Hired or Fired? Nanny candidates...

Whatthewhat did you mean no.1 didn't seem to be a 'put a mug in the dishwasher' sort or no.2?

Nbee that shepherds pie doesn't sound that bad, you did have carrot and onion.
Think you are too hard on yourself

I would definitely not recommend asking anyone to bake a cake for an interview. Quite apart from not knowing oven, etc, baking and cooking are completely different things. I cam cook quite well but I have never been able to bake except from a box.

i would say no to no 1 as she wants the hours changed - then again my motto is dont ask, dont get

im assuming its 7-7 5 days a week - but if shared care, couldnt you do 8-6 or even 9-5 on two days - hence making 60hrs into 52 - or even 4 days and you have one day alone ...........

no 2 doesnt sound all bad and maybe had had bad experiences looking after parents children so simply stating whats she does,ie nursery duties

avoid the one with driving offences - one yes - many nannies i know have points for speeding, but several strikes is bad

look for someone else

Oh that's good. I PM'd you before reading your last reply so please ignore me.

I don't think a young nanny that has little cooking experience would be a deal breaker for me. We all learn at some point and very few people would be so bad at cooking that they couldn't follow some simple recipes from a cookbook or your written instructions of a favourite recipe. I think it's worth asking the nanny to come up with a weeks menu plan (lunch & dinner & snacks) as that shows whether she has much idea about nutrition, what constitutes a balanced meal and whether she's thought about how to get the '5-a-day' into the children's diet.

Little story for you As a 17 year old nanny I went into work one day and Mum told me she was taking the children to visit some friends for the day. She asked if I would do a few jobs and make a shepherd's pie for their tea and then I could leave early. Well, shepherd's pie wasn't something I'd really eaten at home as my Mum has an aversion to mince. But I didn't admit to it as I didn't think it could be that hard to make. So I duly boiled the potatoes and mashed them. I fried the mince with some onions and carrots, tipped them into a bowl and put the mashed potato on top. That's right - no oxo cube or gravy of any sort! Mum never mentioned it to me and never asked me to make shepherd's pie again It was several months later when reading a cookery book that I realised my mistake

I think it's fairly reasonable because a white sauce is actually quite challenging BUT it doesn't say whether they can cook meat thoroughly or indeed not overcook vegetables.

It depends what you mean by cooking skills though. If you can make a good white sauce you probably can be taught to cook anything, as you said, whether you do it by following a recipe or the more trial-and-error way. Plus you know they can then cook at least 5 meals, even if every single one does contain white sauce.

Next time I may ask for cauliflower cheese...veg plus the cheese sauce test.

Frack - is making a roux a reasonable test, or is there something else a nanny could make to show some basic level of cooking skills?

Definitely no.2 if you have to choose between just those two candidates. No.1 sounds unpleasantly entitled and fussy.

But I'd probably keep looking.

An agency didn't advise you about the CRB check issues either DIDN'T ask to see it before they sent it to you - which is a shocker - or was being negligent not raising it with you first and getting to the bottom of the circumstances.

FIRED, end of.

Alternatively large dab of butter, big splodge of flour, microwave for 30s and mix into a smooth paste. Add milk slowly and keep stirring so you don't get lumps, microwave again for 2mins, stir thoroughly, microwave a bit more, stir again, repeat until desired consistency is achieved. If too thick simply add more milk.

Yes, the simple roux plus cheese. So easy and quick to make for anyone who can cook from scratch.

Is it a fair test, I'm not sure but if you are to evaluate a nannies cooking how are you going to do it? You need them to make something which does not take too long and which isn't too hard. I suppose you could ask them to bake a cake but it can take time to get to know a particular oven, not all are at the temperature they say they are!

BornToShop - If you need a recipe with method, try this one.

I've never had a parent ask me to do any cooking as part of an interview but there is no reason why you couldn't ask someone to do something, as if they say they can cook you need to be able to evaluate that somehow. What other things could a nanny cook at an interview?

Nannynick, could you please tell me about the cheese sauce challenge? I can't make it and would love to learn it. :-)

I didn't think it was likely to happen to me either.
Trust your instincts and if it doesn't feel 110% right then it isn't IMO

Mosman that sounds horrendous but not something that is likely to happen often

Did you get candidates from both agencies? I only ask as one of the agencies says Mothers Help in the job title and also gives the hours as 30 per week although in the main job description it clearly states 7-7 Mon - Fri but some nannies may have missed the ad if they'd put Nanny in the filter. ( I live fairly locally to you and had seen the ad. )

I would be wary of someone who had issues regarding to their driving but as Nanny Nick said, they may well have learnt their lesson the hard way and be far more cautious now. If they had relevant experience then I would at least chase up references in regards to the driving.

Having had a serious accident with serious consequences, she may well be a good driver these days as she is aware of what can happen if she drives too fast, or without full control.

Would you be providing a car with the job, or would the nanny provide their own, or not need a car?

I agree. The 4 offences could all have been from one incidence - couldn't they? Whilst it was not a clever thing to do, you don't know the circumstances and it may be wise to ask about the circumstances before writing them off completely.

Her current job however is with older children, so depending on her past experience she may not be used to toddlers. Is she interviewable based on her CV, rather than her CRB check?

Tbh I wouldn't be bothered by the offences on the CRB for the third candidate. They were a long time ago and if she was under 22 or so I'd put it down to youthful misjudgement.

More important for me, would be twin experience and flexibility. But I know many of my friends would be horrified at the prospect of even considering anything other than a clean crb.

I agree the no 1. is sounding worse the more you post!

Frak - I've never tried doing it in a microwave. Whatever method works for them, I say.