Check out our Honest house promise!
Check out our Honest house promise!
When you’re applying for jobs, do you feel like you’re sending your resume and covering letter out into the abyss, never to be seen or heard from again? Well we’ve compiled a list of reasons why you may not be getting hired, and how to empower yourself to change that.
Are you waiting for the perfect job and the perfect employer to just jump into your inbox? While this is the ideal, this unfortunately is not the reality. If you feel under-qualified for your next move, take an online course. We recommend these nanny courses to stay in the know. For nannies, volunteer at an after school program or local community center. LA Works has a huge database of volunteer opportunities to choose from and you can search by category. Taking classes and volunteering will spice up your resume and give you a seamless opportunity to find the next perfect family, or someone who knows one. If you’re feeling stuck, get moving! The rest will fall into place.
Potential employers can feel whether or not you’re applying just to apply. If you’re excited about a job- let it show in the cover letter! Does the job description mention that the child loves dinosaurs? Mention that you’ve volunteered at the Museum of Natural History. Families don’t want to bring someone on board who’s only looking for a paycheck, they want someone who’s passionate and enthusiastic and will enrich their child’s life, right from the get-go.
“You know what they say: “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Most families love to hire people they already know, or who their current nanny recommends upon leaving. It’s important to put yourself out there by volunteering or maintaining contacts and references to increase your chances of being hired. A family would always much rather hire a nanny that was recommended to them than someone they found on the internet.”
Advocating for oneself does not always come naturally, but if there’s ever a time to push your worth, it’s when you’re job hunting. There’s a fine line between cocky and confident, but families want to know why you’re fit for the job. They could be looking through hundreds of resumes, so you’ll want to stand out by detailing your education, skills and experience, tailored based on their job posting. Here is a link to our template resume to help you get off to a good start.
Your resume and your covering letter are your chance to show why you are qualified for the job. Make sure they both include relevant information and key words specified in the job description. If your resume just says “Babysitter for the Jones Family”, that doesn’t give a potential family too much to go off. Mention how you managed the child’s schedule and hosted play dates. The more specific, the better. If you don’t mention key specific points about the job in your cover letter, it sends off the message to potential families that you either didn’t read the job description or didn’t take the time to specify your letter. Don’t give off the impression of being lazy or disinterested and take the time to tailor your application to each job. This will show that you’re interested and proactive!
It is incredibly appropriate to advocate for yourself, and we encourage this to the highest level, however it is important to be wary of your tone and attitude while selling yourself. Arrogance and rigidity are not traits potential employers look for in a nanny. It’s one thing to have a set salary, but to demand perks right from the get-go sends a red flag to the employer. After all, if you’re demanding in the interview, what kind of role model would you be for the children once you’re taking care of them?
If you send a family a detailed resume about how you were the CEO of marketing for 15 years, that shows you’re qualified for marketing, but doesn’t mean you have any idea how to take care of a child. If parents and guardians are going to entrust their child’s life to your hands, they need to see that you have experience with children. The same goes for the inverse, if you’re a long term career nanny, they may want someone who is willing to grow and learn with their family, instead of someone who may be set in their ways. This is where your cover letter comes in handy to fill in the gaps of how you may be coming off to potential employers.
You know what they say: “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Most families love to hire people they already know, or who their current nanny recommends upon leaving. It’s important to put yourself out there by volunteering or maintaining contacts and references to increase your chances of being hired. A family would always much rather hire a nanny that was recommended to them than someone they found on the internet. How can you connect to others in the nanny industry? Talk to other nannies in your area, have play dates with nannies you meet at the park or on the soccer field. Join the International Nanny Association and look out for networking events in your area.
If you’ve been job searching for a while without any luck, take a step back and look at your applications from the point of view of a potential family. Ask yourself, based on what I’ve submitted, would I let this person in my home? Based on the previous points, review what you could be doing differently and create a game plan to showcase yourself in the best possible light and get back out there. Reach out to us at Los Angeles Nannies for resume building, advice and suggestions, we’d love to help you find the right family in any way that we can.
What do you feel nannies could do to increase their chances of getting hired? Let us know below!
