Care.com – Sign Up Guide And Profile Tips
In the age of the side hustle, working professionals are turning to remote and flexible jobs to meet their needs.
Dog walking, nannying, housekeeping, and tutoring are just a small sample of the work available to those looking to expand their resumes.
Looking for a source of many of these jobs and a simple guide to signing up? Look no further. Care.com provides a one-stop shop for a variety of part and fulltime gigs.
You can sign up to work for care.com on their site, or by downloading and applying through the Care.com Caregiver app, available for IOS and Android.
Signing Up To Be A Care.Com Caregiver
Here’s the steps to follow if you want to sign up, along with a few helpful resources.
1. Choose Your Service
Looking to become a nanny? Tutor? Daycare employee? There are many profile options available that you can adjust if your interests or availability changes later.
Start by choosing the option that fits your personality best and fill out the sign-up form with your name, address, birthday, phone, and email.
2. Verify Your Phone Number To Use CareChat
Care.com uses CareChat to keep your number private during discussion with potential clients, so you’ll be asked to verify your phone number.
3. Enter Your Address
Next, enter your address.
After entering your address, you’ll be able to see nearby jobs, but you’ll want to finish setting up your profile.
4. Add Salary and Experience
This step will also let you choose to accept credit card payments.
You’ll also be asked about your years of experience and your education level.
For work like nannying and babysitting, this step will ask you how many children you feel comfortable watching at a time, which age groups you have experience working with, and how many miles you are willing to travel for a job. Take into consideration the line of work you have chosen and if you are willing to commute to that job often.
5. Dazzle with a Great Bio And Add A Profile Picture (Or Video)
To make your profile stand out and get you the most gigs, spend some extra time on building your biography in this section. Focus on skills and experience that showcase you in the specific field of work you’ve chosen.
No need to write a novel, but do include past jobs that match your field to showcase your talents and personality.
After that, you’ll be asked to add a profile picture (highly recommended).
You can also add a video introduction if you like.
6. Proceed to Security Screenings
To comply with federal laws, you will be required to be screened via a background check to move forward.
This is standard with caregiving jobs and an essential step to ensure you meet safety requirements.
Once you acknowledge this step, you can move forward to finalize your profile while you wait for the results of your background checks.
After Signing Up For Care.Com
The first thing you should do is check out a few listings. This is a great place to get insight into what families are looking for in their caregivers.
For example, if the listings include items like “light cooking and cleaning” for a nanny job, it could be a good idea to go back and add that to your profile to better appeal to those jobs (if you are willing to do these tasks).
Set Your Availability
Take an honest inventory of the time you have available. This will make the process easier when the time comes to get jobs, as families can easily see when you are available to work.
Update this section frequently to ensure accurate bookings and to remain transparent for the families looking into hiring you as a service provider.
You will be able to notify families if your are available on short term notice.
Check Out Care.com Resources
Care.com has a dedicated community site that has a lot of great for caregivers.
You’ll definitely want to check out their post on how to target your application to a job posting. They also have a few helpful videos for caregivers.
Personalize Your Profile
As you await your security screening results, proceed to finalize your profile. A profile picture of yourself from the waist up, smiling, is best.
Revise and add more information about your background and interests, and why you are excited to work with families in your line of work.
Don’t be afraid to add something unique about yourself, such as “on weekends you will find me with a good book at the dog park with my corgi Steve.” This adds warmth to your profile and lets families know that you are not just a profile, but a person they would want to welcome into their family.
Reviews are also a key to getting your profile noticed by potential employers. Reach out to a few trusted friends or colleagues in your line of work and ask for a quick written review of how you helped them in the past.
Care.com generally has more experienced and well-reviewed workers at the top of listings, so this can help you get noticed by families in your area.
After You’re Approved, Connect with Families
After getting confirmation that you have passed the security screening, open the listings page to search for open jobs near you. You can use search terms or simply scroll through using the area code you provided in your profile.
Families will list how many children or pets they need care for, scheduling preferences, and any must-haves, such as willingness to drive the family vehicle or cook and clean in addition to childcare.
Once you have fine-tuned your profile, it will go live on the Care.com site and allow you to reach out directly to families and vice versa.
Work Your Side Hustle!
As you begin your Care.com journey, keep your availability up to date, as families will appreciate this, especially during hectic holiday seasons.
Checking the site frequently will ensure that you never miss a message for a job and always respond within 24 hours of getting an offer to boost your profile on the site.
Don’t be afraid to turn down a job, especially if it requires more travel to the home than you are willing or a renegotiation of your set rates. As a caregiving professional, you are in control of your schedule and rates and deserve to be paid and respected accordingly.
Last but certainly not least, you will get out of Care.com what you put into it, so work hard and bring your personality and passion for caregiving to work with you each day!
