Behind the Scenes of Searching for the Ideal Nanny

Finding the right fit of a caregiver for your family can be seen as a daunting task. As a professional couple working full time with two young children with limited time and budget has taught me how to refine this process. Here are some lessons that I have learned along the way for attracting the right talent to join your family in a short amount of time.

Write a descriptive ad (see my sample below)

Job Title

Full-Time, Live-Out Nanny in (YOUR LOCATION)

Position Description

A professional couple with 2 well behaved children (age of children and gender) in (location) seeks part-time nanny to work (DAYS)  from (TIME) starting in (MONTH YEAR). With occasional Tuesdays and Thursdays. The nanny we are seeking has prior experience with infants and toddlers and is used working in the family’s home and will be responsible for all tasks related to care of the children.  The nanny will be an integral part of our family and act as a loving, nurturing and trustworthy role model to our children.

About our family:

We are a professional couple that has lived in France for 5 years and can speak English and French. We speak to our children in French while at home in hopes they will pick up two languages and be motivated to explore the world. When we are not working, we enjoy doing outdoor activities as a family such as swimming, long walks and bike rides or looking for that next new place to explore. Our family values respect and honesty and we are not afraid to set boundaries that help our children learn their limits and respect for others. We have a cell phone and Facebook free dinner table to drive good conversation. No picky eaters are allowed, we enjoy delicious wholesome food made without chemicals (such as high fructose corn syrup, partially hydronated soybean oil, artificial ingredients, and artificial dyes just to name a few).  We take pride in making our own dinner instead of ordering take out or eating tv dinners every night. Garage sales are a family’s best hidden resource, all of our children’s clothes are from garage sales. We are not afraid to talk about how much we save from our bargain hunts. We like to take a walk almost every night. We encourage each other and we accept feedback to make ourselves into better individuals. We ask that with the amount of input we put in, we get in return. We do not have a pool or pets, taking care of children is our current priority. We are a non-smoking household and would prefer a non-smoker.

Why do we need a nanny?

After a year of daycare, we need a change. Daycare has limited hours, requires us to eat whatever food they provide, provides limited nap time and is a Petri dish of non-stop germs. We would like to see our children get more personalized care with the options to grow in a loving environment that enforces good behaviors in life. We hope that the nanny who is part of our family will act as a role model and teacher for our children and offer an abundance of encouragement and support as they grow and develop.

Starting Date and Time:

(INSERT YOUR START DATE AND TIME)

Major Responsibilities

• Creating a stimulating, nurturing, and safe environment for the children
• Supervising the children’s activities at all times
• Dressing the children
• Placing the children down for naps and bedtime
• Bathing the children
• Assisting with self-care and hygiene, including diapering
• Potty training the children
• Performing housework including: laundry, cleaning up after meals, tidying play areas and bedrooms, and washing bottles
• Teaching the children good social manners
• Playing with the children, both indoors and outdoors
• Planning and lead educational activities, including reading, with the children
• Transporting the children to and from activities and appointments
• Administering medicine to the children as needed
• Preparing and feeding nutritious meals and snacks that are determined by the parents
• Disciplining the children, when necessary and in accordance with our parenting principles
• Returning the house to the condition it was in upon arrival
• Instilling good manners and a sense of responsibility
• Taking the children on age-appropriate outings and activities
• Meeting the children’s social, emotional and physical needs
• Other possible and optional duties could include: Traveling with the family, helping on the weekends, extra evening hours

Job Qualifications and Requirements

• High school graduate
• At least 5 years of experience caring for infants, toddlers and preschoolers
• Current first aid and CPR certification for infants and children
• Car in good working order, valid driver’s license, auto insurance, and safe driving history
• Authorization to work in the U.S.
• Must pass a 5 panel drug test by Quest Diagnostics
• English proficiency, French or other language is a plus
• Reliable, honest, and trustworthy
• Physical ability to care for a young child
• Ability to plan, organize, and multitask with minimal supervision
• Good hygiene and health to be around children
• Must have TDAP vaccine and vaccines up to date
• Excellent, verifiable references
• Clean background and criminal check
• Knowledge of the community and activities available to young children.
• Training in early childhood education is a plus

Posting in Places Where Caretakers Look Online

Top Questions to Ask

• Do they have prior history being a nanny? How long were they with the family? Why are they leaving? What types of activities did they do with the children? What age ranges?

This is my key question that will make it or break it for me, I do not want the first time nanny without a proven track record. Being a nanny is tough, a nanny will be alone with kids for hours with little to no social interaction with other adults unless they are motivated to set up playdates. This is sometimes a very difficult jump for someone coming from an administrative job or someone that is used to dealing with adults. Many times, people want to go into a ‘retirement job’ or a ‘transition job’ and think hanging around young children will be an easy move or be fun because you get to play with kids. The reality is that: the days are long, the tasks of playing with the kids is only at most 2 hours out of the day (but the playing is usually self-play meaning the children are in their own reality world and could care less about you in the room except when they need something like a diaper change or a feeding), feedings can take up to an hour and then an hour to clean up the kids, just to get the kids out the door to the park can take an hour, etc. Seriously it is not a job to ‘transition into’ unless that person truly is passionate about children and one has a track record and understands what is involved. 

• Are they willing to work for the budget that you have set? Do they charge for mileage? Do they need paid vacation? Sick days?

This is a question I clear up front so I don’t waste anyone’s time. I am not a millionaire (yet) and I do have a set budget! I watch my monthly bills and budget accordingly. This is a make or break question for your caretaker as well.

• Do they have any potential events or life situations that could prevent them from being a nanny or making a career shift from a nanny? Is the commute too far? A husband or spouse is about to be laid off or go into a major surgery? Are they graduating college with a degree in business or engineering and will pursue their career goals?

Many candidates don’t read ads or they just skim the ad and miss many details like where the job is located. I can’t tell you how many times, I have to verify with candidates where the job is located and all the details about the job. Also, if they are doing a ‘transition job’ and missing out on the details that could cause a disruption to you and your family. One clue is if they ask more about the job because they ‘can’t figure out how to get back to your ad’ in a message to you. To the potential hiring manager that means that they are applying to all kinds of jobs and could care less about what you have to offer and are quick to jump from one situation to another and just happy you responded. As a working professional, I would learn as much as I could about the job and tailor my response accordingly even if it means clicking back to the original ad or taking a few extra minutes to look at the company website. The caretaker should do the same, show the same amount of interest and take the time to read your ad!

• Do they have all their vaccines up to date?

Ok so with a newborn and any child under 2 yrs, this is critical because newborns have not had all of their vaccines and are at the highest risk for measles, whooping cough, etc. Do your homework at the CDC. I take this question seriously, science has decreased infant mortality but we all need to do our part to keep our next generation safe. 

• What is their discipline policy? How can they best adapt to yours? How do they keep their cool when kids are testing their limits?

Ask them for advice and what they do to solve the age-old discipline problem. Also ask for real life examples of how they handle situations. Does this align with your philosophy? I sometimes ask them for examples of how they deal with the terrible twos, or what can be done when we have a picky eater. This gives you a great opportunity to get to know the candidate and they might also give some great advice.  

Screening and Background Checks

• Background Check: Care.com offers a great basic background check. Also if the candidate is not part of care.com there is another solution where the candidate can do this and share the results with you from Good Hire (True Me) 
• Driving Record: The Department of Transportation for each state allows for a free or small fee for a driver’s record validation from their website. Just have do a quick Google search. I ask the candidate to bring this along to the first interview and pay them if there is a fee.
• Sex Offender Check: There are state and national databases that free to access.
• Facebook and Online Profiles: I check social media profiles for history as well.

Reference Questions

When interviewing the candidate, ask for parents’ names, ask for emails or phone numbers, ask for ages of children, ask for years and some history. Cross check by asking the references about the age ranges of their children and activities and history with the nanny and below are the questions that I ask with the most important question: would you hire this person again or recommend them?

Employment History

• How long did you employ her? Or can you verify employment with past company?
• Why did she leave?

Performance

• What are her strengths, and what about her do you most respect?
• In what areas could she improve?
• Can she work independently, or does she need very specific directions?
• How would you describe her?
• If you were to rate her overall performance as a caregiver, would you consider it excellent, average or poor? Why?
• Would you hire her again? Recommend her?

Duties 

• Other than caregiving, what did her duties entail? Was she open to other responsibilities?

Closing

• What advice can you give me on how to best work with her?
• Do you have any final comments?

Leave us a comment. Have you found a good method for finding a caretaker for your family? What has worked and not worked?

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