What is Care.com?

Care.com is a gig-based care website and app that provides employment opportunities for gig workers and helps families find a caretaker that fits their needs. Care.com curates gigs for child care, senior care, tutoring, housekeeping, daycare, and pet care. They offer many resources that help with taxes, payment, and safety tools. 

Is joining Care.com right for you?

Care.com is a great resource for those just seeking the occasional care gig or looking to grow their own business. If you aren’t sure where to start or how to really create a career out of what you love or enjoy, then Care.com is a great resource and service. Anyone can join, but it’s good to have some experience in the service you are offering.

Steps

To register as a care provider on Care.com, you must meet certain qualifications. To ensure a smooth application and admittance process into the site, make sure you understand and conform to these requirements.

Requirements 

• You must be 18 years of age
• You must legally reside in the U.S. or the territory of Puerto Rico
• You or any household member may not have been the subject of a conviction, arrest, charge, complaint, restraining order or any other legal action
• You may not be a registered sex offender
  

Now that you have ensured you qualify to be a care provider on Care.com, it’s time to actually register on their site. 

Step 1:

Create an account on Care.com, specifying that you are looking to apply to jobs. There is a separate sign-up process for those looking to hire care providers. This sign-up includes providing an email, creating a password, identifying as an individual or company, and explaining what service you offer. Currently you are only able to mark one service on the application. To enroll for multiple services, you must create additional profiles. 

Step 2:

After filling out the initial information, you will provide your location and share how far you are willing to travel for gigs ranging from 5-50 miles. As you identify the distance, you can see how many jobs are available for that range.

Step 3:

Build your profile! This includes sharing your schedule, availability, pay rate, experience, bio, and a photo.

Step 4: 

After completing your profile, you will be screened by answering some safety questions as well as participating in a background check, called CareCheck. This background check is annual and does cost a small fee, which doubles as the fee for the basic caregiver membership. To complete the background check, you just need to provide your legal name, permanent address, birth date, and Social Security Number. After completing the screening, you will earn a safety badge for your profile. The safety badge is not required to begin searching for and applying to jobs.

Step 5: 

Once your profile is created, you can start applying for jobs. After searching for positions and finding one that works for you, you will apply by sending a message directly to the person or family seeking care. You will only be able to apply for jobs that fit the care service you choose when creating your profile. 

Step 6: 

After completing a care gig, the payment will be processed from the family or individual you provided care for and sent directly to your bank account. Your first payment can be delayed up to three business days. 

Finances

Care.com is great compared to other care gig services because you can set your own rates and also choose how you want to get paid and through what payment types. Choosing direct deposit allows families to pay through Care.com with no fees required for either party. 

Available Geographies

Care.com curates care gigs from all over the United States. It is easy to find jobs wherever you are. As you search for jobs, you are able to indicate the distance you are willing to travel for a job. This often increases the number of opportunities available. Currently, Care.com is only available in the United States and Puerto Rico.