How does findasitter work?
- Findasitter is the easiest way to get access to parents who are looking for babysitters where they live. Once you register you are advertising yourself and reaching potential jobs 24 hours a day
- To register, you create a profile about yourself. This only takes a few minutes. You can access your profile to edit or update the information at any time by logging in with your chosen username and password. This profile is what your potential employers will search on to match to their requirements. So you should make it as detailed as you can. This is your opportunity to sell yourself and it’s free!
Please note, findasitter is a matching service between individual babysitters and parents. It is not a service for agencies or organisations. The service is limited to individuals and families only.
How much does it cost to register as a babysitter with Findasitter?
- This is a free service to babysitters.
- Unlike with agencies, you set your own hourly rates and don’t have to pay a fee to anybody else. Perhaps you have friends or family who might be interested? Let them know about this great free service which will help them increase their business. Click here for an A4 poster to print off so you can help findasitter by putting it up in places where you go (like the local café, GP surgery, library or perhaps the place you work?) (will be here soon)
What happens when I register?
- Once you have filled out the registration form, you're sent an e-mail to confirm your e-mail address.
- You need to click on the link provided. This confirm's your registration and you will automatically become an active findasitter babysitter member. That means your profile will be able to be seen by potential employers and you will be able to receive e-mails, texts and calls from parents about jobs.
How is the information I provide used?
- By parents to see if you are a suitable babysitter to interview
- Your contact information is displayed for parent members – so they can see your email address and phone number but only if they are paying members.
- Your contact information should not be displayed anywhere in your profile and will be removed if it is
How do I set up my profile?
- Once you have registered log in to your home page and fill in an online form setting out your experience and likes and preferences
- Give as much detail about yourself as you can to help parents to see what you are like. This is how they will choose whether to contact you and is your opportunity to sell yourself! For example, you may have experience of looking after twins or be allergic to dogs or be able to speak another language. Symbols in your profile help to show what is special about you like first aid, special skills, language skills, a current police check etc. and a star indicates that you have a good feedback rating from parents who have used you
- You can 'upload' and edit a photo(s) of yourself too – parents like to see a picture of you – please don’t put photos of other people unless you have their permission.
Your profile will be seen by parents who do a postcode search giving you access to parents in your chosen area of work (which might be in different places, for example if you are a student you may want to babysit in term time near to college but in vacation time near to your parents’ home).
How do parent members select a babysitter?
The parent member may have an idea of the type of babysitter they want. The more information you provide, the better they can make a decision. So, if, for example you feel capable of looking after children with disabilities, say so. But if you are not confident or experienced in this don’t feel bad at limiting your profile. If you get different experience, change your profile to reflect your new experience and skills. Do make sure your profile shows if you are able to babysit at short notice as this is very important to many parents.
How does a parent member contact me?
- Once you have been selected by a parent member as a potential babysitter, they choose from:
- The secure messaging system, email or text/phone call
- Remember that many parents prefer to use email as their first contact method so please check your emails regularly. It is very frustrating for parents trying to make contact if babysitter doesn’t respond - it's the thing we get most complaints about! To make it easier we'll let you know via your email address when you have a message
- Please reply to all these emails even if you are busy or not interested. The initial contact they have with you will help them decide if they would like to meet you. If you are going away, please make your profile inactive.
How can I remove my listing or make my profile inactive?
- After you sign in, you can change your listing to invisible with one click of your mouse. This means your profile will no longer be displayed for potential employers to see
- When you would like to continue to receive information about jobs again, all you do is sign in again and click to make it active, or ‘visible’, again.
How long does my registration remain active?
- As long as you check in regularly you can remain registered indefinitely
- We reserve the right to remove any user who, in our opinion, abuses the website
- We will remove inactive babysitters who have remained inactive for a long period (currently 1 year)
- Your profile displays when you last logged in so parents can see if you are an active member - they are more likely to contact you if you are regularly active
Can I change my details easily?
- After you sign in to your own welcome page, select edit to update any of your information in your profile.
How much can I charge?
This depends on you and:
- Your age
- The distance you have to travel
- The number of children you will be looking after (and their ages)
- The number of hours
- How experienced you are
- Whether the children have any disabilities
- How many other babysitters there are in your area
so findasitter suggests you say what you would like to be paid as a starting point for negotiations. If you are not sure what to charge, why don’t you ask around your friends what they charge? But you should always agree the hourly rate before agreeing to a job and I suggest that parents round it up to the next half hour, so for example if you have agreed £6 an hour and they go out at 7.30 and get back at 10.45 they’d pay you £21 - 3 and a half hours’ pay.
How does feedback work?
- Parents who use you can give you a feedback rating and write a comment about you
- This is averaged out to give each babysitter an overall star rating
- Parents can search by high feedback so make sure you remind parents that they can post feedback if they are happy with your service and help you get work!
How do I keep myself safe?
- Members will be able to view your profile and when you are available for work.
- Your personal contact details are only displayed to members
- You choose which method you want members to use to make contact
- Do not put your personal ocntact details in your profile
- When you go on a babysitting job tell someone where you are going and when you will be back
- Take you rmobile phone with you
For more personal safety tips visit the Suzy Lamplugh Trust website http://www.suzylamplugh.org/content.asp?PageID=1086
