Before You Become A Nanny…My Top Nine Tips! – From Babysitter to Nanny Series – Ep. 3

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to Episode #3 in my new series, “From Babysitter to Nanny”. In this series, I will walk you through a tutorial I’ve built for how to get started as a nanny.

Is this series for you? If you are looking to get into the nanny world and either a) don’t have any childcare experience or b) are currently working as a sitter, part-time camp counselor, or daycare worker, this series has you covered!

In Episode #1, I covered my eight steps to becoming a babysitter which is a great place to start gaining experience. I discussed training through babysitter classes to how to find babysitting gigs all the way through setting up a digital business card and online payments to make it easier for parents to pay you for babysitting. To watch that episode, click the image below.

In Episode #2, I summarized what parents are looking for from a sitter. To watch that episode, click the image below.

In today’s video, “Before You Become A Nanny…My Top Nine Tips! – From Babysitter to Nanny Series – Ep. 3”, I go over my top tips that you should consider as you transition to working as a nanny.

Click Here To Watch Episode #3

I discuss:

– Why letters of recommendation are important

– What to include on your resume

– Why you may want to take on a “mother’s helper” role first

– Ideas and resources for additional childcare training

Pro Tip: A resume that highlights your childcare experience and strength is SO important these days. Don’t have a resume yet? I’ve got you covered with a tutorial on how to write an amazing resume. Find that by clicking here. 

To check out the training offered by the International Nanny Association, click here. For more info on what the U.S. Nanny Association has to offer, click here.

A transcript of the video can be found below: 

Hi everyone! Welcome back to my “From Babysitter to Nanny” video series.

So far in this series, I’ve covered “How to Become a Babysitter”, and “The Things Parents are Looking for in a Babysitter”.

Today in Episode #3, I’m going to discuss the nine steps to transition to becoming a nanny.

Step #1: Ask for letters of recommendation

This will be more important when you’re trying to land your first nanny position than it will be for your second or third nanny positions, but letters of recommendation are always useful as you’re transitioning away from babysitter, or maybe even mother’s helper experience. This will help to give you credibility as maybe your experience on your resume is a little on the lighter side.

Step #2: Have a resume

If you haven’t already seen it, please check out my “How to Write an Amazing Nanny Resume” video.

Step #3: Summarize your babysitting experience on your resume

Make sure to include the number of children and the ages of children as well as the job duties you were responsible for. If you babysat for multiple families, summarize all of this experience together. You could say, “I babysat for children ages six months on up to age 13”, “I cared for up to three children at a time, and the job duties I was responsible for were…”, and then go ahead and list those out.

Step #4: Any babysitting/mother’s helper experience that was recurring on a regular basis should have its own separate entry

An example of what this would look like on your resume might say:

“Smith family after school babysitter, September 2020 until the present, ages of children at start, five and seven years old, provided regular after-school care for two children which included walking to their school for pickups, and walking back to the home, provided snacks and helped with school activities, planned activities for the children around the home including indoor and outdoor play, provided half day care Monday through Friday during the summer months.”

Those are some examples of the verbiage you could use when you had a more regular recurring babysitting position.

Step #5: Play up your strengths on your resume

This could include any volunteer experience, any school clubs or activities you participated in, any musical talents you might have, or any skills such as leadership, organization, attention to detail, or particular areas of study, or interests you may have.

Step #6: A good transitional job between babysitting and nannying is a mother’s helper

Being a mother’s helper means that you help to provide care for a family while one of the parents is around, perhaps they needed an extra set of hands, or maybe they needed to run an errand for a short period, or perhaps be away working in another room while you’re providing care. As a mother’s helper you might take on more responsibility than you would as a babysitter, you might be fully in charge of the children, or you might do extra duties around the house such as maybe help with laundry, organization, that sort of thing.

Step #7: Advertise that you’re looking for a mother’s helper, or nanny position online

You might turn to a local child care website in your community such as Nanny Parent Connection if you’re in the Seattle area. This could also look like some of the child care communities on social media, such as Facebook, or maybe even Nextdoor. You can also let families who you previously babysat for know that you’re looking to take on additional responsibilities by becoming a mother’s helper. One of these previous families you work with may be looking for some additional help, or they might have a friend or neighbor who they know is looking for this kind of care as well. If these families don’t need that kind of help and they don’t know anyone else who does, please ask them to keep you in mind in case something comes up down the road. Also, don’t forget to add this mother’s helper experience to your resume because it absolutely counts!

Step #8: You can also use this previous babysitting, or mother’s helper experience to apply for daycare or preschool assistant role

These types of positions are very common to see on a nanny’s resume, and it’s really great because it reflects on the nanny’s ability to multitask and care for multiple children at once. This type of experience is particularly helpful for a nanny share, or for providing care to a family with multiple children. Care providers can gain some really valuable experience and knowledge in these types of child care settings. It also can demonstrate reliability, follow-through, and one’s ability to work together as part of a team.

Daycare or preschool assistant positions may require that you take some additional child development training, or go through a background check process.

Step #9: Consider taking some additional nanny or child care training courses on your own

This is a great way to show any prospective employer that you are serious and committed about transitioning to nanny care. Good resources for these classes include The International Nanny Association, The US Nanny Association, or you can simply do a google search for “nanny classes” near you. Aside from nanny specific courses, you could also consider taking some of the following courses in water safety, child development, positive discipline, special needs care, child nutrition, or cooking.

Alright, everyone, that’s it for Episode #3 in my “From Babysitter to Nanny” video series. Today we talked about the nine steps to transition to becoming a nanny.

I hope this information was helpful. If you like this video please make sure you click on the like button, subscribe, or ring the bell so that you can be notified when more of these videos come out. Please join me back for Episode #4 in this series when I cover “How to Become a Nanny”. Thanks everyone, I will see you next time, bye!