My partner and I recently relocated and no longer live close to our family and friends. Without someone we can trust to care for our children, it has been difficult to spend time together as a couple. We had known Care.com to be a popular website used to locate caregivers and companies that provide services such as child care, senior care, pet care and house cleaning. So when we were given the opportunity to try Care.com to find a sitter we were really excited!
Setting up my profile on Care.com was the easy part. After creating an account, I changed my privacy settings. I wanted to ensure my phone number was not visible to avoid unsolicited phone calls. Next, I searched through the care giver profiles to get an idea of the requirements I should include in my job post. We needed a babysitter with experience, transportation, CPR certification and close proximity.
After uploading my profile picture, I created a job. I was able to include a description of the services we required, our pay rate, our children’s ages and the hours we needed a sitter available. I emphasized that we wanted a babysitter that was active and shared our children’s enjoyment of music and art.
Once the job was posted, I searched Care.com for babysitters in our area. This part of the process was a bit overwhelming, particularly because we live in a metropolitan area where there are lots of caregivers. However, I was able to refine my search which was really helpful. Selecting the age, gender, hourly rate and type of provider narrowed the number of results considerably.
With so many options, I appreciated the ability to read through the profiles and mark them as favorites or “maybes” in order to revisit the profile later. Caregivers can also see who has visited their profile. When I logged in later, I had received a total of 12 responses – including responses from caregivers I had marked as favorites.
After examining each applicant’s profile, I contacted five babysitters that seemed like a good fit for our needs. I was looking for babysitters who fit our basic criteria, with a preference for those who had positive reviews and were currently employed by other families. Two of the applicants also forwarded the results of their preliminary background check and listed references, which was a plus. It was time to schedule phone interviews.
Though four applicants replied to my request for a phone interview, I was only able to reach two by phone. The first applicant was unprofessional and unclear about the job requirements. She seemed uneasy answering questions and admitted she was seeking full time employment, though we only needed an occasional babysitter. She was not a match for our needs.
Fortunately, my second phone interview went swimmingly. The applicant was friendly, professional and familiar with the requirements of the job. She frequently babysits other children in my area and her profile includes 7 positive reviews. She also offered to provide a list of references. We had a great conversation and scheduled a time to meet in person next week. I hung up the phone knowing that we are likely to utilize her services soon.
I found Care.com very easy to use and highly recommend them to find a good caregiver for your children. By taking the time to carefully tailor your job post and breaking down the search process into steps, you can get the most out of this resource and be on your way to enjoying a child-free date night!
DivorcedMoms has partnered with Care.com to bring you the most easy-to-use way to find better care for you and your family.
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