The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Perfect Nanny

Finding the perfect nanny for your family is a significant step that requires a lot of consideration and planning! There are so many factors to think about—from defining your family’s needs to conducting thorough interviews and finalizing the employment details—the process can seem daunting. Jovie’s childcare experts have put together the ultimate guide to finding the perfect nanny, with practical tips and insights for a successful search. Let’s dive into how to find the right nanny for your family!

Create a List of Nanny Must-Haves

The first crucial step in finding the right person for your family is to consider all your needs in a nanny service. Do you need full-time nanny services because you’re returning to work? Or maybe you could use an extra pair of helping hands to manage your family part-time?

You’ll also want to consider if you will need nanny services long term. Your child might be a newborn today, but in the blink of an eye they’ll be ready for school. Start thinking about your child’s needs beyond their current age. If you’re planning on having services for longer than a year, you’ll want to find someone who can support your child at every age.

Take note of factors such as your work hours, your child’s activities, daily tasks you’d like to be handled, such as light chores or cooking, and any specific requirements your family may have. By being as detailed as possible, you can increase the chances of finding a nanny who fits seamlessly into your family’s daily routine.

Find Nanny Services Near You

Two popular resources for finding nanny services include browsing caregiver listing sites and working with a nanny agency near you. So, what’s the difference and which one is right for you?

Listing sites offer a wide array of potential candidates and allow you to browse profiles, read reviews, and contact nannies near you. This option can provide flexibility and control over the hiring process, but it also requires a huge time investment for screening and interviewing candidates. Prepare to spend about a month or longer finding, interviewing, and vetting potential nannies. You will also want to purchase and run background checks on each individual candidate, ask for references, and speak to those references directly.

A nanny placement agency provides you with experienced professionals who do the legwork to find a nanny near you. The agency will start by listening to your family’s specific needs, then do the filtering for you to provide personalized matches. All nannies that come through an agency have already received thorough background checks, so you can have peace of mind. Think of a nanny placement agency as the expert sidekick who’s got your back during the hiring process. Plus, nanny agencies like Jovie will take care of all the tedious paperwork like taxes, insurance, and payroll, so you don’t have to deal with it! This is an ideal option for families that are new to hiring a nanny or are pressed for time.

Key Questions at Your Nanny Interview

Once you’ve scheduled interviews with your top nanny candidates, it’s time to prepare a list of questions. Since interviews can be stressful for everyone involved, start with open-ended questions to help ease into it. Here are some great ones to get the conversation going:

1. Can you tell me about your experience working with children?

2. How would your previous employers describe you? What about your friends and family?

3. What do you enjoy most about being a nanny?

4. What do you do for fun? Do you have any hobbies or special interests?

5. How many kids have you cared for? How old were they?

Once you’ve gotten a sense of their personality, switch to scenario-based questions. “What if” questions can provide valuable insights into how the nanny will handle various situations, like “What if my child refused to go to bed at their usual bedtime?” or “What if we had a last-minute change in plans?”

Ask about the nanny’s discipline strategies to ensure they align with your own views. Some questions to help you get started are:

1. How do you handle tantrums or meltdowns?

2. Can you give an example of how you’ve handled a challenging behavior in the past?

3. What if my child started fighting with a sibling or another child?

4. What methods do you use to teach children about consequences?

5. What would you do if a child refused to follow instructions?

6. How do you involve parents in discipline issues?

You’ll also want to get a sense of how this nanny might handle emergencies.

1. Are you trained in CPR and first aid?

2. How would you respond if my child fell and hit their head?

3. What if there was a medical emergency and you couldn’t reach me?

Most importantly, you will want to have your potential nanny meet your child as part of the interview process. This is your chance to observe the dynamics between the nanny and your child. Do they seem to enjoy themselves? Are they enthusiastic, confident, and engaged? Watch how your child is responding to the nanny too. If your child seems like they’re having an off day (perhaps they’re tired or feeling shy), consider inviting your favorite candidate back for a paid visit.

Make Your Nanny a Smart Offer

So, you’re ready to make your final decision. The last step before hiring a nanny is to draft an employment contract. Making an offer should be treated like any other hiring process. It’s important to establish a clear understanding of expectations and responsibilities on paper. Putting the details in writing helps protect you and the nanny. A clear job description with specifics of the role, hours, wage, benefits, pay dates, expense reimbursement, and many more details like this should all go into the agreement. Ultimately, the completion of a written contract will help the relationship between the nanny and the family in the long run.

Let’s talk about how much to pay. First, a nanny’s salary should consider the responsibilities you expect them to do, their experience, location, and more. Keep in mind that hourly rate must meet or exceed your state’s minimum wage requirement.

A nanny placement agency, like Jovie, usually has predetermined rates with their nannies, which includes a placement fee, hourly wage, taxes and insurance coverage.

An agency can help take the guess work out of drafting an employment contract, plus they are usually well versed with your state’s laws and wage requirements. An additional upside to this is that if you have any questions or concerns down the line about your nanny’s employment, you can skip any awkward conversations and speak to the agency directly. Think of the nanny agency as your trusty concierge for navigating all things employment and paperwork, so your nanny can focus on delivering reliable care for your family.

Whether you choose to navigate an employment contract alone or engage the services of a nanny agency near you, it’s important to ensure that your legal obligations are properly addressed.

Ready to Find Your Perfect Nanny?

Hiring a nanny is a big step, and it can take time and diligence to find someone who fits into your family’s life. Jovie’s experienced professionals can help make the process of finding the perfect nanny easy and stress-free. Plus, we’re here for you long after we match you with the right person! Learn more about how Jovie can help your family.