Human Development and Family Studies Resume

About This Resume

A degree in human development and family studies (HDFS for short) leads to work in a wide range of settings, and that range can make a resume hard to aim. Graduates go on to family support agencies, early childhood centers, youth programs, child life departments in hospitals and graduate programs in counseling or social work. Each one reads a resume differently. Pick one setting for each version you send, and move the practicum, coursework and volunteer work that fits it to the top.

Supervised hours with children or families carry the most weight with family service employers, whether they come from a practicum, an internship or a steady volunteer role. Clearances and training come next, like a background check, CPR or mandated reporter training, along with signs that you can write clear case notes. Name the ages you worked with. An agency that serves teenagers wants to see teenagers on the page.

What to Include

• Your practicum or internship, with the type of agency, the ages served and your hours
• Coursework tied to the job, such as Child Development, Family Relationships or Parent Education
• Direct work with children, youth or families, paid or volunteer, and what you did in each role
• Program work such as running groups, planning activities or tracking attendance and outcomes
• Clearances and training, including background checks, CPR and First Aid, and mandated reporter training (how to report suspected abuse or neglect)
• Research experience, such as coding observation data in a faculty lab, if graduate school is your next step
• Languages you can use with families

Human Development and Family Studies Resume Sample

Tips for Your Human Development and Family Studies Resume

• Spell out the full name of your major once, then use HDFS. Some hiring managers do not know the abbreviation, and application software may search for the full words.
• Put your practicum under experience. It is supervised professional work, and most agencies treat it that way.
• Say who you served: the ages, the setting and the need. "Toddlers in a full-day early learning center" tells a reader far more than "worked with children."
• If graduate school in counseling, social work or child life is your next step, add a research section and any presentation you gave at a campus research day.
• Write at least one bullet about documentation. Family service work involves a lot of notes, and a manager who sees you already write them on time has one less worry.
• List clearances with dates. Many agencies cannot let you start until checks are complete, so current ones can speed up an offer.
• Keep family stories off the page. Describe your work through numbers and settings, and save the stories, told without names, for the interview.