How you make your decision will depend on your family and financial circumstances, your work patterns and the other responsibilities you have as a family. For example, you may have older relatives that you have care responsibilities for, or pets at home to consider.
Once you have made the decision to hire a nanny for your family, you want to make sure that you get the best person for the job. Here are some tips to guide you through the application and interview process.
Work smart
Think about the hiring process as 3 major steps: screening candidates to create a shortlist, telephone interviews, in-person interviews. We can help make all of these steps simpler and more efficient. For our top tips, read on…
Quick screening techniques
Soon, at Care.com we hope to automate as many of these quick screens for you as possible, saving on your precious time and making your communications run smoother.
1. Availability
Double check that your preferred nanny is available at the times you need them. Sometimes, it can be harder to juggle work commitments around a nanny’s availability that you would like. So, save yourself the heartache and only go for nannies available at the times you need.
2. Qualifications and Experience
Consider what sort of qualifications and experience you would like your childcarer to have. Nannies can have many different sorts of qualifications in the UK and we cover them in brief here. Experienced with newborns and well-informed on infant nutritional needs? Welcome to the shortlist!
3. Skills
Make sure that the nanny has all the important core skills such as First Aid and cooking. Look at the nanny’s other skills, and consider what is important to your family. Think about the pattern of your family’s day and what demands the childcarer needs to meet – newborn routines, safe driving ability to go to toddlers’ groups, good command of English for homework supervision.
4. Proximity and other practicalities – Having a nanny that lives nearby can be very helpful for those last minutes crises. If all the little ones come out in chickenpox on the day of your big presentation, having a nanny who lives nearby is likely to make last minute cover much simpler!
5. Cover letter or first message – You can tell a lot about someone’s commitment and motivations from a cover letter or first message to you. Look for a sincere interest in childcare, backed up with examples.
Once you have made your decision
Polite refusals – As soon as you have established that a nanny is not right for your family, send them a pre-prepared email that is brief and polite – that way you and they can get on with the search for the perfect fit!
Good luck!
