Ready Kids › First Job Ready › Badge 2 › Lesson 2.4
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You can say no to a job
Decline a job you are not ready for, or that does not feel right, in one plain sentence.
1Look
The offer
The offer
A kitchen table at a first meeting: a parent, three kids of about one, three and six chasing round, a note on the fridge that says back by midnight, and the sitter's own mum beside her.
It is a nice family. That is not the question.
2The idea
You are allowed to say no
Most kids do not know this. A job is an offer, and you are one side of it. Reasons to say no: too many kids. An age you have not learned. A house that felt wrong. A parent who would not answer your questions. A finish time you cannot get home from. Any one of those is enough on its own.
A job that is too big is not a challenge. It is a child less safe than they would be with someone ready. Saying no is you doing the job properly before it starts. And the Feeling Dial counts: Twitchy in a kitchen with your mum next to you is worth listening to, even when you cannot say why.
3The idea
The decline, step by step
1. Thank them.
2. One sentence: I don’t think I’m the right sitter for this one.
3. A reason if you want one, true and short: three is more than I’ve looked after. Or no reason.
4. If they push, say it again. Same words.
5. If it is a maybe, say you will check with your parent and answer tomorrow. Then do.
You do not owe anyone a reason they would accept. You owe them a clear answer. A clear no today is kinder than a vague yes that turns into a cancelled Friday. Parents who hire sitters have heard no before. The ones worth working for will ask you again for a job that fits.
4Say it
The decline
Say it as if it is already decided, because it is
“Thanks for asking. I don't think I'm the right sitter for this one.”
You will say it once in your life to somebody’s face, and every time after that it is easy.
5The idea
Ruby's three kids
Ruby is twelve and has looked after one four-year-old. The offer: three kids, the youngest is one, until midnight, no lift home. Her mum is next to her. It is a nice family. Ruby says: Thanks. Three is more than I’ve done, and I can’t do midnight. If you ever need someone for the older two until nine, I’d love to.
The parent says fair enough. A good no often has a smaller yes inside it. If the parent had got annoyed instead, Ruby would have learned something about that family for free, at a kitchen table, with her mum there. Either way she leaves with the right answer.
6Decide
The parent says: oh go on, the baby will be asleep, you'll be fine. What do you say?
Pick one to carry on.
7Your turn
Four offers
Four offers
Four job offers, one card each. Accept or decline, and pick a reason. The card shows what a parent hearing that reason would think. One offer is a good job that looks scary. One looks easy and is not.
Two of them are yes. The point is not to say no to everything.
8Find them
Which of these are reasons to say no to a job?
Tap the ones that count.
Find all 4.
9Do it
Before you leave this page
Practise the one-sentence decline out loud with a parent playing a very nice, very persuasive client. Three times. Their job is to push. Yours is to say the same sentence.
Tick it when you have done it.
Lesson done.
You are allowed to say no to a job. You do not need a reason they would accept. You need one you believe.
Next lesson: What to charge