We want to help you find your perfect childcare job, pet care job or housekeeping job. That’s why we’ve put together our New Year, New Job plan. Lots of families start to search for new care solutions in January. Everyone knows it’s a great month for getting plans in place. There will be plenty of job postings on Care.com, making January your chance to land your perfect care job.
Below are 31 tips to help you increase your job-finding chances on Care.com. That’s a tip a day for the month of December. Follow along, and when January comes around and the job postings start going up, you’ll be ready to start applying and making your dream job a reality.
Check in with us on Facebook and Twitter to follow-along with our month-long campaign of how-to-get-a-job tips. But remember, although these tips are great for the month of December, they’re perfect for any time of the year to help you prepare for making job applications.
Please do share any of your suggestions and job tips with us, just add them in the comments section below.
Day 1: Sort Out Your Schedule
Update your availability with your schedule for January — no one will be able to hire you if they don’t know when you’re free.
Day 2: Look Sharp
Go through your wardrobe to make sure you have neat and professional interview outfits — stay away from jeans and trainers and go for smart, but comfortable, trousers and flats.
Day 3: Make The Most Of Sales
If you can’t find anything to wear, head to the shops or shop online for interview clothes and take advantage of the holiday sales! Have a look at our Pinterest board for inspiration.
Day 4: Fill Our Forms
When it comes to a new job it’s important that you are paid professionally, with taxes and more taken into consideration. Make sure you have the right forms filled out with all the right documents at the ready, so things can be arranged quickly when you start a new job.
Day 5: Room For Improvement
Read over any old applications that you’ve submitted to jobs. How could they have been better?
Day 6: Check Online
Friday is a popular time for kicking-back and spending time online. Use that time wisely to clean up your social media profiles, so they’re professional for when a potential employer looks at them. Remove old posts that a family or company might find offensive.
Day 7: Take A Photo
It’s the weekend, so have a little fun! Familiarize yourself with Care.com’s photo guidelines and then arrange a mini photo shoot today with a friend, so you have new and polished-looking photos to feature on your profile.
Day 8: Add Your Photo
Now add some of those new photos to your profile.
Day 9: Prepare References
Make sure you have at least three potential referees — but the more, the better. If you’re going to see any friends, family, co-workers or former/current employers during the holidays, ask them if they would be willing to provide a reference.
Day 10: Professionalize Your Voicemail
Listen to your voicemail message on your ‘phone. Record a new one if it doesn’t sound professional.
Day 11: Background Check Yourself
Arrange for a background check to be conducted on yourself. That way you can update your Care.com profile to show potential employers that you have had the necessary safety checks.
Day 12: Create A Contract Template
Create a sample contract just in case your future employer doesn’t have one. This should include space for the start date, hours of work, starting salary (which should specify gross or net), holiday entitlement etc. The contract should also include a detailed description of your duties, the family’s house rules and disciplinary procedures and any other benefits, which may come with the job.
Day 13: Get Sharing
Share your profile across your social media networks today and help potential employers find you faster. Maybe someone you know will be hiring and Friday 13th will be a lucky day for you. Just avoid any black cats!
Day 14: Know Your Payment Options
Research how you can be paid as a care provider. You can require regular payslips specifying your gross wage and tax deductions. So make sure you know your options, so you can specify your preference to any new employer.
Day 15: Let Go Of Stress
It’s mid-month, are you feeling any Christmas holiday stress yet? Writing holiday cards, shopping for presents, cooking for family, managing your current job or finding a new one. Multi-tasking isn’t easy. Use these tips to help you stay calm.
Day 16: Personalize Your Profile
Could it apply to anyone? Set yourself apart from other candidates by making your profile and application personal and specific. Instead of simply saying “I babysat for five years,” add detailed fun things you did with the children.
Day 17: Get Interview Practice
Research interview questions that employers may ask you and brainstorm answers.
Day 18: Perfect Your Spelling
Check your profile, cover letter and CV for common spelling and grammar mistakes.
Day 19: Be Safety Aware
Sign up for First Aid and CPR training or a refresher class – care providers with this education are 2.5 times more likely to be contacted by potential employers.
Day 20: Prepare Your Questions
You made it to another Friday — congratulations, you’re almost done! Put on your thinking cap today and write down questions to ask potential employers during interviews.
Day 21: Set Your Price
Find out the going pay rate for care providers in your area, to make sure what you’re asking is not too low (costing yourself money) or too high (costing yourself jobs).
Day 22: Know Your Competition
Search for and check the profiles of other care providers in your area — they’re your competition, so you want to make sure you stand out. If you were a prospective employer, which person would you hire?
Day 23: Be Part Of The Community
Sign up for groups for people in your industry — like the International Nanny Association — to connect with fellow care providers and pick up valuable advice.
Day 24: Learn Something New
Sign up for a new class or certification that will help you become a better caregiver and appeal to more employers.
Day 25: Learn From Your Family
Merry Christmas! Sit back, relax and make the most of Christmas Day! If you have family over for Christmas lunch, take the opportunity to think of new games you can play with the children, ways to engage with the elderly or places you can take the dog for a walk. Then add these new activities to your Care.com profile!
Day 26: Prepare A Cover Letter
As you’re recovering from your eggnog hangover, create a letter you can use when you message employers about new jobs. You’ll need to personalize it for each application, but give yourself a strong starting point. Have other people read it over.
Day 27: What’s Your Title?
Could you be a part-time nanny, instead of babysitter? Part-time nannies can work more regular hours and engage more with the children’s development. Could you be a dog sitter but offer dog walking duties too?
Day 28: Create A New Email
You don’t want to be contacting an employer from an email like xoxohottie@yahoo.com. That might give the wrong message. Stick to a combination of your first and last name.
Day 29: Follow-Up And Say Thank You
Head to some post-Christmas sales and buy thank you cards, so you’ll be ready to send them out to people you interviewed with in order to follow up.
Day 30: Perfect Your Interview Skills
While people are on holiday this week arrange for a mock interview with a friend to get some practice.
Day 31: It’s Time To Start Applying!
Happy New Year’s Eve! While you’re enjoying the end of the old year and the beginning of a new one, reminisce about all of the great things that happened in the past twelve months. And think about all of the wonderful things you’re going to accomplish with your new job in 2014.
Congratulations on making it through the entire month! Post a comment below and let us know which tip was your favourite. And the best of luck finding your perfect new job.
A New Year and a New Job
