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Is your search for a sitter
proving to be tougher than you
thought? |
Babysitter Search
and the Internet
The internet has truly changed our lives. We can
now shop, work, bank, or video conference with
people right in the comfort of our home. With
the advent of social
networking sites and tools, we can even
socialize and interact through our PCs with family,
relatives, and friends. The internet really has
made a lot of activities and information search
more accessible to anyone who has a computer and
internet access.
As a result of more people needing an easier way
to find sitters and care providers, a new breed
of service has been increasingly becoming more
popular these days: online sitter services.
Just like finding the right date or partner on dating sites,
online sitter services provide parents and other
seekers of babysitters and care providers a
platform to search for the right person to hire
and take care of their children or loved ones.
In some cases, these online sitter services also
offer other search options for nannies, tutors,
pet sitters, elderly care, house cleaning, and
more.
The Pros and Cons
of Using Online Sitter Services
Obviously, one of the major advantages of using
online sitter services is the convenience that
it provides you. There is no need for you to
contact (or should we say hassle or bother?)
your family, friends, neighbors, and other
relatives just to find out if they know of any
babysitters in the neighborhood. You no longer
will have to go to your local university or
college campus to look at job postings for
part-time babysitters. For those who usually
depend on your local church for sitters, online
sitter services is an additional resource for
you to use.
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Obviously, one of the major advantages of using online sitter services is the convenience that it provides you. |
Another advantage of using online sitter
services is that they can help you make
background checks on potential sitters that you
plan to hire. This is one of the key features
that can really help you save a lot of time when
you do your background check, and most
importantly, provide you with the peace of mind
that you are hiring people that you can trust. These services work in partnership
with companies that provide background checks on
sitters or caregivers listed in online sitter
sites.
You definitely will also find a larger pool of
sitters to choose from on these sites. Depending
on the qualities and credentials that you are
looking for in an ideal babysitter, you will be
able to do specific searches based on the
criteria that you specify. For example, if you
are looking for a college grad who lives a mile
from your home with a first aid certification,
these can be plugged-in in the search criteria
and these online sitter services with provide
you with search results within a matter of
seconds.
Additionally, online sitter services also
provide other benefits to members such as the
ability to interact with other parents or
guardians, monthly newsletters, alerts on
babysitters based on your search criteria,
discount clubs for various children and
family-oriented consumer goods and services.
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Interviewing a
Babysitter?
Avoid the common pitfalls of
babysitter interviewing. Learn to ask potential
sitters the right
questions with this important, yet
FREE
Babysitter Interview Checklist. |
One of the obvious issues about using online
sitter services is that these services (just
like any other business) charges a fee for the
use of their site. Most online sitter services
are on a subscription basis which can be a
one-time fee for just a month, for three months,
or for the whole year. The subscription rates
among online sitter services are very
competitive and may be almost very similar
across their various subscription pricing plans.
How Online Sitter
Services Work
Think of online sitter services as something like babysitting meets Amazon.com. The general idea with these online
sitter services is that they provide you with a
platform to make your sitter search as easy and
as convenient as possible.
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The general idea with these online sitter services is that they provide you with a platform to make your sitter search as easy and as convenient as possible. |
Assuming that you have internet connection, you
simply log-in to the site. Once on the site, you
have two options to find your ideal sitter: (1)
you either post a job with details on what
credentials you are looking for; or (2) you do
an active search for a sitter starting with your
zip code and refining your search with other
criteria (for example: distance from your home,
full-time or part-time sitter, availability of
transportation, age, years of experience,
certifications, etc.) that you have in mind.
Option 1 (posting a job) is a passive way of
finding sitters since after you post a job,
available sitters will contact you for details
on the job that you have in mind. Option 2
(search), is a more active way of finding and
filtering sitter candidates until you find a
final list from which you might like to choose
potential sitters to interview for the job.
Once you have a short list of sitter candidates,
you then contact them for interviews (phone or
face-to-face interviews). You can do further
background checks on your short list through the
security and background checking services found
on the online sitter sites. You can also contact
their references if you want to learn more
feedback on your potential sitters to help you
with your decision-making.
Once you have all the information that you need,
that's when you can either do a
trial-babysitting appointment with the potential
candidate with you around to see how they
interact with your child or make a final
decision.
Key Factors to
Consider When Choosing An Online Sitter Service
There are a lot of factors that you might have
in mind when considering an online sitter
service to use. For us, we think that some of
the important factors to consider are as
follows:
» Proven
market leaders. For us, we think that it is
important to go with market leaders cause these
online sitter services have proven their
technology and are the trail blazers in the
industry. These market leaders are usually
well-funded and have more staying power. You can
therefore be assured that for as long as you
need sitters, these online sitter services will
continue to be around.
» Ease of
use. Since these services are meant to make
the search for sitters easy and convenient, you
would definitely want to use a service that has
a platform that is easy and simple to use. Who
needs a complicated platform for search? Not us
and we assume not you.
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From our perspective, the more choices you have to choose from, the better. Furthermore, the more filtering capabilities a search platform can provide you, the better chance you have of finding a potential candidate that fits your needs. |
»
Background checking feature. Since you will
be entrusting your kids or loved ones to someone
that you barely (or do not) know, it is best to
go with online sitter services which provide
background and security checks to help you
assess and choose the best candidates. This is
definitely a very important factor to consider
since this concerns the safety of your child,
your family, and your home.
»
Availability of qualified sitters. The
online sitter service should be a good resource
to find a good number of available qualified sitters within your
area. From our perspective, the more choices you
have to choose from, the better. Furthermore,
the more filtering capabilities a search
platform can provide you, the better chance you
have of finding a potential candidate that fits
your needs.
» Price
of service. Just like any company that needs
to be remain in business and offer quality
service, subscription fees are to be expected
from online sitter services. The only question
in our mind is whether the subscription price
points are reasonable and affordable.
» Other special
features. Does the site offer other
special features aside from finding sitters
which you might find very useful? Although some
online sitter services pretty much have the same
main service offerings, there could be some
subtle service offerings that might be worth
noting which can be very useful to you. An
example of this would be getting discounts from
partner stores or an "emergency sitter" feature
in case you need a sitter right away.
Who Are the
Leaders in the Online
Sitter Service Market?
With the increasing popularity of online
sitter services, there has been an
influx of players in the market. Some
are not so great while others are truly
worth seriously looking deeper into. We
have done some initial research in the
market and believe that there are two
online sitter services really worth
talking about. Below are some background
details on these two services.
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Care.com
was founded by mom and entrepreneur Sheila Marcelo
back in 2006. Since its launch, Care.com has
become one of the largest and fastest growing
sitter and care service in the US. The service
provides families an online place to find high-quality caregivers,
as well as easily connect, share care-giving experiences and get advice
from the community of parents on the site.
The company addresses
a wide-range of care needs that each family goes through — child care, special needs care, tutoring and lessons, senior care, pet care, housekeeping and more.
The service helps families find and select the best care possible based on detailed profiles, background checks, and references for hundreds of thousands of mom-reviewed providers who seek to share their services.
The site
also has special needs care services to help address the distinctive care needs of this significant yet often overlooked segment of the population. Through its Care.com for Recruiters service
offering, Care.com also enables companies to find high-quality care-giving employees. Care.com provides the following: a strict
screening process; free background checks, and
feedback from parents on a person's performance,
personality, character, etc. This online sitter
service also has a corporate employer program
and counts as its clients Disney Publishing
Worldwide, Google, GSN, and Michigan State
University.
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Sittercity, the
inventor of online care-giving and America's
largest online sitter service, was started by Genevieve Thiers back in 2001 while she was a Boston College student.
This online sitter service was modeled by Theirs after successful online dating services wherein those who need babysitters
are matched with those willing to provide the service. From its small initial base of clients in the Boston area, Sittercity has grown
tremendously. The company now serves more than half a million users in cities across the United States. Sittercity's scope of
offerings include nannies, pet sitters, senior
care, tutors, housesitting, housekeeping, and more.
Sittercity has a network of more than a million caregiver profiles nationwide, and helps families and individuals across America find the perfect in-home care provider quickly, easily, and safely. Sittercity’s care seekers can use the company’s four-step screening process, which includes checking references, reading caregiver reviews, conducting interviews and utilizing free access to background checks.
The company sends out alerts regarding updates
on the babysitters that match your criteria as
well as promotions on various retail and family
services. Sittercity also has a corporate program
that serves a number of marquee clients, including Avon, the Department of Defense, MasterCard, FOX Networks, Pitney Bowes and Monster Worldwide.
Is The Site
User-Friendly At All?
When it comes to websites, nothing beats
a site that is well laid-out and easy to
navigate and use. The simpler a site is,
the better. Below are our thoughts on
these sites' user-friendliness.
» Both Care.com and
Sittercity have very similar navigation
and search features. Both of the sites
are easy to navigate around and are well
laid-out so you will be able to focus on
the task at hand and not be side-tracked
with trying to figure out your way
around them.
» Posting a job for
sitters is easy for both Care.com and
Sittercity is also easy and very
intuitive on both sites. However, there
is a difference in the way posting for
jobs is done on each of the sites. For
Care.com, you start by writing a
description of the type of help you are
seeking from a sitter and then complete
the forms for schedules, job details,
and other sitter criteria that you are
looking for. For Sittercity, it is the
other way around. Sittercity
would require you to complete the forms
regarding the job details first and then
provide the job description afterwards.
Personally for us, we find Sittercity's
process a lot easier to work.
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Both of the sites are easy to navigate around and are well laid-out so you will be able to focus on the task at hand and not be side-tracked with trying to figure out your way around them. |
» Regarding the
search feature for both sites, both
Care.com and Sittercity have done a
great job in developing a really easy
and intuitive search platform. All you
have to do is specify your criteria for
the ideal sitter with a few clicks of
the mouse.
Within seconds, you can get results,
which you can further refine until you
have a good list of sitters who qualify
for the job. Both Care.com and
Sittercity have done an excellent job
with their search platform cause you can
really refine your search results and
find a good list of candidate profiles
to review.
Which Provides
the Best Background Checking Options?
Both Care.com and Sittercity offer background
checking on sitters and care providers. This
background checking feature is a great option to
have for your child and your family's safety.
Classfied ads (such as those in Craiglist.com,
online forum sites, newspapers, and campus job postings) do
not offer you these convenient features which
means that you have to really go out of your way
to do your background checking.
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Unlike Care.com, standard background checks on Sittercity do not come as part of your membership package. Sittercity charges $9.99 per background check request. |
»
Care.com offers a comprehensive background checking process. The
site has safety features that include sitter
profile review and approval, verification checks
on every caregiver, unlimited background checks,
access to recorded references, and a monitored
messaging system.
Unlimited standard background checks are included in your membership,
which means that you can run them on every
sitter or caregiver you aree seriously considering. Standard Background Checks include Social Security number verification, a national criminal database search, and a state sex offender registries search.
You can request an Enhanced Background Check for
an additional fee. This will include an in-person search of county and federal courthouse records performed by an investigator.
»
Sittercity's
background check is an important part of Sittercity's recommended four-step screening process.
Sittercity has partnered with LexisNexis, one of the nation's leaders in background checks, to provide you with a easy-to-use tool that can get you a response in seconds but still preserves everyone's privacy with respect to personal information like Social Security numbers.
Sittercity's
standard background check includes: (1) an Identity Check, which verifies the applicant's legal name, current address, social Security number, previous addresses, and aliases;
(2) National Criminal Search which checks for records appearing in State and county criminal record repositories; State sex offender registries, prison, parole and release files from state Department of Corrections, Administrative Office of Courts, and other state agencies;
and proprietary LexisNexis criminal record information;
and (3) traffic violations.
Unlike Care.com, standard background checks on
Sittercity do not come as part of your
membership package. Sittercity charges $9.99 per
background check request.
Which Provides
More Choices For Search Results
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Based on our test search, we can see that Sittercity has more sitter results as specified by our search filters. In this aspect, Sittercity offers more potential sitters to choose from. |
To check on this criteria, we did some test
searches on both Care.com and Sittercity. Using
the search feature on each of the sites, we
placed the following filters for our sitter
search: lives less than 5 miles, between 21 and
25 years of age, has a college degree, has
transportation, non-smoker, and has at least
five years of experience sitting for grade
school age kids. We then did some sample
searches on five metropolitan areas: Dallas,
Texas; San Jose, California; Boston,
Massachusetts; Phoenix Arizona; and Seattle,
Washington. Below are the results:
|
Metropolitan Area Zip Code* |
Care.com Search Results |
Sittercity Search Results |
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Dallas, Texas (75210) |
26 |
62 |
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San Jose, California (95110) |
15 |
88 |
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Boston, Massachusetts (02116) |
112 |
839 |
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Phoenix, Arizona (85078) |
13 |
56 |
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Seattle, Washington (98105) |
37 |
138 |
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*Please note that the search
results above are based on
specific zip code searches so
the results may vary depending
on your location. |
Based on our test search, we can see that
Sittercity has more sitter results as specified
by our search filters. In this aspect,
Sittercity offers more potential sitters to
choose from.
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In addition, Sittercity's search filters include more parameters to help you narrow down further your potential list of candidates ... This is something that we found lacking in Care.com's search filters. |
In addition, Sittercity's search filters include
more parameters to help you narrow down further
your potential list of candidates. For example,
Sittercity can further filter your results based
on Certifications (First Aid, CPR, or Teacher),
Special Need Experience, Hourly Rates, Languages
Spoken, Other Services Offered, Preferred
Locations for Babysitting (home or sitter's
home), Availability (full-time, part-time, after
school, overnight, date night, short notice,
long-term) and more. This is something that we
found lacking in Care.com's search filters.
Which Offers
Better Price Points?
Care.com and Sittercity have a tiered
subscription which can be broken down as
follows: 1 month, 3 months, and 1 year.
Below is a comparison of their
subscription schedule.
|
Subscription Period |
Care.com Fees* |
Sittercity Fees* |
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One month membership |
$35 |
$35 |
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Three month membership |
$70 (which comes out to
$23.33/month) |
$70 (which comes out to
$23.33/month) |
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One year membership |
$140 (this is the best deal at
$11.67/month) |
$140 (this is the best deal at
$11.67/month) |
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*Please note that the three
month and one year memberships
are billed upfront and not on a
monthly basis. |
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... there is no difference in their membership subscription fees. Fees are billed upfront for all types of membership. |
As you can see, there is no difference in their
membership subscription fees. Fees are billed
upfront for all types of membership.
One thing is for sure though. It makes more
sense to register for the annual membership
because of the savings that you will be getting.
People always ask whether memberships to these
online sitter services are worth it. Yes, we do think it is worth it. For less than $12 a month (based on the $140 annual membership),
both Care.com and Sittercity make it convenient for your to look for a babysitter (or babysitters) right in the comfort of your home. Simply turn on your computer, log-on to the site, and within just a few keystrokes, you have access to
a number of potential sitters and caregivers within or close to your
neighborhood that you can shift through and choose from. You no longer have to bother your family, friends, or neighbors on whether they might know of someone to recommend to take care of your kids.
What Feature Is
Unique That Might Be Very Useful?
Aside from their core search features, both Care.com
and Sittercity have some unique perks and
benefits that might be of interest to you.
» Care.com and
Sittercity both offer other search
options for nannies, special needs providers,
tutors, pet sitters, elderly care, house
cleaning, and more. In short, these two services
offer complete life cycle support for those who
need assistance.
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Care.com has a unique feature called Care-on-Call. For example, if you find yourself needing a sitter or care provider at the last minute, this is a feature that can help you locate a sitter at the soonest possible time. |
» Care.com and
Sittercity both have their own discount shopping
programs. Membership to these programs comes
free with your paid subscription to the sites.
Care.com has its Care Club, where families can find great deals and discounts from over 600 name brand merchants, including babygap.com, Diapers.com, Lands' End, Overstock.com, PETCO, Staples.com, Expedia.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Walgreens, and more.
Sittercity has its Sittercity Perks where you
can find the best deals and discounts to stretch
your hard earned dollars. Like Care.com,
Sittercity has discounts from all the major
retailers such as Target, Overstock.com, Best
Buy, Costco, Dell, Home Shopping Network,
Hewlett-Packard, PETCO, Sears, The Home Depot,
Walt Disney World, and more.
» Care.com has a
unique feature called Care-on-Call. For example,
if you find yourself needing a sitter or care
provider at the last minute, this is a feature
that can help you locate a sitter at the soonest
possible time. This feature is definitely worth
it to busy people who are always on call because
of job-related work.
Which Is The
Right
Online Sitter Service For You?
If you are thinking of using an online sitter
service to help you with your sitter needs, you
should seriously consider using either Care.com
and Sittercity. As we have mentioned above,
these two are what we believe are the top
choices in the increasingly popular online
sitter service market.
Our analysis above shows that both Care.com and
Sittercity deliver almost very similar features
regarding ease of use and site functionalities,
background checking, sitter search functions,
and discount shopping privileges to its members.
Care.com and Sittercity even have exactly the
same membership price points.
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The ultimate responsibility is yours to make when it comes to interviewing and deciding on the right person to take care of your precious little ones or your family. |
Some of the differences that we found between
the two pertain to fees for background checking,
search results, and search filter refinements.
Care.com's standard background checking comes
free with your membership but requires
additional charges for enhanced background
checks. Sittercity's background checking comes
with a fee and is not part of your membership.
With regard to potential sitter search results,
we found out that Sittercity provides more
search results than Care.com. Furthermore,
Sittercity provides more refinements for
filtering search results, which we think
provides for more laser targeted sitter search
results. This is definitely an advantage that
can help you save time in narrowing down your
potential sitter candidates.
|
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Based on what we have seen and experienced with Care.com
and Sittercity, these two sites have a lot to offer parents who are looking
for trusted and well-qualified sitters and care-providers.
Both sites make it easy and convenient to look
for the type of care provider that you are
looking for. Whether you are looking for someone
to care for your child or other members of your
family, chances are that you will find them on
both Care.com and Sittercity.
Please do understand that Care.com and
Sittercity only provide you with the platform to
facilitate the search and screening process for
potential sitters or caregivers. You need to
have a set of requirements or credentials in
mind to help you narrow down the screening
process to find your ideal sitter.
The ultimate responsibility is yours to make when it comes to interviewing and deciding on the right person to take care of your precious little ones or your family.
|
Instant 25% Discount on Sittercity
Use
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check-out.
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Promo Ends January 31, 2012 |
Going back to the question as to which of the
two you should use, this really depends on what
suits your needs and priorities. If you prefer
more search results and better search filtering
capabilities, then Sittercity might be the best
option for you. If you are mindful of the costs
for background checking, then Care.com might be
a better choice for you.
Now if you are not sure which service you think
will fit your needs based on the information
that we have provided, we suggest that you give
both
Care.com and
Sittercity
a test drive. You can
visit their sites and both sites will allow you
to do some searches. By doing actual searches on
their sites, you will have a better feel of what
these sites can do for you and more importantly,
which site will better suit your needs.
Simply click on the links below. Once on
Care.com or Sittercity's site, just enter your zip code,
and start your search.
Disclosure: Compensated
Affiliate
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