Is it me,or the competition is really tight for nannies in London?nannies&even parents please help

mothers helps get/ask £7/9nett - thought that was what nannies got?

blimey - i nearly took a live-in nanny job recently that paid £300 net per week and I'm 32, 13yrs experience. Thought that was on the lower end of normal?

That's gone up about £100 in 3 years....

wails quietly in the corner

I knew I was born too early!

Mothers helps earn £350 a week now?

Bloody hell where were all these jobs when I started?! My perm job before last I was on £1500 a month as a FT sole charge nanny which is about £350 a week, no? (Not very good at maths) I wouldn't have expected much more than that in my next job had it not been drastically different.

A drivers license I think would help more than a diploma in childcare. I nannied before I was qualified and whilst a qualification has been a plus, driving was much more important.

That mother was well out of line, actually. I have drilled into my kids that weekends are hers and they are not allowed to so much as breathe on her door.

I think you might be well suited to put something into your ad about being able to tutor a bit of math. If you can math fun for Key stage 1 I think you could well offer to replace the Kumon bill.

I am of course assuming that accountancy degree = good at and like math.

And who in their right mind pays £350 per week for an au pair +???

NNN, every parent is different. I am forever reminding my 6 year old DD that girls can do math. So, I would love to have a female nanny who is good at math. I would not see it as a distration from your commitment to your job as a nanny.

I do agree with the live-in / live-out job. Most people who would hire you will do so because they need to save some money and are prepared to take on training you in exchange. And those peole will probably looking for a live-in nanny.

I have hired several entry-level nannies and I would probably interview you (if I was looking for a nanny which I currently am not).

I'm not really interested in the CRB since you aren't British. But, I believe I am in the minority in this view.

I've probably missed it somewhere below, but why do you not want a live-in position?

nannynorth, that was intended for wioaig.i certainly know what an ap or ap+ is, its her who seems to be in a muddle a bit.

aupair plus is certainly not a full time job and def does not pay 350 a week as you mentioned previously.

Hey - I didnt say au pair - I said au pair plus which is quite a different thing - fulltime, more responsibility, more money. Worth investigating before you dismiss it because it starts with the word au pair. It's not nec the same as mothers help, as it often includes sole charge. And better to target a job you can get, and build your experience on your chosen career path, than not be working.

Totally right re money/tax etc! You dont want to work for someone who isnt straight in their dealings with you.

Just a quicky as I'm at choir, on a break.
I feel the not driving is an issue, could you learn? You have the ICP so I would say learn to drive before doing more childcare courses.
I lived in London in 70's and 80's and I recall my parents driving me around a lot, either that or walking. We used to drive to the local park - Greenwich, lived in Blackheath, so it was only a couple of miles.

I interview very carefully and if I was interviewing you, I would ask a lot of questions about what she was doing before she came to this country. I think that I would prefer an explanation saying studying for accountancy because childcare and teaching pays next to nothing in Romania (and everybody knows that Romania is still a very poor country). I would also accept that once you have invested time in something, you finish it; in fact, I think that I would be quite impressed by that. I think that you just need to be really careful to emphasize your circumstances in Romania at the time and your determination to stick with something once started. I would also ask you what you intended to do once you had the accountancy qualification and how much time your were spending on it.
Finally, if I was interviewing you, I could imagine that the accountancy would bother me less than the fact that I would not be able to do a background check on your time in Romania. I can't remember how long you said you have been in the UK, but if it is less than about 5 or 7 years, is there any possibility that you could get references from people in Romania (e.g. a teacher or somebody in a respectable position)?
Also, assuming that you are still on good terms with the families you left, you might call them and tell them of your difficulties and ask them how you can present yourself more successfully - after all they know you! You cannot, in my view, ask this directly, but you might, as a result, be able to gauge whether they are giving you ok references. And you could also ask them if they would kindly mention your name if they know of anybody who is looking for childcare - a personal recommendation like that would go a long way with me.

nannynorth, good luck with finding a job, i know it is not easy as some of the english are just so different in their views to us /i am also from so-called eastern europe/. you are certainly not a candidate for an aupair job, but with the market as it is you might need to accept a mothers help type of job rather then sole charge nanny type.

So, NLN, what you need to do is not mention the accountancy as it is distracting. Consider studying for a childcare qualification instead. Get your CRB etc. Focus on ones with smaller kids as it sounds like you cant drive as you have not said you can. You are unlikely to get a 'top notch' nanny job right now with your current experience so consider au pair plus jobs or nanny/housekeeper jobs. You mention you only wear jeans - are you smart enough for London jobs - I want my nanny to fit in with other nannies so she will make firends so dont need her too smart but certainly also not too scruffy?

Best of luck.

Try to adapt the CV to each job, highlighting how you have cared for similar aged children, what outings you went on, activities you did, that kind of thing. Give examples of things you did with the children.

Do you drive, have a car? In a covering letter include details of how you would be getting to and from work. As a live-out nanny you need to be 100% reliable in getting to work on time, or at least convey the impression that you will always be reliable.