  • Personal and continence care
  • Dementia care and distraction techniques
  • Moving and handling, hoists and stand aids
  • Pressure area care and turning charts
  • Medicines administration (trained)
  • Digital care records
  • End of life care
  • Activities and reminiscence
  • Safeguarding adults
  • Food hygiene

Certifications

  • Care Certificate, Ashcombe Grange Care Home,
  • Safe Handling of Medicines, Accredited care training provider,
  • Enhanced DBS check (adult barred list), Disclosure and Barring Service,

Start yours from this example

Opens this sample in the editor, in one of the templates below. Swap in your details, then tailor it to each vacancy in about two minutes.

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How a UK CV differs

Care work in the UK is regulated through the home rather than the worker: in England the Care Quality Commission inspects the service, and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the care inspectorates do, with care workers registered in some nations. A Care Assistant CV is short, usually one or two pages of A4, and leads with your care setting, the residents you support and your training. Many homes recruit through their own websites or job boards and ask for a CV with a short covering note rather than a long form.

For a care assistant in the UK

  1. Care Certificate and diploma level

    Put the Care Certificate and your Level 2 or 3 Diploma in Adult Care, or how far through it you are, near the top. It tells the manager where you would start and what training you still need.

  2. The setting and the residents

    Say whether you worked in a residential home, a nursing home, a dementia unit or home care, and give the size of the home. Each is a different kind of day.

  3. Shift availability

    Care homes work earlies, lates, long days and nights, including weekends and bank holidays. Saying clearly what you can cover is a real advantage.

  4. Registration where your nation requires it

    In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland care workers register with the national care council. If you are registered, list it; in England, mention the Care Certificate instead.

  5. Driving for home care

    Home care posts usually need a full UK driving licence and access to a car. Put it in your contact details if you are applying for one.

Every CV in the UK

A4 paper
Set the page to A4, 210 by 297 millimetres. A Letter-sized PDF prints with odd margins on A4 and reads as imported from the US.
Two pages is normal
Most UK CVs run to two pages. One page suits a first job; three is rare and only for senior roles with a lot to show.
No photo, no date of birth
UK employers do not expect a photo, a date of birth, marital status or nationality on a CV, and most prefer not to see them.
Dates as DD/MM/YYYY
Day first where a full date appears, and month and year for each role: "Mar 2022 – Present". Never the US month-first order.
British English
Organise, programme, centre, licence, specialise. A CV in American spelling reads as written for somewhere else.
Town and postcode area, not a street address
A line such as "Manchester, M4" is enough. A full postal address, and the US-style "City, ST 12345" line, are not expected.

More on applying in the UK, with every CV example for it, on the UK page.

Templates for the care assistant CV

All templates

Every template exports on A4. The previews are drawn on Letter; the editor sets the page size when you export.

How the CV changes with experience

The same care assistant CV, written at three levels: a profile and three bullets for each.

Entry level

Zero to two years, or a first post in the title

Applicant for a first Care Assistant role with no paid care experience but years of helping an elderly neighbour, ready to complete the Care Certificate and learn on the job.

  • Helped an elderly neighbour with shopping, meals and appointments for three years.
  • Volunteered at a lunch club for older people every Saturday.
  • Worked in a busy cafe, used to early starts and weekend shifts.

Mid level

Three to seven years, owns a process or a workload

Home Care Assistant visiting older people in their own homes across a rural round, with a full driving licence and experience of lone working.

  • Visit up to twelve people a day for personal care, meals and medicines prompts.
  • Report concerns to the office and families through the agency's care app.
  • Built trust with people who were reluctant to accept care at first.

Senior

Eight years or more, leads people, budgets or programmes

Senior Care Assistant leading shifts in a nursing home, responsible for medicines rounds, handover and supervising a team of six carers.

  • Lead day shifts, allocate residents to carers and run handover with the nurse in charge.
  • Give medicines on the residential floor and complete the medicines audit monthly.
  • Mentor new carers through the Care Certificate and their first weeks.

Skills to put on the care assistant CV

Hard skills

Personal care
It is most of the job, and the home manager will ask how you help someone wash and dress while keeping their dignity.
Dementia care
Many residents in homes for older people live with dementia, so practical ways of calming and engaging them are highly valued.
Moving and handling
Safe use of hoists and stand aids protects residents and staff and is checked in training records.
Care records
Inspectors read daily notes, and most homes now use digital systems; clear, timely records matter.
Medicines training
It is the usual step towards a senior role, so say whether you are trained and assessed as competent.
End of life care
Nursing homes care for many residents at the end of their lives, and experience of this work, with families present, shows maturity.

Soft skills

Patience
Residents with dementia may ask the same question many times, and a calm, kind answer every time is what managers are looking for.
Reliability
Care homes run on rotas, and a carer who turns up and covers when needed is hard to replace.
Warmth with families
Relatives judge the home by the staff they meet, and a carer who keeps them informed builds trust.

Mistakes that cost care assistant interviews

  1. Writing only I am caring

    Every applicant says it. Show it instead with one example, such as how you helped a resident settle in or comforted a family at the end of a resident's life.

  2. Leaving out training

    Moving and handling, safeguarding, medicines and food hygiene training are all relevant. List them with the year so the manager can see what you already hold.

  3. Mixing up settings

    Residential, nursing, dementia and home care are different jobs. Name each setting you have worked in so the manager knows what you are ready for.

  4. Using American care terms

    Certified nursing assistant and assisted living are American terms. A UK care home wants the Care Certificate, the diploma and the inspector's standards.

  5. No mention of records

    Daily notes and charts are part of every shift and are read by inspectors. A line on accurate record keeping reassures the manager.

Write bullets with the XYZ formula: what changed, the number that shows it, and how you did it, in one line.

Questions about the care assistant CV

Do I need experience to become a Care Assistant?

No. Many homes hire people with no paid care experience and train them through the Care Certificate in the first weeks. Show the qualities that matter, such as patience and reliability, with examples from family care, volunteering or other jobs.

What is the difference between a care assistant and a senior care assistant?

A senior usually holds a Level 3 diploma, gives medicines, leads shifts and supervises other carers. If you are working towards it, say so and list the training you have completed.

How long should a care assistant CV be?

One page is fine if you are new to care; two pages if you have several settings and qualifications. Keep it simple and easy to read on a phone.

Should I mention the Care Quality Commission on my CV?

You do not need to name it unless you took part in an inspection or helped the home prepare for one. A line about record keeping and following care plans shows you understand the standards.

Can I move from a care home to a hospital role?

Yes. Personal care, moving and handling and dementia care carry straight across to a Healthcare Assistant post. Add any observations you took and the Care Certificate.

Should I include unpaid care for a family member?

Yes. Caring for a relative shows real experience with personal care and medicines. Describe it briefly with what you did and for how long. Resume Master can then tailor the CV to each home's advert.

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