Getting Hired

You now have an idea what the qualities parents look for in a good babysitter are. Do not lose hope if you seem lacking in one of the criteria. Knowledge is power, so they say. Make use of the information you have learned and turn the odds in your favor.

You cannot do anything about the age. If you just turned thirteen and the couple wants an eighteen-year old, do not even consider lying. That is not a good way to start your babysitting career. What you lack in years, you can make up in experience.

You may think that if all parents prefer babysitters with experience how can you, a novice in the job, get some hands-on in the first place. Here is a piece of good news. A number of agencies, read this as schools and your local YWCA, are offering babysitting training courses. After taking the course, you are qualified to take care of children. Be sure to get your certificate of completion so that you can attach it to your résumé. For a better picture, check out theAmerican Red Cross Babysitter’s Training.

Ask for your parents’ help. You may want to be independent in getting a babysitting job but they could recommend you to their friends and co-workers and their friends and co-workers can share it to their friends and co-workers. The next thing you know, the job is looking for you and not the other way around.

Let’s be optimistic. You will get a babysitting job sooner or later. You may as well know how much you will charge once you are hired. Do some legwork on the normal rate for babysitters in your neighborhood. You cannot charge the full rate in your first job but as your babysitting experience increases so does your pay.