When you hire a nanny, you\u2019re adding someone to your family. It may seem like a reason to keep the interview and hiring process more casual. After all, the nanny-employer relationship can be more vulnerable and emotional than traditional professional relationships. Why treat the hiring process like a regular job search?
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While we agree that hiring a nanny is different than finding a new employee for a typical office role, that\u2019s all the more reason to take hiring and interviewing seriously. It\u2019s important that you take your time with the process and pay attention to all the little details. Let\u2019s talk about how you can avoid the most common nanny hiring mistakes to find the perfect nanny for your family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One interview isn\u2019t enough to get to know a nanny. Plan to interview multiple nannies multiple times. We suggest an initial interview over the phone first to get a sense of the nanny\u2019s personality, experience, and child care strategies. After this initial interview, you can decide if you\u2019d like to schedule an in-person interview with you, and a separate interview with the children and the rest of the family, if you prefer.
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With this method, you don\u2019t waste time meeting candidates in person whom you don\u2019t want to interview further. You also have time in between interviews to check references, too, which we talk about next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s essential to call references and conduct a background check! Even if a candidate seems perfect, call their references and ask about their experience. Ask about their quality of childcare, how they got along with the nanny, discipline strategies, if they were on time and available in emergencies, and so on.
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You should also run a background check to look at their driving record, work history, court records, drug test results, and so on. The information you receive from a background check can vary. You\u2019ll need to get a potential candidate\u2019s permission to run a background check, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, many families do not pay their nanny legally, and resort to \u201cpaying under the table,\u201d as it\u2019s called. Some nannies feel forced into that situation since legal pay may affect housing benefits, health care, or tuition assistance. And families who feel pressured into paying under the table<\/a> can face a lot of problems when they or their nanny get audited. Avoid the mess by legally paying your nanny: no exceptions. Understand the payroll and tax laws in your state. Do your research and figure out the going pay rate for your area. It takes some work, but it\u2019s necessary to be a good employer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So far, the mistakes we\u2019ve discussed are often made when you don\u2019t give yourself enough time to find the right nanny! Employers resort to doing only one interview, skip the background check and references, or agree to pay under the table because they need someone now<\/em>. Don\u2019t settle for a nanny that you\u2019re not completely happy with because you\u2019ve run out of time. Start looking for a nanny as soon as you know you\u2019ll need one. For example, maybe you already employ a full-time nanny who\u2019s planning to leave once your child starts preschool in 6 months. Begin your search for a replacement now. Prepare to read a lot of resumes and do a lot of reviews. When you start as soon as you can, you can mentally prepare yourself for the hiring process to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In theory, a trial period or working interview lets a nanny prove her childcare skills to her potential employer. However, some parents replace multiple interviews and reference checks with only these trial periods, judging a nanny at face value rather than putting in the hiring work themselves. It\u2019s not fair to a nanny who doesn\u2019t have time to get to know a potential employer, nor is it fair to the family who may not get the most accurate impression of a nanny\u2019s quality of care and personality. A trial period can work if you\u2019ve already run through the interview process, and you\u2019re almost sure that you want to hire a nanny. Maybe you need a nanny to spend longer periods of time with your child to be sure they\u2019re the right fit, or if you\u2019re hiring a live-in nanny, everyone needs to feel comfortable with the decision. If you do decide to use a trial period, just make sure you\u2019re not replacing any other part of the hiring process with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The nanny hiring process can be long and exhausting. Why not let an experienced nanny agency work with you to find the right professional for your family? A Perfect Fit matches each nanny according to a family\u2019s needs to make sure both parties are happy. Learn more about what we do<\/a> for Phoenix, Dallas, and Denver area families now!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you hire a nanny, you\u2019re adding someone to your family. It may seem like a reason to keep the interview and hiring process more casual. After all, the nanny-employer relationship can be more vulnerable and emotional than traditional professional relationships. Why treat the hiring process like a regular job […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":325,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[31],"tags":[33,54,53,55],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectfitnanny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectfitnanny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectfitnanny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectfitnanny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectfitnanny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/perfectfitnanny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":384,"href":"https:\/\/perfectfitnanny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323\/revisions\/384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectfitnanny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectfitnanny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectfitnanny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectfitnanny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSettling for someone when you run out of time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nUsing a trial period or working interview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nLet A Perfect Fit find your nanny instead<\/h2>\n\n\n\n