How to Write a Care.com Review

When Kathy S. of Roanoke, Va. reviewed her child's favorite tutor, she had only one thing in mind: "I wanted everyone to know that I would highly recommend her." She also knew that a review would have helped her during her own online hiring process.

Having found Emma on Care.com, she decided to go back to the site and endorse Emma. "I was confident and comfortable with the background check and screening that was done by Care.com, but as a parent, what you really want to know is: 'Are they nice?', 'Are they interested in what they are doing?' Writing a review gave me the ability to share with others Emma's dependability and genuine personality. "

Her review read:
"Great Tutor. I hired Emma to tutor my son (8th grade) during the summer. She is great and quickly established a nice rapport with him. He likes the tutoring sessions and I can see the progress he is making. I am very pleased with his progress. I have heard how Emma corrects his errors (accurately and with encouragement) and presents new information to him. She makes the sessions interesting, fun and beneficial. My son and I both want to have Emma continue as his tutor. My son's academic skills continue to improve with Emma's help. Emma is kind, smart, reliable and well educated. She is a great tutor and I highly recommend her."

Why post a review?

"We find the review functionality gives parents a chance to share some real experiences they've had with the sitter or caregiver. If someone was late, they can tell other families. Or if she was amazing, they can help her get more work!" says Katie Bugbee, managing editor of Care.com.

Whether it's a sitter, nanny, tutor or senior caregiver, narrowing down the options can be tough. That's why reading reviews helps. "Being able to read about a potential care provider's dependability, kindness and competence can help to validate everything that got that person on your list so far," Kathy explains. By posting a review, you inevitably help other members of the Care.com online community to make an informed decision.

Here are the five steps to give your care providers their spotlight.

1. Log in to your Care.com account
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page to the "Recently Viewed" profiles and "My Favorites" section. Search for the sitter you would like to review and click on his or her profile. (You can also use the search bar found at the top of every page if you haven't saved them in My Favorites or can't find them under My Jobs.)
3. Once in the profile, scroll to the Reviews & References section at the bottom of the page.
4. Write a Review
5. Click Submit

Please note that you must meet one of these qualifications in order to leave a review:

• Be a current Premium member. You can leave reviews on all caregivers.
• Be a former Premium member. You can leave reviews only for caregivers that you previously contacted through your Care.com account.
• Be a Basic member. Connect with the caregiver through the "My Connections" feature of your Care.com profile. If you aren't a member of Care.com yet, simply sign up for a free account.

Once you submit a review, the Member Care Team will go over what you've written and we'll post it to the site very shortly. Please remember that all reviews are seen by the public so be aware of what you write. Things like last names, locations, or other specific personal details that might identify your family should be omitted.