When you’re trying to find a babysitting job or get hired as another type of caregiver, you need to make yourself as appealing to as many families as possible. Think about what parents are concerned about this time of year. It’s back-to-school season and homework is on the mind.
Tutors can be expensive, and often children just need a little guidance to complete their homework or prepare for a test. Parents seeking a babysitter or after-school sitter often give preference to applicants that can also provide homework help. Promoting yourself as a care provider that can also assist kids with school assignments will help move your application to the top of the pile.
Dr. Teresa Signorelli, who has more than two decades of experience in the education field, says that if you want a job, you “must take initiative, go above and beyond what is required.” This demonstrates to potential employers that you have the ability to recognize problems and formulate solutions. Showing initiative will go a long way towards establishing your professional level of commitment, your authority and your accountability.
Here are tips to help you through each stage of the job hunt:
In Your Profile
When you create a profile on Care.com, it becomes your most important tool for getting a job. It tells parents all the reasons they should hire you — and, if you’re not careful, may even give them reasons to move on to another candidate. Make sure your profile shows what a great caregiver you are and how you can help with homework and tutoring.
- List academic skills and community activities: “Don’t be afraid to mention your accomplishments,” advises Sarah Winter, a special education teacher in Vermont. “Go beyond merely listing courses of study and academic honors.” Include extracurricular and community activities. This will demonstrate to potential employers that you are well-rounded, which makes you a better homework helper and role model for children.
- Note special skills or areas of knowledge: If you speak a foreign language, play a musical instrument or majored in English in college, include that information in your profile. Even if a child may not need specific instruction in your areas of expertise, including these skills will demonstrate your versatility and ability to do many things.
- Note any tutoring experience: Your experience may be as a formal tutor or simply helping a younger sibling or neighbor with homework. Include any experience you’ve had, being sure to mention the age groups you have worked with and the specific subject areas you’ve helped with.
Learn more about How to Update Your Profile for Back to School Season
In Your Cover Letter
When you apply to a job on Care.com, you have to write a message to the family, explaining why you’re a good fit for the position. Increase your chances of getting an interview with these tips:
- Be professional: When you’re applying for a job, you should sound and act professional every step of the way — including in your application. Check for spelling and grammar errors that could turn off families looking for someone who excels in academic. Impressing employers with your professionalism and demonstrating your academic and personal strengths will position you as an outstanding candidate for a homework helper job.
- Discuss the details: What is in the job description? Make sure you talk about why you’re a good fit for each of the items the family mentions needing help with.
- Focus on the kids: The job description will indicate the children’s ages and possibly their interests. This is your opportunity to show a potential employer how uniquely qualified you are for the job. If the family is seeking a care provider for two children, an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old, be aware these students are most likely in the third and fifth grades. Through your state’s Department of Education website, you can discover the curriculum for these grade levels, and mention your strengths in these areas when writing your letter of application.
- Talk up your services: Dr. Kenneth Goldberg, author of “The Homework Trap,” suggests that you recognize that parents often consider homework an intrusion on family time. It’s a good selling point for your services if you can ensure homework is completed while the children are in your care. Emphasize your ability to provide a “good, structured homework session,” he says, “with the payoff of free time (for children and parents) when the parent comes home.”
- Include references: Have you helped children with homework in the past, in either a paid or a voluntary position? Contact their parents and ask for letters of reference or reviews on your profile. Kathy Slattengren, M.Ed., president of Priceless Parenting, suggests your letter of application includes “quotes from other happy parents whose children have benefited from your help.”
During the Interview
When you meet with the parents and kids, impress them with both your child care and tutoring skills.
- Bring a portfolio: If you’re an education major or have formally studied in a field that involves interacting with children, Signorelli recommends you add applicable information to a portfolio you bring on interviews. Include things like: relevant course syllabi, transcripts, internship records, papers and presentations, feedback from professors and lesson plans and materials you’ve created. Neatly organize these materials in a binder for an impressive presentation.
Get inspiration from this list of 11 Things to Bring on a Nanny Interview
- Demonstrate your tool kit: Show off your knowledge of the tools available to help children learn. Some kids learn best when information is displayed in charts or pictures, while others are auditory learners who benefit from audio tapes. Reference resources you use, or would use, to reach students with different strengths. Locate sources — either online or at your local library, to create your own homework helper tool kit.
Slattengren recommends reviewing the selections on websites such as Khan Academy
, which publishes videos that break down complex concepts into easily digestible steps.
Winter suggests talking about concrete examples from prior positions to demonstrate your skills at reaching diverse learner: “What methods have you used to relate schoolwork to the child’s world? Do you have experience creating hands-on activities to teach general concepts?”
- Discuss learning challenges: Anyone seeking a position as a homework helper needs to have an “understanding of learning differences and ways to help those students succeed,” says Slattengren. Familiarizing yourself with different learning styles and methods used to reach a diversity of learners will increase your value as a homework helper. Ask the parent about where the child is having academic troubles, and offer solutions for fixing them.
- Talk about homework plans: Discuss how, as a homework helper, you would set clear goals and expectations and develop a viable homework plan with the child. For example, assignments may be completed in 20-minute intervals, with 10-minute breaks in between. You and child should jointly determine rewards. Perhaps after completing a series of math problems, a half-hour playtime is in order.
- Show your flexibility: While parents are looking for someone to help with homework, they also want someone to have fun with their kids. A care provider tasked with helping with homework needs to “acknowledge a child’s desire to play and have fun,” says Signorelli.
- Display interest and confidence: You may or may not meet the children at your interview. In either case, ask about their academic strengths, weaknesses and general attitude towards school and homework. If you’re a good fit for the position, you should be able to demonstrate your interest in meeting the kids’ specific needs. For example, if little Johnny struggles with fractions, perhaps you could offer methods you use for comprehending this area of math.
- Recognize the children as individuals: If the kids are included in the interview, be sure to acknowledge each one individually. Ask them what they like and don’t like about school. Focusing on each child separately demonstrates that you’re willing to meet their specific needs. According to Winter, “You need to discover the learning style best suited for each child.” The first step to learning how you can best help a child with schoolwork is to recognize the uniqueness of that child.
- Be honest: If the job requires you work with a student in a subject area in which you do not feel qualified, don’t be afraid to admit this. It won’t necessarily take you out of the running, and the employer will respect your honesty. Talk about how you would improve your understanding of the area before your first day.
In the Follow-up Letter
After your interview, write a thank you email to the parents that reiterates your interest in this job. It keeps your name in the forefront of an employer’s mind. Learn more about how to follow up about jobs.
- Ask and answer questions: Follow up an interview with a thank you letter. This is your opportunity to expand on questions you were asked and add any questions that may have come to you after the interview.
- Be specific: Mention the children by name and express your eagerness to help them succeed with their schoolwork.
Your Next Steps:
Gillian Burdett is a freelance writer in New York’s Adirondack Region. Her writing focuses on current issues in education, public policy and family issues.
