How to Respond to Job Postings
Don't give parents a reason -- even a small one -- to overlook your application.
We're always stressing the importance of communication here at Sittercity, so it's no surprise that we felt it was extremely important to help our sitters learn tips and guidelines on how to respond to job postings.
Responding to a job is how you, as a caregiver, open up the lines of communication with a parent. It's where you make a quick first impression that can't be erased or redone. To help you make the BEST impression possible -- and potentially land a lot more sitting jobs! -- we've put together a list of dos and don'ts when it comes to submitting your job application.
DOS
- Be professional.
It's true that many people think of babysitting as a casual venture, but, as one astute Sittercity parent once put it, "Caring for the lives of children is a REAL JOB." Before you even type anything to a parent, make sure you're in a mindset of professionalism. Treat the job with the respect it deserves and don't send anything to a parent that you wouldn't send to any other type of employer. - Remember your English classes.
How you write/type isn't just seen as a reflection of your personality, it's also viewed as a sign of your intelligence. After all, parents want their children to be influenced in positive ways. So, if you write something like, "would luv to sit for you please call me to skedule a time thanks," it's pretty safe to assume you won't get that call. Remember to use complete sentences, proper grammar and correctly spelled words. If you're NOT a native English speaker, there is nothing wrong with beginning your letter with, "I am a native Spanish speaker, so I ask your patience with my grammar and spelling." - Read the job posting carefully.
If you quickly skim a job posting, you may miss crucial information about the job -- information that may prevent you from being able to accept it. For example, a parent may need a sitter who has experience with asthma or may need a nanny who can work on Saturday mornings in addition to her weekday duties. If you miss any pieces of information in the job posting, you could end up applying to a job you're not qualified for, wasting not just the parent's time, but your own as well. - Proofread your application carefully.
After you've taken the time to write a grammatically correct job response, take an extra few minutes to read back over your application to make extra sure you've spelled everything correctly. Copying and pasting everything into Microsoft Word is one way to catch blatant misspellings, but remember that it won't catch those times when you leave out a word or accidentally use "of" when you meant "or." - Keep your emails relatively short.
Parents don't have time to read a novel, so keep your emails under two paragraphs. Using bullet points also helps make the email a quicker read, so don't bury anything important in the middle of a big paragraph (parents often skim job applications and won't see it!). Instead, save the longer explanations and details for your sitter profile, and ask parents to please click on that to find our more about your experience. - Convey your enthusiasm!
This doesn't mean that you have to go overboard with exclamation points, but writing in a way that shows parents that you truly do love working with children is always going to help you. You may want to reference something the parent wrote in her job description ("You mentioned how little Anna loves Wonder Pets -- I know all the songs!") or talk about some volunteer work/elective classes you too pertaining to children ("Last summer, I volunteered at the Children's Museum.").
DON'TS
- Don't start out with why you want/need the job.
Launching into a personal story about how you need a steady sitting job to pay for books at school isn't exactly the best way to convince a parent that you're qualified for the position. Instead, focus on what THEY want by telling them why you would be a good fit for what they need. ("Since my schedule is flexible in the evenings, your occasional after-hours board meetings wouldn't be a problem at all.") - Don't treat parents like your IMing or texting buddy.
Along the lines of remaining professional, don't use any slang, abbreviations or super-casual tone. If you can't be bothered to type full words in your emails, parents may wonder what other corners you'll cut on the job, not to mention that most parents see this type of short-hand as juvenile and quite common around young people. Emailing that you'll "if ur still looking 4 sum1 call me" makes you seem YOUNGER than you are, which also implies a level of inexperience. Don't give parents a reason to overlook your great qualifications or, worse, assume you don't have any. - Don't launch into a biography of your personal life.
When you're trying to tell a parent about yourself, focus on your child care experience, not simply your personal background. Don't say, "I'm married with a child of my own, I like to paint, I've lived here all my life.” Instead, always bring these things back to your skills: "As a parent myself (to an energetic 3-year-old), I understand that caring for a toddler requires..." and "I've been painting for two years now, so I always try to incorporate art projects when I babysit -- no relying on TV here!" and "Since I've lived here all my life, I know all of the best parks and playgrounds to take the kids to." - Don't make demands.
At this stage in the hiring process, it's not wise to state a laundry list of things you'll need from your potential employer. It's considered arrogant/presumptuous (you're assuming you've got the job) and inflexible -- either of which are good qualities of someone working with kids! - Don't get upset if you don't get a response.
We understand that it can be quite frustrating for sitters when they don't receive a reply back from parents, but please do not get upset. It doesn't mean you're a bad sitter, it might just mean that the parent got busy and forgot, found a better fit for her family, or her needs have changed and she's not even looking for a babysitter anymore. Whatever the reason, do not dwell on the missed opportunities. It might not take much effort for parents to send you a quick response, but getting angry when they don't is a waste of your energy. There are plenty of wonderful families on Sittercity! Move on to the next job posting and keep a positive attitude. - Don't harass Mom and Dad.
If you don't receive an initial response to your job application, it's acceptable to send one more SHORT follow-up email to the parent after a few days to check back in and see if they're still looking for a sitter. After that, be done with it. If the parent still doesn't respond, move on. It does no good to send email after email expecting to get a reply, since we can't control other people's actions. We only control our own, so move that job into the "no" pile and start applying to the next!
