You’re a great child care provider – you’re responsible, knowledgeable, and the kids love you. You’ve got all the right traits to be a part-time nanny, live-in nanny, or babysitter, but doing the job isn’t the hard part for you, it’s getting the job. How do you convince a perfect stranger to leave their beloved children in your care, as capable as they are? The hardest part of being a caregiver is making sure you have enough work to keep you busy and your bills paid. With a few simple strategies, you can overcome the obstacles standing between you and your next great child care job.
What’s your hook?
You have to differentiate yourself from the competition if you want to start landing better child care jobs. Do you speak another language or are you fluent in ASL (sign language), are you certified as an early childhood educator, or do you offer housekeeping work for extra hours? Maybe it’s just that you have your own transportation or you’re a talented musician. Don’t be shy about your talents – find a way to make sure parents know what you bring to the table.
Where to Find Jobs
There are numerous child care job boards and recommendation services in Canada and it’s a good idea to take advantage of these. Online communities are becoming the go-to resource for parents looking for professional child care providers. Nannies sign up to create profiles for themselves which families can search at their leisure, while nannies can also respond to help wanted ads posted for their areas. A private notes system used by CanadianNanny.ca also allows families and nannies to keep “files” on employers or employees – things like special information, contact information, or anything you need to know. They also provide features like identity protected phone calls, which protects both parties’ contact information until they’ve established mutual trust.
Some of these communities offer other important services beyond convenient technology features, too. HeartPayroll is a payroll system offered by CanadianNanny.ca so that families don’t have to stress about the paperwork of having a full-time employee. If you’ve ever worked as a full-time nanny before, you’ve likely had to deal with employers who couldn’t keep track of when you were supposed to be paid or important tax forms like your T4 slip and paystubs.
Building Your Profile
Your profile is your chance to show off your credentials, special skills, experience, and everything that makes you a great nanny. Leave nothing blank – fill out all of the information you’re requested to and make sure you sell yourself. Online communities make it easy for you to find nanny jobs in Canada by making it easy for employers to find you. They come to these sites because they know exactly what they’re looking for and they want to be able to easily search. Do yourself a favour and make yourself easy to find. The more information you volunteer about yourself, the easier it will be for you to move to the top of the list of potential candidates. Remember, you are a great nanny. It’s time to let it show.
