Nanny Net News September, 2004 In This Issue: - A Note from the Editor - Industry Announcements - What Do I Need A Résumé For? - An excerpt from: Nanny Essentials by Angela Rheingans Chapter Five--Community Awareness and Daily Schedules - Ask the Experts Q & A - Please Support our Sponsors A Note from the Editor Well, I believe this is the first newsletter from me this year and I apologize. This winter involved way too many illnesses; walking pneumonia and surgery for me and more colds for the kids than I want to count. This summer I've been knee deep in the redesign of our NannyClassifieds.com site which is now done and looking better than ever. I hope you’ll check it out. So, long story short, we're back and looking forward to putting out some really great reading material in the months to come. To get the ball rolling we have a terrific article on resume writing from Jewel Bracy DeMaio, CPRW, CEIP of A Perfect Resume.com. In her article she discusses the purpose of a resume for the professional nanny. We also have an excerpt from Angela Rheingans new book Nanny Essentials. The excerpt is on Community Awareness and how nannies can get their charges involved in their community. I love the topic of this chapter. I think Angela is delving into topics that other "nanny" books do not take the time to do. It is a great handbook for the nanny who wants to be the best she can be. For those of you attending the NAN conference at the end of the month, I'm sorry I will miss it this year and miss seeing all of you. We are one of the sponsors of the Welcome Dinner and I hope you all have a great time. I promise to see you at next year's conference. That's it for this month. It's great to be back and looking forward to a terrific fall. Best of luck to all the schoolbies. My oldest is starting first grade next week. When I started this newsletter I think he was 6 months old. I know some of you have been readers since then and as always I appreciate your sticking with us and all of the great feedback you graciously give. Happy to be back. Have a great Fall. Deborah Smith Nanny Net News Editor Industry Announcements **Welcome to our new NannyClassifieds.com partners: ILoveMyNanny.com and the Nanny Blog http://nannynews.c.topica.com/ BestNannyNewsletter.com NannyEssentials.com What does it mean to be a NannyClassifieds.com partner? Our partners help promote the Nanny Classifieds on their websites helping us increase the number of nanny recruits and the success of our advertisers. Go to NannyClassifieds.com for more information on becoming a partner. **Upcoming NAN Conference: The conference dates are September 24-26, 2004. We suggest you plan to arrive on Thursday night so that you can attend the opening session on Friday morning. Send your essay to the NAN office or email it to NANANNIES@aol.com put Scholarship Essay on the outside of the envelope or in the subject line of your email. If you mail it to the Membership Office, you need to allow time for it to be delivered, it is a good idea to call our 800 number and leave a message that you are sending it. **Upcoming Semester Registration: ProfessionalNanny.com is registering students for the fall semester now! At PNO there is never any tuition and for a limited time RPW's (workbooks) may be covered under their grant program *When registering, put the word "grant" in the area on the form that asks for checking account information. Their Early Childhood Education Nanny Program can do so much for your career, all in the comfort & convenience of your home! Receive 8 college credits upon completion of the PNO program - tuition-free! Register now while there is still space at www.professionalnanny.com! What Do I Need A Résumé For? Top three reasons why you need a résumé: • Being a nanny is serious work, and you need to communicate that you take it seriously. • To leave a positive impression in, back up that impression with something in writing. • A resume automatically positions you head-and-shoulders above those who submit nothing. Consider those reasons for a moment, then apply them to any other profession: retail worker, receptionist, sales representative, or manager, just to name a few. Those top three reasons apply to everyone targeting a professional position. So nannies have more commonalities with “traditional” employees, as opposed to differences. Show that you take your work seriously. Your resume should communicate the maximum number of positive points about you. Did you work for a family for years? Did you care for many children at once? Did you perform additional responsibilities above and beyond caring for the children? And those are just a few of the professional assets to present on a resume. Leave a positive impression – in writing. Most clients would indicate they’re looking for the perfect nanny to come into their private homes and care for the most precious people in their lives, their children. And clients will likely interview several, if not many, candidates. Submitting a resume strengthens what they remember from your interview, so they’re less likely to confuse you with another candidate. Place yourself a cut above the competition. The fact that you submitted a resume demonstrates you’ve given your job, and your profession as a whole, a significant amount of thought. That concept definitely translates into how much thought and care you will likely give to their children. So your competition may care about kids, but your resume shows you care more. The cliché is true: You never get a second chance to make a first impression. A quality resume ought to be that first impression. In our next issue: “What should my resume say?” Contributed by Jewel Bracy DeMaio, CPRW, CEIP, A Perfect Resume.com: http://www.aperfectresume.com. Jewel Bracy DeMaio launched A Perfect Resume.com, a private employment consulting practice, in 1996. The firm develops unique, competitive resume packages showcasing clients’ quantifiable skills, distinct qualifications, and unique accomplishments. A Perfect Resume.com serves clients across many industries on all employment levels: executives, technical specialists, managers, and professionals. The resume packages come with a written guarantee that clients will land interviews in 30 days or less. Ms. Bracy DeMaio’s qualifications include two designations: Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW), and Certified Employment Interview Professional (CEIP). Ms. Bracy DeMaio, has contributed to five leading resume books available from any retail or online bookseller. A Perfect Resume.com An excerpt from: Nanny Essentials by Angela Rheingans Chapter Five--Community Awareness and Daily Schedules What a nanny schedules into the day for the children says a lot about her perspective on child rearing. A professional nanny will make the effort to provide educational activities that are also fun for the children. Some of these activities should incorporate community awareness, age-appropriate activities, and volunteer opportunities. Community Awareness Being aware of the surroundings of the community in which a nanny is employed is beneficial in more ways than one. A nanny can display her efforts of being a great nanny by being informed of community happenings and local events that pertain to her job. What an asset she proves to be when she presents parents with an educational, fun-filled outing for the children that she became aware of through her research. A log that is kept in the nanny file that contains coupons, passes, informational brochures, and phone numbers is beneficial to both the family and the nanny. Where to look for community events and happenings. If a nanny is new to the area, or even if she is familiar with it, a good place to start researching activities and events is always the Chamber of Commerce. A nanny can contact the Chamber and ask for an informational packet from the city or state that she is interested in. In addition to this, local libraries are wonderful places to read the bulletin board for community events. A local phone book should contain listings of places and facilities that will be useful to the nanny also. Some of these places are: _Park and Recreation Department _Indoor/outdoor Pools _Youth centers _Civic arts center _Local theater groups _Family centers After obtaining the information on how to contact these facilities, there are several items of information to collect from them. This information can be recorded on a file, such as the one at the end of this chapter, and can include: _Addresses, locations, and phone numbers _Hours of operation _Fees/admission costs _Dates of special events _Coupons, discounts, and special rates Click here to read the rest of this excerpt from Nanny Essentials http://nannynews.c.topica.com Ask the Experts Q & A Q: I'm investigating retirement options for my nanny/household employee. Are there cost-effective 401(k) plans with low administrative fees that I can offer? Can household employees contribute pre-tax dollars? I've found references that say only post-tax dollars to an IRA are allowed. I'd like to give my nanny the option to contribute >$3,000. A: Yes, you can offer a savings plan to a nanny. A 401(k) is not available to an individual. The plans available to you are those that are structured for individuals, and you have several options: 1. Roth IRA: This plan is after tax, and only the employer contributes to the plan. Although there is no tax savings for you, it is very simple to setup and administer. And because taxes have been paid at time of contribution, there is no deferred tax payment to make at time of withdrawal. 2. SEP IRA: This plan allows both employer and employee to contribute with pre-tax dollars. A deferred tax payment is made at time of withdrawal. This plan is more complex, as it is tied to the payroll process and can be complex. If you are familiar with savings plans, how to contribute correctly, and how to administer them, you can setup a plan with any investment company, such as Fidelity, on-line. If you are not well-versed in this area, I suggest you use a broker. Any bank or investment company can provide this service, and the administration fees are very low for these types of savings plans. I hope this helps, Stephanie Breedlove Breedlove & Associates, L.P. Household Payroll and Tax Experts 888-BREEDLOVE www.breedlove-online.com Please Support our Sponsors NANNYPAY HOME PAYROLL SOFTWARE Use NannyPay to calculate all federal and state withholding taxes for your nanny and other domestic employees. Print paystubs, W2's and liability reports right from home. Download a FREE 30 Day Demo, NOW! http://nannynews.c.topica.com/maab62Zaa5KiDaaaaaabaeQA4A/ Please feel free to pass this e-zine along to your friends. However, we ask that you keep it intact and forward it in its entirety. Copyright - 1999-2004 Parents With Nannies,Inc. |
