With so many options for finding home and childcare providers, it is important to thoroughly and accurately review a candidate’s trustworthiness before welcoming them into your home and your family. To help alleviate the stress of the nanny hiring process, we’ve outlined our top tips for finding a nanny that is qualified, trustworthy, and a good match for your family.
Understanding your needs and budget
When beginning your search for a nanny or childcare provider, it is important to consider your expectations for the nanny’s experience and qualifications, work responsibilities and schedule, and anticipated budget. Many nanny sites online offer helpful advice online on understanding your child care needs and setting a reasonable budget.
As you continue your search, we recommend adjusting these expectations to ensure you are matching your expectations and budget to the standard rates and qualifications of nannies in your area. It is also important to think about the type of person you want to care for your children. Considering the personality traits that would best fit with your family is as important as their experience and qualifications.
Some expectations to consider when interviewing nanny candidates could include:
- Do they have a car, valid driver’s license, and a clean driving record?
- Do they have first aid qualifications, specifically children’s first aid?
- Do they have experience with a family similar to yours?
- Are they willing to comply with a Police background check or an online background check from a reputable site like CheckPeople?
Find candidates
When searching for the perfect nanny for your family, families often begin their search by asking friends, family, and trusted acquaintances for their recommendations and experiences with nannies. However, this may not always return a list of qualified candidates for your families’ unique needs. There are a wide variety of online job search boards specifically designed for child care providers and nannies such as Care.com, UrbanSitter.com, and the International Nanny Association. Local job boards and parent discussion forums are also helpful resources including online job boards online and on social media.
Conduct interviews and reference checks
Once you have narrowed down your candidates, it is time to interview your potential nanny and check their references. This is a great opportunity to get to know your nanny candidates and help set the expectations for routine in your home, along with schedule and budget considerations. This is also the ideal time to introduce candidates to your family to help gauge their comfort level with you and your children.
The best type of interview is one that flows as easily as a conversation and incorporates questions about professional qualifications and personal interests and hobbies. Some great questions to use in your interview with nanny candidates could include:
- Information on qualifications such as training and first aid certifications
- What schedule limitations do you have?
- How do you discipline a child?
- How do you deal with inappropriate behavior like crying, disobedience, and temper tantrums?
- Are you willing to complete a background check?
Do your own research
Now that you have checked your candidate’s references and conducted an interview, it is time to conduct your own independent research. It is recommended that a potential employer review a nanny candidate’s social media accounts and online presence through a simple Google Search. In addition to this online audit, we recommend using a discreet online background check resource like CheckPeople.com to access important information like criminal reports, civil reports, financial records, lawsuits, traffic reports, and sex offender status. This type of online records check is easy to use, and reports can often be generated using only a candidate’s first and last name.
Conclusion
Now that you have successfully found the perfect nanny candidate for your family, it is time to complete the hiring process and welcome this new member of your family. But the work doesn’t stop there. We recommend that employers routinely check your nanny’s credentials to ensure that no changes or additional information are reported. A discreet background site like CheckPeople.com is a great option for routine background checks into a nanny, housekeeper, or other individuals with access to your home or children.
