Archive for January, 2009

Finding The Right Nanny

Friday, January 16th, 2009

When it comes to finding a nanny for your kids, you should take the necessary measure to ensure that you get the right person to do the job. This is especially true if you work most of the time during weekdays and cannot spend as much time as you can with the kids. Keep in mind that the nanny you will be hiring would be the person who’s mostly going to spend time with the kids and she will be directly handling them. So it really helps to have someone you can trust in more ways than one.

Create a Nanny Profile

In creating a nanny profile, the first thing you needed to accomplish is what type of nanny you need in terms of availability. There are either part-time or full-time nannies to choose from. Typically, the part-time nannies are no different from the usual baby-sitter you may come across with around your neighborhood. However, most of these part-time nannies are typically young, are currently single (not married), and are yet to have a child of their own. They are usually working students who needed the job to pay for their education or someone who’s currently taking several jobs a day.

Go Through Nanny Advertisements

You can either choose to post your own and starting your need for a nanny, use a nanny agency or you can simply go through the numerous nanny advertisements out in the market. But between the two, it’s actually better to go with the second way because by then you’ll really be able to assess the candidates and scout for potential nannies instead of simply relying on the responses you get from the advertisement you posted. These days, there are plenty of venues where you can get your next nanny. The newspaper is the classic way of getting nannies, but thanks to technological innovations you can also look for your perfect nanny through various websites online. Aside from these, you can also visit nanny training institutions and check out their list of newly certified nannies. At least it will give you a reliable verification that the nanny you will hire has expertise and training for the job at hand.

Take Time to Interview Your Potential Nanny

As soon as you have already created a shortlist of your nanny candidates, it’s now time to get to know them face to face. Do not simply let their papers and credentials do the talking, interview them as you would imagine being interviewed for a typical office work. During the interview, there are a lot of key things which you should take note of: the way the person dresses, how she talks, verification of the facts she stated in her resume and other credentials, and even her personal views which may not be found on the papers she sent you.

Background check is a MUST

Before you get sold on that perfect nanny for your kids, never ever forget to do a background check. Make sure that the contact details she provided can still be reached and that the references she gave you are people who really knew her. It is also best if you get to talk to her previous employer to have a clearer grasp of how the person actually works. Plus, don’t forget to ask your nanny applicant to go through a recent medical background check. This way, you can be sure that she’s really safe to handle the kids and be someone who might potentially reside in your home as a stay-in-nanny.