How to Spring Clean Your Profile
Have the dust bunnies made themselves at home, not only under your bed, but also on your profile? Use this time to spring clean your information on Care.com so your profile stands out from the crowd. Here are tips to help.
1) Upload a New Picture
If you’re still sporting your holiday photo with a Christmas tree or menorah in the background, it’s time to update to something more seasonal. Choose bright colors for spring and be sure to smile. If the weather in your region doesn’t permit an outdoor photo (yet!), choose a clean, solid background so you (not your surroundings) will stand out.
[RELATED: ̶0;Is Your Profile Picture Hurting Your Job Search?̶0;]
2) Think About Seasonality
What are families and companies thinking about right now? What are their problems and how can you help? Mention them in your profile and job applications. For example, if you provide house cleaning services, talk about how you can make a home shine with a good spring cleaning. If you care for kids, talk about how you can help with backup care during spring break or how you know lots of fun activities to get kids out in the fresh air again.
3) Show, Don’t Tell
As you discuss how you can help potential employers, share specific anecdotes and situations where you’ve made someone̵7;s life easier.
4) Talk About Travel
This is the time of year people start to think about and plan summer vacations and activities. Have you provided senior, pet or child care for traveling families on vacation? Were you a lifeguard or have experience with kids around swimming pools or at the beach? Update the bio field of your Care.com profile to reflect both your availability for overnight and longer vacation trips, your experience traveling as a nanny and your willingness to perform this challenging but rewarding work. You may even score a (paid!) trip to a family vacation hotspot. You may be, technically, working, but you’ll still get a chance to enjoy the rides at a theme park with the kids. Can you say dream job?
5) Mention Taxes
Taxes are on most people’s minds in the spring, with the April 15th tax deadline looming. Update your profile to say that you want to have taxes withheld. If you make more than $1,900 in a year for any one family, they are required to pay the nanny tax and withhold your Social Security and Medicare taxes. Being paid on the books as an employee gives you a number of long-term benefits, including unemployment insurance and money credited to your Social Security account to help pay for your retirement.
[RELATED: ̶0;7 Reasons NOT to Get Paid in Cash̶1;]
6) Get Reviews from Satisfied Customers
Contact your best customers from last spring and ask for a specific, themed review of your services. Did you amuse the kids at the park during spring break? Help organize the Easter egg hunt of the year? Organize someone̵7;s closets? Ask for specific reviews that show how you helped make this busy time of year more productive and pleasant for everyone.
Dawn Allcot is a freelance writer, blogger and inbound marketing consultant who frequently writes about parenting, pregnancy, child care and senior care.
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