Hi. Care.com has recently changed it. I used to be able to apply endlessly to jobs ( only couldn't send personal messages) but that has changed. They used to offer a free basic background check with your $20 subscription but that's no longer offered. Now in order to view if apply to jobs, you have to pay the $20 to upgrade. You now have to pay $60 for a comprehensive background check. I feel care.com is a huge ripoff. It's charging nannies to upgrade to use theyr services when most can't afford it.

It may b better to apply to an agency like White House nannies for temp jobs. It may take them 2 weeks to get you working but I think it's worth it cause it's free. Also I would drop that family and move on to something more solid. This is why I don't nanny full time anymore. Too unpredictable.

Have you had any luck since upgrading your membership? I'm wondering if it's worth it? I can correspond for babysitting but not pet sitting jobs.

OP again. Figured this out by looking at their Facebook page. Apparently if the family only has a free basic membership and the nanny has the same, the family can not see or reply to applications or messages from potential candidates.

I don't think it used to be this way. So basically the family or the nanny has to be a paid member in order to get in touch with each other. I'm pretty sure only the families used to have to pay, and it should still be that way.

Nannies are on there to look for jobs so obviously they don't have any extra money laying around!

I went ahead and bit the bullet and signed up, but I am very cautious and plan to cancel after my 3 months, and monitor my credit card.

Thanks. I also use Sittercity, but find there are many more jobs on Care. I can't post in the jobs section here as I do not live in the area.

Can anyone answer my original question? Do I have to pay for a premium membership in order for families to reply to my application?

You should post here on the jobs section.
Also post on sites of other affuant areas.

Good luck.

Most people need to learn the hard way. Careless.com is a shameless scam.

I used to use it a few years ago as well....And I personally never paid them a penny for being able to correspond w/potential families so yes, this must be a new thing w/them.

Have you tried Sittercity.com?
I haven't been on there in a few years either, but maybe they are still free.

Good luck!

Question from a nanny here.. I know most dislike care.com but I've had luck with it in the past. Yet, I have not had to use it in the past almost 2 years due to steady employment. Now my family won't need me for the summer due to travel/camps so I am looking for a summer position. I applied to half a dozen jobs with no replies all weekend. Usually I get replies but I know families get tons of applications so didn't think too much of it.

So I just went to look at my sent messages that included my applications, and the website won't even let me see my application (that I wrote 2 days ago), and I get a message saying "Upgrade now to unlock your application so Larla can reply". Since I am not working now I really don't have extra money to sign up for a premium membership. Is this really true that no one can reply to my applications until I upgrade? Or is this just a ploy by care.com to get my money? It never used to be like this when I used the site before, has this changed recently?

Please help!!