How to Become a Caregiver on Care.com

Want to become a caregiver on Care.com? Read on to learn how to sign up, apply for jobs, and get the best tips for a stellar bio

By Corbin HartwickUpdated on July 26, 2024

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Maybe you want to get on Care not (only) as someone looking for help, but (also) as someone who wants to provide help for those who need it. If that’s the case, this guide is for you. It will walk you through what you need to do to become a caregiver on Care.com, from signing up to creating your care category profile(s) to applying for and accepting jobs. We’ll even throw in some tips to help you build your reputation as a caregiver – not only to win new clients, but also to have previous clients hire you again!

Summary of steps to become a caregiver

Becoming a caregiver on Care starts with creating a caregiver account. This includes providing the information needed for Care to run CareCheck background checks on you: legal name, permanent address, date of birth, and SSN number. Once you pass a background check, you will have full functionality on your account.

Here is a summary of the primary steps you need to follow:

  1. Sign up on the Care caregiver account registration page.

  2. Pass a Care CareCheck background check.

  3. Create a service profile for the category of care you wish to advertise yourself as offering.

  4. Repeat step 3 for each other care category for which you wish to advertise yourself for jobs.

  5. Search for and apply to jobs in your chosen care category.

  6. Receive and reply to direct booking requests from careseekers with premium memberships.

  7. If a careseeker is interested in hiring you, communicate with them to work out the details of your employment.

How to sign up as a caregiver on Care.com

The first step to becoming a caregiver on Care is signing up for a caregiver account. This includes submitting your email address and choosing a password, as well as submitting information Care will need to run CareCheck background checks on you. That includes your name, address, birth date, and social security number. It also includes your credit card information (to cover the cost of mandatory background checks).

You also have to choose the category of care for which you want to look for jobs, and then create a profile for applying to jobs in that category. (You can create additional profiles for other care categories you want to offer services for later; we’ll cover that in the next section.)

  1. Go to www.care.com and click Find a Job.

    Beginning the caregiver sign-up process on Care.com
  2. Choose whether you are signing up as an individual or as a business. For this example, we’ll choose I’m an Individual.

    Signing up for Care.com as an individual person

    Pro Tip

    If you register as a business, you will be asked questions like whether you’re looking to hire other caregivers or just take jobs from customers, and how big your business is.

  3. Click Find a Job to tell Care you want to register as a caregiver.

    Signing up for Care.com as a caregiver
  4. Select the main category of care you want to apply to jobs for. In this example, we’ll pick Tutoring.

    Choosing the care you’ll want most from Care.com
  5. You will have to enter your postal code so Care can match you to jobs from nearby careseekers. Click in the box that says “Enter Postal Code”, type in your postal code, and then click Next.

    Entering your postal code to find nearby careseeker jobs
  6. Next, you’ll have to set the email address and password for your account. Click in the respective boxes and type in the information (making sure, for the password, to follow the displayed guidelines). Then click Next.

    Choose an email address and password for your account
  7. Now you’ll have to provide your name. Click in the respective boxes and type in your first and last names.

    Optionally, you can also select an option under “How Did You Hear About Us?” to tell Care what directed you to their service.

    When you’re done, click Join Now.

    Inputting your first and last name
  8. You will now be walked through the process of creating a service profile for the primary type of care you chose in step 4. This will include things like answering questions, uploading documents, and writing a short biography. The aim is for you to demonstrate your experience and qualifications for jobs in that category of care.

    You will also have to provide credit card information somewhere during this step because Care.com charges an annual fee for their CareCheck background checks. Additionally, you may need to provide other information or upload other documents for the background check itself.

You may also want to check out the premium membership for caregivers on Care.com to see if the enhanced features will help enable your caregiving search on the website.

How to write a good bio + Care.com bio examples for caregivers

You have to create a profile for each primary type of service you offer on Care: child care, senior care, housekeeping, pet care, tutoring, and/or special needs care. Your profile is your chance to make yourself stand out from other applicants so you’re the one who ultimately gets a job. This section will cover how to make a Care.com profile, and do it right.

How to add a profile on Care.com

If you want to take jobs on Care that fall under a particular category of care, you have to create a profile for that category. Here’s how to do that.

  1. Go to www.care.com and log into your caregiver account.

  2. Open the main menu by clicking the three bars in the top-right corner, then tap (My) Profiles.

  3. Click Create Your Profile.

  4. Select the category of care for which you wish to advertise yourself for jobs, then click Save.

  5. Follow the prompts to input your relevant information for applying to jobs in that category.

  6. Repeat steps 1 through 5 for any other categories of care for which you want to apply to jobs.

How to edit your bio on a Care.com profile

If you need to update one of your service profiles on Care, either because it didn’t quite pass the review process or because you need to add relevant new information, here’s how to do it.

  1. Go to www.care.com and log into your caregiver account.

  2. Open the main menu by clicking the three bars in the top-right corner, then tap (My) Profiles.

  3. Click on the profile corresponding to the service you want to change your bio for.

  4. Click Edit to the right of the profile.

  5. Make the desired changes to your information, then tap Save.

How to write a good Care.com bio

Care requires you to write a bio for each primary type of service you’re advertising yourself as available for. This means you generally want to tailor your bio on each profile towards the kinds of jobs you expect to be applying for in that care category. For example, you can say one of your hobbies is horseback riding, but only make that a focal point if you have a pet care profile and expect to be applying to jobs related to caring for horses.

Here are 8 other tips for filling out a Care service profile that’s attractive to careseekers.

  • Be specific about why you want a job in your chosen category of care. For example, don’t just say you want a child care job because you like kids, or a pet care job because you like animals. This is especially important if you don’t have much prior experience at jobs in the category.

  • Describe your education, training, and experience in a particular category of care in detail. What positions did you work in? How long did you work in them? What were the specific tasks you were asked to do?

  • Highlight skills and qualifications that will make you stand out from other caregivers. Do you know how to administer emergency medical treatment? Do you speak multiple languages? Can you teach a particular activity? Are you studying for a particular job in a care category?

  • Show off your personality by including information about your hobbies, especially if they’re relevant to the type of service you’re offering. This could include volunteer or charity work you’ve done, books you’ve read, and more.

  • Don’t feel like you have to write everything about yourself. You can get into more details (if you feel it’s appropriate) when communicating or interviewing with careseekers. Too much information upfront can overwhelm careseekers more than it tells them anything about you.

  • Don’t include information in your bio that could be used to find out who someone is, or where they live or work. This includes telephone numbers, email addresses, last names, names of children / young relatives, street addresses, or names of specific locations. Save this information for private communication with careseekers, and only if it’s relevant.

  • Format your writing to look professional. Check your spelling and grammar, and use complete sentences. Don’t use slang, inappropriate language, abbreviations, or all upper-case letters (it gives the impression you’re shouting). Where appropriate, use bullet points and paragraphs to neatly organize separate pieces of information.

  • Use a professional-looking photo of yourself. You should be the only adult human in the photo, and your face should be clearly visible. Everyone in the photo must be fully clothed, and you should be dressed as if you were attending a job interview. Avoid photos that are filtered, dim, out of focus, too far away, or contain sensitive information or inappropriate content. Check out this Care.com help article on profile pictures for more guidelines.

To get an edge on your competition, take a look through our guide for careseekers on how to hire through Care.com to get a sense of what careseekers are doing on the website, and what they are looking for in a caregiver.

38 Care.com bio examples to help with writing your bio

Source

Title

# of Examples

Categories

Care

How to present yourself in your Care.com profile

4

  • Child Care

  • Housekeeping

  • Tutoring

  • Pet Care

Eat, Sleep, Wander

30+ Care.com bio examples

30

  • Child Care

Urban Sitter

What should I put in the “About Me” section of my profile?

1

  • Child Care

  • Senior Care

  • Housekeeping

Bubble Childcare App

How to write the best bio

1

  • Child Care

Like Family

A support worker’s guide to creating the best profile

2

  • Senior Care

  • Special Needs Care

How to apply for jobs on Care.com

There are two ways to apply for jobs on Care. The first is to look through jobs posted on Care’s public job board and reach out to careseekers whose jobs you feel qualified for. The other is to accept direct booking requests from careseekers with premium memberships (though this is only available in certain countries and for certain types of jobs, such as child care and pet care).

Important

You must pass an up-to-date CareCheck background check, and have your relevant service profile(s) approved, before Care will process your applications to public jobs and your responses to direct bookings.

To apply for public Care.com jobs:

  1. Go to www.care.com and log into your caregiver account.

  2. Click Search.

  3. You will see jobs from your currently-selected care category, and within the location parameters you have set. You can click Filter to open a menu where you can change the care category you’re seeing jobs for, change the location you’re searching for jobs in, and modify how far outside your catchment area you’re willing to look (i.e. travel) for a job.

    When you find a job you’re interested in, click on its title.

  4. You’ll now see a page where you can read more details about the job. If you feel like you’re a good fit for the job, click Apply. This will notify the careseeker who posted the job that you’re interested in their job, and will send your profile information to them so they can contact you and decide whether they want to hire you.

    Important

    If you don’t currently have a profile for the category of care the job falls under, you will be prompted to create one before your application is sent.


  5. If a careseeker is interested in hiring you, they will contact you through Care’s internal messaging system (if you both have premium memberships) or through another contact method you’ve provided (if not).

    From here, it’s up to you and the careseeker to work through the rest of the hiring process together. That includes conducting interviews and drawing up the terms of your employment in a contract.

To respond to a direct booking request on Care.com:

  1. Go to www.care.com and log into your caregiver account.

  2. Open the main menu at the top of the screen by clicking the three lines, and then click Bookings.

  3. Scroll to the “New Booking Requests” section, find a booking with the status “New Request”, and click Respond Now beside it to view more information.

  4. After reading the details of the booking, if you’d like to indicate that you’d be available to take this job, click Accept. If not, click Decline.

  5. If you accept a pet care job AND were one of the caregivers originally requested for the job, the job status will automatically change to “Confirmed”. Otherwise, accepting a job booking will change its status to “Applied” or “Family Needs to Confirm”. You will then need to wait for the careseeker who sent the request to confirm that you’re the one they want for the job.

  6. Either way, in the meantime, you can communicate with the careseeker to discuss the job’s particulars and demonstrate that you’re the best fit for their needs. You can do this through Care’s internal messaging system (if you have a premium caregiver membership) or through mobile text messages (if both you and the careseeker opt into this option). If using mobile text messages, Care will keep both your and the careseeker’s phone number hidden out of privacy concerns.

Pro Tip

Some types of bookings will only appear on your account if you’re using the Care Caregiver app. You can download it for iOS or Android, but it’s only available in the US and certain other countries.

Steps may differ slightly when using the Care Caregiver app to accept bookings. Refer to these help articles for more information:

15 tips for how to get hired on Care.com to make more money as a caregiver

The caregiving market can be a competitive one, and it may take some trying before you’re able to consistently land jobs. Here are 15 tips for how to make good first impressions with your profile(s), build trust with careseekers, and get hired (and rehired!) regularly.

  1. Take a profile photo that makes you look friendly and professional. Wear clothing appropriate for the kind of job you’re applying for, and that doesn’t distract from your face. Make sure your entire head is visible, and that you’re the only adult in the photo (so it’s obvious you’re the caregiver). Ideally, get a friend or family member to take the photo; this helps to ensure the photo is clear and in focus.

  2. Format the biography on a profile as a series of short paragraphs, or a short list of bullet points. This makes it easier for careseekers to read without feeling overwhelmed by too much information.

  3. In your profile for each category of care, include all services offered, certifications, licensing (including insurance), skills relevant to jobs in that care category. Provide specific anecdotes and examples from past jobs or experiences to illustrate your qualifications. Be honest about what you are (and aren’t) comfortable doing.

  4. Feel free to list other hobbies, skills, training, or experience in a profile that careseekers may find interesting. This helps you stand out, and may just spark connections with particular careseekers that get you jobs where you otherwise wouldn’t. At the same time, keep things professional and don’t reveal too much too soon.

  5. When listing previous job experiences on a profile, be sure to include the company or family name, the amount of time you were employed, your job title, and specific tasks you performed.

  6. When listing your references on your service profiles, notify them ahead of time that they may be contacted by careseekers to ask about your suitability for other jobs. This lets them prepare to give a better review of your services.

  7. Consider ordering an extended background check on yourself, and then sharing access to the results with careseekers. This shows upfront that you have a clean record, and saves careseekers from requesting this information at their own expense. This, in turn, might make careseekers prioritize you when they’re searching for job candidates.

  8. Keep your availability and contact information on a profile up-to-date. This will help careseekers (and you!) avoid scheduling conflicts and difficulties with keeping in touch.

  9. Make sure to proofread your profile(s) for proper spelling and grammar. Lazy writing can overshadow the good qualities you’re trying to emphasize about yourself in your profile(s).

  10. Check your messages often for booking requests or responses to job applications, and apply to as many as you think you can handle. Be ready to respond promptly when they come in – have standard messages ready for letting prospective careseekers know that you’re available for a job and interested in it, as well as for when you aren’t interested in a job and would like to politely decline it.

  11. Arrive a bit early to an in-person interview or to a job session, and don’t appear as if you’re rushed. This demonstrates that you’re reliable and that you respect a careseeker’s time.

  12. Come prepared for an interview or job session. For an interview, bring physical copies of any qualifications documents the careseeker asks for. Also, be ready to answer standard questions, which might mean learning skills that are commonly asked about (such as first aid or CPR).

  13. Make safety a priority while you work, especially if the job involves dealing with pets or other people. This includes abstaining from habits and other activities that could be hazardous to your work environment or those in it (like smoking, for example). You should also review our guide to staying safe while using Care.com to help you follow general safety guidelines as a caregiver.

  14. If a job involves caring for other people, make a genuine effort to get to know them. Ask them questions about themselves, and really listen to their responses. Building a rapport with those you’re caring for is a good way to get their families to rehire you.

  15. After you finish a job on Care, ask the careseeker who hired you to write a review for your profile. Reviews are a great upfront way to show off the overall quality of your services, as well as what makes you stand out as a caregiver.

Important FAQs for caregivers on Care.com

How old do you have to be to apply on Care.com?

Care users wishing to register as caregivers and accept jobs must be at least 18 years of age. They must also be legally entitled to work in their chosen jurisdiction. If Care staff determine that a caregiver is under the age of 18, they will immediately close that caregiver’s account.

How do I change my age?

As a caregiver on Care, your age is considered to be part of your legal personal information. As such, it cannot be changed once your personal profile has been reviewed and approved by Care. If you need to change it, you would need to create a new profile with the correct information.

Can I change my profile after I sign up?

You can make some changes to your service profiles (i.e. your profiles as a caregiver for each category of care you provide) such as editing your biography, services provided, qualifications, or availability. You cannot change your legal personal information, such as your legal name, legal address, or age.

How do I change my location?

Though you are unable to change your legal address as a caregiver on Care, you can change the location you search for jobs in with your service profiles. This causes you to show up as a search result and/or available booking option for the location you select. Here’s how to do that.

  1. Go to www.care.com and log into your account.

  2. Click the main menu (the three bars) in the top-left corner of your dashboard. Then click Account Settings. (You may be asked to log in again; if so, do so.)

    View your account settings for Care.com
  3. Find the section labeled “Settings and Privacy” and click Edit within it.

  4. Click the box containing your postal code or city, and replace the current postal code or city with the updated one. Do the same for the other box if necessary. When finished, click Save.

Pro Tip

You can also use the Care Caregiver app to draw a custom map around the area in which you want to to appear as a candidate for jobs. There's a help article on Care.com that explains more about how to customize your job area.

How do I change my rates as I gain more experience?

You can change your rates for services you offer on Care by editing the profile associated with those services’ care category. Open the main menu and click (My) Profiles. Select the profile you want to change the rate(s) for, and then click Edit. Change the rate(s) as desired, then click Save.

  1. Go to www.care.com and log into your account.

  2. Open the main menu by clicking the three bars in the top-right corner, then tap (My) Profiles.

  3. Click on the profile corresponding to the service you want to change your rate(s) for.

  4. Click Edit to the right of the profile.

  5. Make the desired changes to your rate(s), then tap Save.

What does "pending approval" mean?

Care reviews your service profiles when you create or edit them. This process can take a few days, during which you can still browse for public jobs. Once one of your profiles is approved, you can begin applying for jobs and receiving booking requests for the relevant category of care.

While your profile is pending approval, it will not be visible on Care. In addition, if your profile is not approved, its status will remain as “Pending”. Care will also often message you letting you know why your profile was not approved. You should review Care’s common reasons for why your photo wasn’t approved if you have issues.


That’s our primer on how to get on Care and apply for jobs as a caregiver. Remember these main takeaways:

  • Put your best foot forward and show off your strong points.

  • Keep your information up to date. It helps the hiring process go smoother, for both you and careseekers.

  • Apply for and accept as many jobs as you think you can handle. Each job is a chance to learn and grow your reputation.

  • Come fully prepared for both interviews and job sessions.

  • Try to form personal connections, but remain professional above all else.

Do these things, and you’ll become a respected and in-demand caregiver on Care! Make sure to look through our full list of Care.com guides for more tips and tricks to using the website, including our overview of the best sites like Care.com to find other caregiving opportunities for work online. Or, compare two of the biggest sites - Care.com vs. Sittercity - to see which one offers the best opportunities for you.