Doula resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what doulas actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most doulas should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
I am a birth and postnatal doula with experience supporting families through pregnancy, labour and the early weeks at home. I help parents stay informed, calm and heard, and I work respectfully alongside midwives and medical teams. My approach is non-clinical, practical and centred on each family's preferences.
Key skills
- Care planning and coordination
- Counselling and support work
- Health education and advice
- Calendly
- Zoom
- Google Workspace
- Canva
- Pregnancy+
- Empathy and interpersonal care
- Written communication
- Client relationships and advisory
- Attention to detail
Experience: example bullet points
- Supported over 20 families through labour and birth, helping parents stay informed and calm as they made decisions.
- Met with expectant parents to plan birth preferences and support needs, ensuring their choices were clearly documented for hospital or home birth.
- Provided continuous physical and emotional support through labour, coaching breathing, positioning and comfort techniques during contractions.
- Guided early breastfeeding and postnatal recovery in the first weeks, helping parents build confidence in feeding and infant care.
- Debriefed with clients after birth and wrote up support notes, giving families a clear record of their experience and next steps.
Education
Typical pathways include a Certificate IV in Doula Support or Diploma of Counselling, with many doulas also holding a bachelor degree in health, social work or a related field.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- doula
- birth doula
- postnatal doula
- labour support
- birth support
- postnatal care
- breastfeeding support
- birth preferences
- care planning
- counselling
- health education
- Calmbirth
- hypnobirthing
- Australian Doula College
- Doula Network Australia
- non-clinical care
- client notes
- referrals
- Calendly
- Zoom
- Google Workspace
- Canva
- Pregnancy+
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.