7 Reasons Why Your Nanny Search Is Going Nowhere

You have decided to hire a nanny to watch your children. Many of your friends have regular babysitters and nannies. You know that your town is full of qualified candidates. You didn’t think that it would be so hard to find the perfect caregiver. Now, you’re in a time crunch, and you’re getting stressed out. You might need to dig deeper into the reasons why your search isn’t resulting in an ideal match.

1. Your job description is unrealistic.

Many nannies are over the moon to take care of your children. They’re more than willing to do whatever it takes to accept responsibility for all aspects of childcare. A high-quality nanny will go above and beyond to tend to the little ones in her care. She will love them like you do and spend countless hours developing ways to keep them safe, entertained and enriched.

The nanny is more than happy to be responsible for all aspects of childcare, like do children’s laundry, tidy play area, and clean the mess they made during the day. That doesn’t mean that she’ll be just as enthusiastic about washing your undergarments, scrubbing toilets or making sure that you have a hot dinner on the table when you get home from work.

If your job description has more house chores listed on it than what her role would be as a nanny, you’ll undoubtedly have a hard time finding someone to fill that position.

2. Your rate doesn’t match the nanny’s responsibilities.

If you want your caregiver to take on tasks that extend beyond caring for the children, you must compensate him or her for those responsibilities. Candidates who read a job description that includes doing household chores, running errands, driving around town or other extraordinary duties wants to see that you value her skills and performance. Make sure that your pay rate is commensurate to the job description.

3. Your rate is below average.

You must research the going rate in your city before you decide on your caregiver’s salary. If an applicant can get higher pay for a job somewhere else, she is going to overlook you as a potential employer.

This is not an indication of greed. On your part, setting an appropriate rate shows that you understand your employee’s worth. No one wants to work for an employer that doesn’t appreciate hard work.

4. You’re not putting your best foot forward during the interview.

During the in-person interview, you expect the applicant to present herself well. She anticipates the same from you.
A disorganized interview can indicate that the working environment will be similarly chaotic.

We all have bad days. Parents can be extremely busy and short on time. Most employees can excuse that type of behavior if it happens every once in a while. However, first impressions are vital during the interview. Make sure that you take time to honor the candidate’s time and effort so that she knows that she will be respected as an employee.

If you have a variable schedule, it will be challenging to find a candidate for that position. For example, if you need someone part-time but want’s them to come in on different days of the week each new week, this schedule will make it impossible for the candidate to have another permanent position.

Another problem with this schedule is, if you do find someone eventually, they’re more likely to leave once they find something more stable that will enable them to plan their own lives.

You can minimise this problem by finding creative ways to make the schedule more friendly.

When you’re searching for a caregiver, you may have a clear idea of the logistics. You can provide details about the pay rate, hours and benefits.

When it comes to specifics, though, if you don’t have a clear picture of what you’re seeking in a nanny, this can lead you to create a job description that’s much too detailed. It might also cause you to generate a vague job description, which leaves too many questions unanswered in a candidate’s mind.

Working with an agency can help you decide on the most important qualifications. Someone who has experience with placing caregivers can provide insight into where you might be able to be more flexible in order to find the perfect employee.