Interviewing our first nanny candidate. What do we do?

[viba424]

Tomorrow we are meeting our first nanny candidate for our 2 month old daughter; our first child. It would be 4 days a week, 9 to 5 position. I need some pointers on finding the right person.

I dont want to put all my eggs in one basket, but so far she is the only person we have set up an interview with, but we will interview more. She is is not your typical college student nanny; she is married, a former cop, and has grown children, involved in youth groups and church. We are hoping she is good in person too. She is not a professional nanny by training, but I still feel good about her background and she has all the first aid, CPR, etc. Daycare where I live is just as expensive as a nanny, and theyre all full anyway.

What should we be looking for during this process? What should we be asking her tomorrow? I really dont know! What should we expect regarding negotiating payment? What is different for a infant nanny than for someone caring for a toddler?

She indicated an interest in us compensating her for her transit pass ($100) in her pay (she lives in the suburbs). Ive never had any employer pay for my transportation, but I can get her a pass thru work tax free.

All I care about is that she is not a psycho. I think it wuld be nice to get a nanny cam too. Any tips so we can be smart about finding the right person?

[arivecchi]

My best tips:

1) interview as many nannies as possible - you will quickly get a feel for what you like/don't like

2) if at all possible, hire someone who your friends/acquaintances know or recommend -this is the best way to find a good/reputable nanny

3) there are many lists online for what to ask a nanny - pull those and assemble your own questionnaire

4) do a background check

5) once you hire someone, do a week overlap so you can let her know how you want things done

I did not do a background check for mine because one of my best friends knew her really well. She came so highly recommended and it was a great fit personality-wise. After inteviewing a few nannies, I could tell within 2 minutes whether I liked them and it was worth pursuing or not. Also, if there is an online parenting board in your area, you could look there as well. Many cities have nanny agencies, but you get a lot a mixed bag in terms of what they refer and they charge you a large fee if you end up hiring a nanny they sent you.

Trust your gut and only hire someone with excellent references. Make sure you really like this person and that she meshes well with your family as they will become pat of your family. Good luck!

P.S. I've never heard of a nanny asking for her transportation to be paid. That is already setting off alarms in my head. Sounds like she will be a pain.

[viba424]

I talked to my husband about the transportation thing. I had forgotten that in her first email she mentioned kind of a low fee for her services, so her mentioning transportation costs later was probably after she figured out her original fee was too low, so she wanted to round up a bit.

[sste]

I completely agree with all of arrivechis suggestions! I wanted to emphasize the importance of references - - that is your best guide. It sounds like this woman is not a career nanny and doesn't have nannying experience. What I would worry about with that is that she is not going to understand how hard the job is and will have a different set of standards for what she is willing to do for nanny pay. I agree with pp that the transportation reimbursement request kind of seems like red flag for that. For a while we hired college students part-time and they were great with our son for the most part *but* they did not think they were being paid enough to do the other things we needed them to do - - switch out and fold laundry and straighten the house (not clean but neaten up). We switched to a career nanny who voluntarily did these things without our ever mentioning it and had enough experience to recognize that we are a nice family to work for and was generally terrific.

Anyway, the biggest thing I look for is someone who takes genuine joy in kids, who notices what they are doing, talks about other kids they have worked with and compares, and who gets down on the floor and interacts with the baby. Get down on the floor is key.

[arivecchi]

Another tip, care.com has a calculator for nanny pay in your area (by zip code). You can also check with friends or your area's parenting groups.

[arivecchi]

I completely agree with all of arrivechis suggestions! I wanted to emphasize the importance of references - - that is your best guide. It sounds like this woman is not a career nanny and doesn't have nannying experience. What I would worry about with that is that she is not going to understand how hard the job is and will have a different set of standards for what she is willing to do for nanny pay. I agree with pp that the transportation reimbursement request kind of seems like red flag for that. For a while we hired college students part-time and they were great with our son for the most part *but* they did not think they were being paid enough to do the other things we needed them to do - - switch out and fold laundry and straighten the house (not clean but neaten up). We switched to a career nanny who voluntarily did these things without our ever mentioning it and had enough experience to recognize that we are a nice family to work for and was generally terrific.

Anyway, the biggest thing I look for is someone who takes genuine joy in kids, who notices what they are doing, talks about other kids they have worked with and compares, and who gets down on the floor and interacts with the baby. Get down on the floor is key.:yeahthat: Yes. *I* would not hire someone with no experience as a nanny. By the way, IMO, nanny cams are unnecessary. If you feel you need one, you did not hire someone trustworthy. I KNOW my kids love our nanny because they ask where she is on weekends and squeal with delight whenever she walks through our door. ;)

[mikeys_mom]

:yeahthat: Yes. *I* would not hire someone with no experience as a nanny. By the way, IMO, nanny cams are unnecessary. If you feel you need one, you did not hire someone trustworthy. I KNOW my kids love our nanny because they ask where she is on weekends and squeal with delight whenever she walks through our door. ;)

Another :yeahthat: to both of the PP's.
Our current nanny is from overseas and we were only able to do a phone interview prior to deciding which candidate to choose, though we did have a transcript of the interview that the agency did with her overseas. We did 4 phone interviews and very quickly were able to pick out the candidates that were stronger.

I think the key thing in an interview is to get a sense of the nanny's personality. I like to ask open ended questions about themselves that get them talking.

I would also be hesitant to hire someone with no nanny experience. I would be concerned about them getting burned out quickly because the job is more demanding than they expected. Working as a nanny is different from caring for your own children.

[Momof3Labs]

A couple of things to think about:

I'm sure that you are trying to find a nanny who is excellent with infants right now. But keep in mind that your baby will grow quickly. I usually found candidates who were good with babies OR candidates who were good with toddlers and up. It is really hard (but in your case, really important) to find someone who is good with all ages.

Be up front about what you expect the nanny to do while the baby is napping. Baby's laundry, your laundry, light housework, cooking?? Anything is fair game, but that doesn't mean that the nanny will agree to it or be happy doing it.