Is your job your first priority or are other aspects of your life more important? You may find that your job is your first priority and you are able to fit in your other responsibilities around your work life. A person with a healthy work-life balance is an attractive candidate to most companies. Many companies may even ask you about your interests outside of your field. In order to best answer questions about your work ethic, you must first have a thorough understanding of how you, personally, relate to your job. Consider the following: Your attitude towards work relates to how you approach occupational responsibilities. Someone with a strong work ethic has a positive, willing attitude when it comes to putting effort into a job. Your feelings about work relate to how work affects your performance, and is an important contributing factor to overall work ethic. Work may make you feel energized, proud, and positive about yourself and your accomplishments. On the other hand, you may feel that work makes you feel stressed. Your beliefs about work pertain to the role you give work in relation to life itself. For example, you may believe that work builds character and is central to a well-balanced life. Writing these ideas down might help you remember important details about your work ethic and your skill sets for an interview. How do you feel about working with others? Describe both pros and cons about working directly with co-workers and clients. How do you feel about continuing education and expanding your skills? Describe your attitude and feelings towards putting extra time into professional training. How do you feel about working overtime or through difficult scenarios? Outline your attitudes towards working extra hours or through unfamiliar and difficult situations. These will help you describe the specifics of how your work ethic has benefitted you in your career. These can be things like: Working with a team: Has there been a specific time where working with a team has been difficult or beneficial? How did working with others help or hinder you? Working with a difficult client: Has there been a difficult scenario involving a client? How did you handle working with a client through a difficult problem while being sensitive to the clients needs and company restrictions?

Summary: Address your priorities about work. Examine your relationship with your current job. Make an outline of how you feel about different aspects of your job. Think of specific instances in your career.

No matter what the circumstances are, your job as a babysitter is to watch the children in their home and you shouldn't leave them. Make sure you never leave the children alone in the house. Being in a different room is fine unless you're caring for a baby but running up to the store for ingredients or taking a walk without them is out of the question. This applies even for older children, unless the parents gave you explicit directions stating that they could be home alone for a small period of time. Unless the children you are caring for have friends who were pre-planned on coming over, no one should enter the home at any point during your stay. You should not have peoplefriends or familycoming over to spend time hanging out while you should be working unless you've agreed this in advance with the parent/s. It can be tempting to invite a friend over late at night while the kids are asleep, but even this is off limits unless the parents have approved. With cell phones, tablets, and laptops more prevalent now than ever, it can be easy to get caught up texting friends or scrolling through Facebook. Just like many jobs, your electronics should be turned off or used only in case of emergency. You are being paid to babysit, not to talk to friends. Children will often ask to just watch movies or TV, and while these may be appropriate in short allotments, several hours of them becomes laziness. If the parents haven't set an electronics maximum, try to keep it at two hours or less. The children will enjoy having someone to play with, and the parents won't think that you're lazy or slacking on the job. If you are expecting someone, only answer the door after you make sure that it is that person. Peek out of the peephole or window (do not open the door) first before answering the door. The person at the door may be a stranger. Ask the parents if they are expecting anyone before they leave. before the parents get home. Although it is sometimes forgotten, a major part of babysitting is cleaning up after the children. You may not have much of a mess to deal with, but if you cooked or did a project, be sure to put everything back in its place. The parents will appreciate coming home to a clean house and will be more likely to rehire you again in the future. Always clean up after yourself. If you and the children make a mess, pick up before the parents arrive. Play cleaning games with the kid. Say whoever picks up the most wins or makeup a silly game that includes cleaning. Usually there is a mess when you get there, pick it up. Everyone appreciates it when they come home to a house cleaner then when they left it. It's tempting to be the "cool" babysitter who lets kids get away with things parents never allow. Remember, you're not their parents, so you don't really have much say in how the house rules go. You can't be a child's friend all the time. Know when to say no and when it's OK to let something small go like letting children stay up 5 minutes past bedtime on occasion. Children will challenge you. Pushing boundaries to see how much they can get away with is a normal way kids (even toddlers) learn and figure out where they stand. Check in with parents to find out what the rules are, then follow them, even if you don't agree with them! The best babysitters think of the job as a responsibility first, with having fun, or earning money, second. Few things are as rewarding as knowing you've earned a child's trust and affection. Always feel free to call the parents if you feel you need to. It is better to be safe than sorry, and most likely the parents will appreciate your concern. Before the parents leave, find out who to call, what to do, and where to go in case of an emergency. Your priority is keeping the children safe. Get all relevant information regarding emergencies before the parents/guardians leave. This could be emergency numbers, where the main "Home" phone is kept, where a spare door key is, etc. Try not to come off as nosy, and the adult(s) will realize that you are just attempting to help. In this way you can be sure of what to do in an emergency and get the children out. In the event of an emergency, such as a fire, drop everything and get the child or children and yourself out of the house. Do not reenter the house, do not let go of the children and call emergency services as soon as possible.
Summary: Do not leave the children in your care alone. Don't bring people over to the house. Don't abuse electronics use. Don't play movies/TV on repeat. Do not answer the door unless you are expecting someone. Clean up Don't let the children "get away" with things. Make sure that you know procedures for emergencies.