Hiring a sitter is never easy. Well, it can be quite easy if you don’t really care whom you hire but it can get pretty daunting if you care enough to choose the right one.
One of the major challenges in hiring a sitter is gathering enough information to get to know the applicants.
Sittercity addresses this challenge very well. Hence, they make sure that the parents are provided with enough tools to get to know the sitter.
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Although Sittercity promises to connect parents to the most suitable sitter, they make sure that the parents take active steps in the hiring stage. Sittercity makes it easy for the parents by providing the right means to get to know the sitter.
The following are the various ways in which the parents can really get to know the sitter.
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4. Reviews From Other Parents
One sure way for you to get to know the sitter is by reading their reviews. These in depth reviews are written and posted by parents who had already hired the sitter you are interested in.
Needless to say, you get valuable information about the sitter from these reviews. You don’t have to get with other folks, at least not yet, just to gather some information about the sitter.
These reviews are only available to Sittercity members. You can access and read them anytime within the comforts of your own home.
These reviews are only available to Sittercity members. You can access and read them anytime within the comforts of your own home. With just your computer, you can have a better grasp of the applicants who have expressed their interest in your job post.
As a member, you also get to write and post your own review about the sitter. This particular feature of Sittercity makes it very easy for you to get to know the person you are dealing with. Should there be any signs of danger or red flags, you can easily move on to the next applicant.
3. Credentials And Experience
The sitters on Sittercity are required to formalize and to document their credentials and childcare experience on paper. That should work well for you because it filters out the applicants with whom you don’t want to bother with. Hence, you don’t have to meet with every single applicant who has expressed interest in your job post.
Sittercity requires their sitters to have a resume on hand. Should they be interested in your job post, they email you expressing their intent. This process comes with their attached resume. This will definitely help you save a lot of time. You can go through all the credentials and resumes before short-listing the applicants.
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Once you do get to shortlist the applicants, you can further maximize the use of their resumes. From there, you could get hold of all the references listed down. Taking some time to speak to the references listed on the applicants’ resume is a good way to gather information.
As a Sittercity member, you will undoubtedly get more than a handful of applicants. While this could be an advantage, it could also be a disadvantage especially if you’re not so used to getting a handful of applicants for a babysitting job post.
While Sittercity provides you a handful of interested applicants, it also intends to provide you with various means to really get to know each and every applicant.
Some parents get too overwhelmed with the handful of applicants that they don’t bother to get to know each one. Related Read: Use a Promo Code for Sittercity
That is precisely what Sittercity wants to avoid. While Sittercity provides you a handful of interested applicants, it also intends to provide you various means to really get to know each and every applicant. Going through all the resumes is just one way for to filter out the lousy applicants.
2. Background Checks
One critical requirement for sitters to sign up with Sittercity is to undergo some kind of background check. You will be able to decipher whether a sitter has had some kind of background check with the badges they have on their profiles.
So before you actually run a background check on your top applicants, you can go through their profiles first. As a Sittercity member, this is easily and readily available for you.
1. Have More Personal Interactions
Sittercity also recommends other ways and means for you to get to know the sitters. For example, they recommend that you meet with the sitter few days before the actual duty starts.
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For Sittercity, your job as a watchful parent just doesn’t stop at hiring the sitter. There are other things you have to do to ensure you have chosen the right sitter.
Sittercity recommends that you take some time to brief the sitter you have just hired. This gives you enough time to get to know the sitter even before her actual duty starts.
Sittercity also recommends that you introduce the sitter to your kids during the briefing time. This is the best way to break the ice between your kids and the new sitter.
Sittercity also recommends that you introduce the sitter to your kids during the briefing time. This is the best way to break the ice between your kids and the new sitter. This will also give you some peace of mind.
On the other hand, you have enough time to search for another sitter in case your kids aren’t comfortable with the one you’ve just hired. The bottom line is that you have enough leeway to adjust and to find the sitter that you can feel comfortable with.
Are there other features that you are interested in learning about Sittercity?
Disclosure: Compensated Affiliate. Click here for details.
A nerd at heart (haha), I have been following and analyzing the world of online sitters for a couple of years now and have seen a lot of innovations and changes in this market. In between taking care of my loving (and demanding 😜) family and writing, I also do a lot of “traveling” on the Travel Channel and Discovery Channel. Read More
I would rather have the sitter seek me out. There are always sitters who are seeking out job posts that suit them. So for me, I find it a lot eaiser for them to respond to my job post. To start with, it’s more time efficent as compared to me seeking them out. I just post the job a lot earlier as to set enough time to entertain all the sitters who are interested. That way, I don’t rush into making a quick decision.
I care enough to choose the right sitter for my kids and that’s why I choose Sittercitty for childcare. With the background checks, at least the chances of hiring someone who has a criminal background is minimized.
I don’t mind paying an extra fee for another round of background check. Although I do check on the profiles, I want to make sure I run a background. That way, I am able to gather updated information on the applicants.