Let’s start with the first order of business which is grabbing the reader’s attention. If you fail at the task of grabbing the reader’s attention, you can all but forget about them being interested in calling you for an interview. With all that’s going on in the world and in our lives, we’re all busy. What’s the best way to get noticed over the rest of the noise?

There’s no shortage of proven strategies to grab the reader’s attention. The most effective strategy may well be a well-written attention-grabbing headline. Newspapers and magazines use headlines because they work; and they’ll work in your cover letter too. If you think about it, you end up reading the articles with headlines that capture your attention, don’t you?

And that’s exactly the reason you want to use a headline on your cover letter. The fact is that most cover letters are dull and hiring managers are bored stiff going through them all so a cover letter with a headline will jump out of the pile and get read which is exactly what you want. When you see the results you get from sending cover letters with well-crafted headlines, you’ll wish you started sooner.

Imagine you’re at a fraternity party and you see an old friend across the dance floor. For this example, your friend’s name is Jim. What’s the best way to get Jim’s attention? Would you start waving your arms and screaming, “Hello! Look this way!” That could do the trick. But you’d have better luck if you screamed “Hello Jim! What’s Up!” You’d be more likely to grab Jim’s attention that way, wouldn’t you? It’s because Jim hears his name being called. When people hear (or see) their name, the message is personalized and stands a better chance of getting noticed.

Let’s take that concept one step further as it pertains to the headline on your cover letter. A personalized headline is proven to increase the response rate. Your cover letter is much more likely to be noticed and read if it’s personalized. Hiring managers don’t normally get cover letters with personalized headlines which means they’ll read the few they get out of curiosity. They can’t help themselves; it’s human nature. Send out a few dozen cover letters with headlines. You’ll be shocked at all the attention you get.

Discover the Amazing Cover Letter Secrets Of A Self-Educated College Dropout & Corporate Reject That Produced 3 Job Offers in 72 Hours …and the Phone Kept Ringing! Including sample cover letters

- Robert Jobberson

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Having a foolproof, comprehensive contract in place is a vital aspect of your day care business. Spending some time on this crucial document should be one of your high priorities. Speaking from painful exerience, much potential grief and gnashing of teeth can be avoided by having a well crafted contract.

Essentially your day care contract sets out your terms, conditions, policies, rules and procedures and, quite simply, should indicate to all parents who you are, what you do, how you do it, what your expectations are in terms of their behavior and how you deal with complaints and transgressions. There should be no gray areas, nothing left to chance or misinterpretation.

So, how do I get started, I hear you moan, and what should even be in this epic document? It just so happens that, through much trial, error and ongoing learning during my many years of running a day care I have a fairly good idea of the stuff you need to cover. I’ll throw you a few hints and tips to get you started but you’ll need to build and personalize your own contract. Sorry, you will have to do a bit of work!now, get that note pad out!!

I would suggest starting, at the beginning (strangely enough) where you can wax lyrical about your mission statement and ethos generally. Try and incorporate every aspect of a child starting in your day care i.e. what enrollment forms are required, the specific hours/days that care is required, necessary supplies, whether or not you institute a trial period (unfortunately, not everyone adjusts for various reasons) and detail your termination policy (if you kick my dog on the way in you’re outta here!!). You would be amazed how much incredibly important stuff is often glossed over so be sure and include your opening hours, late collection penalties, what dates you close, total number of children allowed, ratios of staff to child, insurance and license details. . Sticking to some of the nitty, gritty minutiae you could then launch into your payment policy. How much, when it’s due, what happens when one or other party takes a vacation, how and who to pay (you’d be surprised), your policy on late fees (a potentially very destructive element in the day care/parent dynamic if not addressed from the outset), your reservations/deposits procedure and rate increase policy.

Next up I have a general section where I ramble on about the different rooms, programs enacted, beg that toys from home stay at home, information on meals, diaper changing routine and detail a little about my drop off/pick up/settling in procedures (dropping a child off down the chimney is not really encouraged!). !! I include my behaviour policy where I document what actions I will take in specific situations plus!.what I don’t do (duct taping a child to a chair is not really an option!). The toilet training policy emphasizes the importance of parent and provider working together and it’s helpful to detail your requirements in terms of clothing etc (it’s all very well to have a child run around au naturel at home but when you have vast quantities of toilet training toddlers!.well, think about it!!).

A HUGE area of recurring problems and issues is that of illness. Set down stringent guidelines for your health and illness policy so that there is no doubt as to what your actions will be given specific symptoms and signs. Ultimately, you cannot have a contagious child in your day care and a sick child should be at home!.period. My sign doesn’t say Doctor’s Surgery. Inform parents when you will call them and that you expect the child to be collected within a specific time frame. Following on from this you can explain your medication administration policy (both prescribed and non prescribed) which will incorporate the necessary forms.

Communication with parents is vital so let them know your preferred method i.e. informal, verbal report in the evening, individual report sheets or a little daily journal. Reassure them though that, while you may be busy they can also make an appointment to meet with you for a more in-depth discussion should the need arise. Scheduling annual parent/teacher meetings is another effective method of ensuring that everyone is up to date and on the same page.

So, there you have it! day care contract in a nutshell!cheeky grin. Admittedly there is a lot to consider and quite frankly, this is an organic document that will evolve with your business. You will amend your paperwork on an ongoing basis as needed. However, I hope that my pointers go some way towards getting you on the road to (even thinking) about formulating your contract. If you need a little more help you can check out my Day Care Paperwork Package at www.childcarepaperwork.com or if you buy my fantastic Start a Day Care DVD Guide you get the paperwork package for FREE www.startchildcare.com. . Both you and your day care can only benefit from a well designed contract and though there will be tear your hair out days your formidable contract should help to minimize them.

Fiona Lohrenz has 10 years experience running a day care and has launched a child care website directed at providers and parents. She has also produced a ‘Start a ChildCare Business’ DVD guide: Start a Day Care Fiona can be reached at her website: Child Care Provider Resources

- Fiona Lohrenz

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