How to contact childcare centres directly about jobs, and why it beats waiting on Seek

Why the direct approach works so well in this sector

Childcare hiring is local, urgent and relationship driven. Directors staff rooms from people they have met, people their team vouches for, and people who wrote to them at the right moment. When a resignation lands on a Tuesday, the director does not enjoy writing a Seek ad; they open the folder of people who introduced themselves properly. Your email is how you get into that folder before the vacancy exists. It also signals the exact qualities directors hire for: initiative, warmth and professional communication, demonstrated rather than claimed.

Build your suburb by suburb list first

Do not send one email and wait. Pick your realistic travel radius, then list every service inside it: long day care, kindergartens, OSHC if that suits you. Google Maps suburb by suburb is the fastest way. Put them in a simple sheet with the centre name, suburb, the director's name if the website shows it, the email address, and a column for when you contacted them and what happened. Prioritise independent and family owned services, because the person reading your email is usually the person who can hire you, often the same week.

What to actually write

Four short parts, under 150 words total, sent to the director by name wherever possible:

• Who you are, one line. Qualification, registration status, and the age groups you have worked with. "I'm a Diploma qualified educator with three years across toddler and kinder rooms" tells a director everything they need to keep reading.
• Why this centre, one genuine line. Something true from their website or feed: their bush program, their philosophy statement, the way their team writes about practice. One honest sentence beats three flattering ones, and it proves the email is not a blast.
• The ask, kept small. Not "please give me a job". Ask whether they anticipate openings, whether they keep expressions of interest on file, or whether you could visit briefly. Small asks get replies.
• The attachment. Your resume, named properly with your name in the filename, one page, current. If it is not director ready yet, fix that first, because this email earns exactly one look.

The follow up rhythm that gets replies

Most replies come from the follow up, not the first email. Wait about a week, then send two lines: still interested, happy to be kept on file, thanks for their time. That is it. If you are comfortable, a brief phone call to reception asking who best to address an expression of interest to is completely normal in this sector and often gets your name mentioned at the right desk. Then record the outcome in your sheet and move to the next centre. Silence is rarely about you; it is about timing, and timing changes weekly in childcare.

Mistakes that get these emails deleted

The obvious blast, where nothing in the email could not have been sent to fifty centres. No greeting name when the director's name is on the website. Essays: anything over 200 words reads as hard work. Leading with pay and conditions questions. And the quiet killer: an out of date resume attached to a beautifully written email, because the resume is where the decision actually happens. If yours needs work, the resume guide covers the format directors actually read.

When they say "nothing right now"

That is a good outcome, not a rejection. Reply warmly, ask to be kept on file, and ask whether they use a casual list. Casual work is the side door to permanent roles in this sector: you become a known quantity, and known quantities get first refusal when a room opens. Some of the strongest permanent placements we have coached started as one casual shift accepted graciously.

What happens when a centre says yes

An expression of interest that lands well often turns into a walkthrough or an informal chat before any formal interview. Treat it as the real thing: know your interview answers, especially the regulatory ones, and be ready to talk about the step from educator to ECT if that is where you are headed.