We’re just beginning the process of hiring a nanny for Olive. Luckily we live in a young, family-dense neighborhood where nannies are in abundance. This is also the best time of year to hire a nanny because many nannies are laid off after September, as children head to kindergarten and preschool.
I’m very active on a local parenting listserv — it’s the best place to search for a nanny in our neighborhood (as well as to buy and sell used baby gear). I posted about my nanny search last week, and promptly received almost 50 responses from prospective nannies and parents recommending their former nannies. The best part about posting to the listserv is that I get emails directly from former employers who provide glowing references, and are willing to answer any questions I have. If you have an active parenting listserv in your area, it might be a great place to start a nanny search. Otherwise you can also check out local nanny agencies, as well as sites like Sittercity and Care.
Now we just need to figure out which applicants we’d like to interview, but before we do that, I want to nail down exactly what we’re looking for as well as what we’re offering. Here’s what I came up with:
Start Date/Hours: January, 2012, 9am – 5pm, M-F
Job Requirements:
– Full time (40 hours/week guaranteed) care of our newborn daughter
– Occasional care of our 2 year old toddler son when he is sick or his daycare is closed
– Dishes and light food preparation
– Laundry for children and cleaning up after children
– Experience caring for infants and toddlers
– Experience caring for two children simultaneously
– Flexible schedule/willing to work overtime
– English language proficiency
– Comfortable working with one work at home parent
– Legally authorized to work in the US
– Employment Agreement
– Confidentiality Agreement
– Background Check
– CPR Certification (we will pay for the course)
The Ideal Candidate:
– Is playful and loving – will play, sing, read to, and engage our daughter
– Is energetic – will proactively arrange playdates, take our daughter to the playground, museums, classes, the library, etc.
– Is punctual, reliable and trustworthy
– Understands the importance of infant/toddler sleep
– Has excellent communication skills so we can all work together as a team
Salary:
– Compensation: $15/hour, Guaranteed salary 52 weeks/year (average for New York)
– Sick/Personal Days: 5 days/year
– Vacation Time: 2 weeks paid (1 week your choosing, 1 week our choosing)
– Paid Holidays: Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day
– Regular performance based bonuses and raises.
About Us:
– Laid back husband and wife
– Husband works full time out of home, Wife works full time at home
My dream candidate would be a mother of older children so that she has tons of experience, but also has flexibility in her schedule that having younger children wouldn’t allow. We’re looking for someone who is not only great with children, but is also very hardworking and wants overtime hours. Mr. Bee and I like to think that we’re pretty easy to work for, and we hope to find someone that we love and can consider a member of our family.
What are you looking for in your dream nanny?
Hiring a Nanny part 1 of 5
1. The Nanny Search Begins by Mrs. Bee2. Nanny Interview Questions by Mrs. Bee
3. The Nanny Offer by Mrs. Bee
4. The Nannies Guide by Mrs. Pen
5. Interviewing for a nanny by Mrs. Chipmunk
coffee bean / 49 posts
Thank you so much for this post–this is great–as I am currently fretting about how/where to start a search for a full-time live-out nanny. I guess one question not addressed here is WHEN to start looking. I’m due in April with my first child and will be at home for at least 8 weeks, but possibly up to 18 weeks, after the baby is born (it will depend on my workload while I am out–I don’t have a good backup to keep my law practice going, but I want to take as much time as possible under my firm’s leave policy). Sitter City and other sites do not allow you to post a job listing (which is required for active membership in the service) until within 3 months of your start date. Since my maternity leave is quite generous, but I might not be able to take it all, I’d really like to have someone lined up before my first 8 weeks are finished. Help!
honeydew / 7968 posts
actually, i need a nanny for the first 3 months or so of my babies’ lives. i’ll have to start doing some research!
quick question: how do you join a local parents’ listserv? do you just google “listserv”?
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@eastportbride: we were discussing this on the boards yesterday. apparently agencies recommend you start looking well in advance (5 months). i think you can post a listing on care.com further out than 3 months (irene posted hers on the boards yesterday and she’s looking for a may nanny).
on my local listserv, most people start looking a month in advance because not many nannies are going to wait longer than that for a job.but we also have an abundance of nannies in our neighborhood, and that’s not the case in every area. if you find someone too far in advance, they may also end up taking a job that starts sooner.
that’s a tough situation to be in because you don’t know if you’re going to go back to work at 8 weeks or 18 weeks, and i don’t know if a nanny would be willing to wait an extra 10 weeks. maybe you could offer someone part-time if you find someone but end up taking up to 18 weeks?
for now maybe it’s worth posting on care.com? there may be nannies out there whose jobs are coming to an end around the time you’re hiring.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@tequiero21: google your neighborhood + parenting listserv. babble had a great roundup of the best parenting listservs:
http://www.babble.com/baby/baby-care/best-listserv-parent-networks/
i read berkeley parents network regularly even though it’s for the bay area. lots of great content.
coffee bean / 49 posts
Thanks, Mrs. Bee. I will check out Care.com. It is a really frustrating situation to be in–but I think we are hoping we can line someone up for August/September but tell them we may need part-time help as early as mid-June. I hope I’m not delusional, and that someone will find that an acceptable arrangement!
apricot / 275 posts
How is there not a Chicago Listserv?! Crazytown!
pear / 1852 posts
We won’t be looking for a nanny, but can I chime in and say I’d want Mary Poppins? lol
pea / 5 posts
You should also add, “be able to speak Korean” so maybe Charlie and Olive can pick up on it too!
nectarine / 2964 posts
@Mrs. Bee: This post is very helpful – thank you – so your ad does look like that? $15/hour is before tax or after tax?
And lucky for you you have a good listserv. We have some sort of listserv but they are not in my neighborhood. If you want to join that listserv and you don’t live there they make you pay $10 or something.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@VALXD: the problem with korean nannies is that they’re the older mother types, and they don’t listen to what you say. they just kinda do what they want to do! my mom wants me to hire a korean nanny, but since i work at home, i really need someone who i will get along with. and korean nannies are just not my cup of tea.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@irene: that isn’t the ad i posted — it’s one i wrote for hellobee, but it is what we’re looking for!
i’m torn about the tax thing. i want to do the right thing, but it cost us thousands and thousands of dollars more to pay on the books with taxes, unemployment insurance, worker’s comp, and an accountant. we’ll see what our dream candidate wants!
also i might pay $20 on the days she has to watch both kids. i know how hard it is so seems fair to offer that.
GOLD / pomelo / 5167 posts
I find this interesting, even if we won’t have a nanny. (because ill be off for 1 year (paid partially) but I love hearing what others do.
kiwi / 718 posts
I was going to ask about the listserv too
I’d never heard of one of those before reading about it on here. I’ll definitely be checking out that babble post.
I hope that you are able to find exactly who you are looking for! I would not recommend Mary Poppins, though. have you read the original books? she’s a handful, haha. sounds very much like a korean nanny.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@Mrs. Bee: I was a full time live out nanny for awhile and my family used a nanny tax service online – A LOT cheaper than a personal financial accountant! It was called Breed Love, I think there was a quarterly fee of about $300, otherwise they just do automatic withdrawals from your account and do a direct deposit into the nanny’s account with the taxes taken out. I REALLY liked it and it was so nice to not had to worry!