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

Ah, you're going to live-out from live-in. A difficult thing to be sure even for quite experienced live-in nannies. I find that families frequently want exacting age-appropriate experience, drivers, those that can demonstrate initiative to cook healthy, fresh meals as well as initiate art projects, examples of educational/social outings and activities, etc.

What ages do you have experience with? Do you ever ask the families that choose not to hire you after interview why they picked a different candidate? That can often be telling (such as - needed someone more creative, more experience with toddlers, longer periods of time in jobs, etc.)

Ah okay, you know your own certificate. Always a problem with trying to do immigration stuff on the internet. You can never actually see the documents or dates.

I have indeed but I used to work in advice work. There were I think 5 different forms (which were a right PITA to process) and off the top of my head there are different rules for Romanians and Bulgarians who have worked previosuly in the UK (there's the cut off on 31/12/06)

The registration certificate I'm familiar with was only for students, SE people, those who didn't have to register because they met grounds for exemption (including the 31/12/06 cut-off) and family members of people who had an accession worker card.

OP, whilst typing that what I've said about the card may not be right as I'd completely forgotten you've been working here for 3 years and therefore have presumably been counted as employed for 12 months which removes most of the restrictions which means you might well only need to the reg cert. That'll teach me to give advice without rechecking the [metaphorical] file!

What did you originally have on entering the UK? And have you updated it as you need to?

The Blue Registration Certificate is the one I think she needs... that would mean no restrictions in working.

Have you ever seen these documents Frakkin, as I haven't... thus can only go by the Employers guide on the UKBA website.

Nope, OFSTED do their own CRB so it completely negates the existing one.

Do you have the accession worker card, which you would need, not the registration certificate? Do check this carefully. Hate to say again but as I've said before parents can (rightly) be very wary about employing foreign nationals unless you can proactively prove your entitlement to work.

Sorry, I've employed nannies for 14 years in London and I would not consider you as a nanny after just that level of experience and with no nanny qualifications. I think you would value brutal honesty so here it is:

One one year job and one two year job, one of which was more like a mother's help, doesnt make you an experienced nanny but more like an entry level nanny. Your first job sounds like it was pretty exploitative - long hours, lots of kids, no experience, so I would not be terribly impressed by the reference from that family - am sure they were lovely in person but as a potential employer I would suspect they were just looking for cheap childcare and not as picky as me. I am not saying this would be true of them, but just that would be my fear as I looked at it and I would discount it.

Totally agree with the comments on written english.

Also you wouldn't pass my 'cooking' criteria with 'pasta soup veggie bakes' - I want fresh meat, fresh fish, proper healthy cooking.

Wouldnt look at anyone without CRB and currrent first aid certificate.

Do you drive? You don't say, but its essential in London for anyone other than toddlers.

I would worry about the fact you mention you are studying accountancy as it would make me think you werent committed to working with children - my nannies are all professionals, with qualifications, and all they want to do is work with children. They have gone on to other jobs but always children related.

Culture? Don't know enough about Romanian culture but I always ask non-English nannies about their child-rearing culture - i am generalising wildly here but I have found there are some countries where the culture is too different from the way I bring my kids up and so a nanny from there and I would not click. Never interviewed a Romanian so no idea on your culture, but if it is different from the liberal north london one might be worth reading a couple fo good books so you can show you share the same values about child rearing.

So perhaps look for people with one young child, where you can grow in your experience with the child. Trouble is, those employers are more likely to want a cheaper live in nanny - when I switched to using live out nannies it was because I wanted much more experience, and so was happy to pay more. I don't think the salary you are looking for is ridiculous for a live out nanny, but you would be one of the least qualified or experienced live out nannies i would ever have come across and i wouldnt give you an interview. I think your problem is you are putting yourself out as a live out nanny and realistically you just arent experienced enough - I think you have more of more an 'au pair plus' CV and so recommend you look for those roles, which will pay more like £350 per week than £450 per week.

HTH - suspect it's unwelcome but it's honest.

I don't think the CRB is a huge issue, there are plenty of parents willing to employ without one or with someone who has one in the process of being applied for. I think it's probably this plus a combination of other factors dependent on the family.

How are your references? Can you be certain that they give you excellent feedback and there isn't something you've overlooked? Are you making sure to apply for positions in which you have the exact same experience as what's being called for? (For example, not great to apply for a baby job when you've only worked with toddlers/preschoolers.) Are you looking for live-in?

The Registration Certificate is different to an Accession Worker Card. I would suggest checking with UKBA with regards to what is and isn't permitted given what paperwork you have. Immigration rules are rather complex, can't say I understand them all.

I agree that not having a CRB check may be an issue, though if parents wanted you to register with Ofsted, you would get a new CRB check as part of that process.

ok if i was employing a nanny for my two children i would want a childcare qualification, OFSTED registered so the first £500 part of your salary i can pay by vouchers (me & dh's) tax free and a CRB check would be mandatory, plus great references.

The additional languages would be a bonus. Are you good at any sports/piano etc..?

there are a lot of available nannies at the moment so can afford to be choosy.

good luck in your search. you do sound great. i will keep my ears open for you.

ok another perspective, as a mum who has in the past looked for nannies to help with the children, again not intending to be rude,
but what makes you a nanny rather than an au pair?

Great that you posted BoffinMum... as I didn't want to come across as being mean, rather that by highlighting these things to you NNL I am trying to help you.

I see earlier that you have said you are from Romania. Can I ask if you have:

UK National Insurance Number?
A Registration Certificate (see here)

Speaking (frankly) as the very same BoffinMum, it certainly put me off employing you. The odd typo is OK on message boards but I assume the worst when someone makes as many mistakes as that. Plus my job involved supervising children's homework a bit and it did not give me great confidence in that side of things. Sorry, I am not trying to be mean or anything, but just agreeing with Nick and trying to help you.

It isn't as simple as "what will the pay/h?" There are many factors to consider. For example, a few years back I accepted a job at just over £7 gross an hour, because at the time it suited me, was in the next village, I wasn't getting any other offers from families (my gender can be an issue still). I ended up being there for 3 years.

Could you send me your CV? nannynick at gmail .com

I am wondering if people may think you are an Au-Pair rather than a Nanny. Are you finding that?

The CV is to get you an interview. As you have been for interviews then the CV is currently achieving it's purpose.

So maybe it is the jobs you are applying for that are the problem. What sort of jobs are you applying for? Would you apply for a job like this in Hampstead?

At interviews have you found that your level of verbal English is acceptable?

Have you applied for jobs which have involved writing a letter/e-mail and found that you were not contacted? Is your level of Written English letting you down?

From your posts on here, you don't appear to me to be forming sentences as I would expect. While we are all a bit slack when writing on message boards, your posts appear to me to have underlying English Grammar issues. Your use of Past and Present Tense seems to vary plus there are more general issues like not using capital letters.

Are you using a computer to compose messages, or a mobile phone? Mobiles can make things quite a bit harder.

Example:

Boffinmum, I am a reliable person,and I am serios when it comes to my job,I commit to it,no matter what!I only go to see my parents when I have holidays,even in case of emergency i didnt took a day off.My mum had surgery,and i just didnt ask for day off.I look after myself,even if i have flu,in 2 days is gone,my past employer was because in winter time all of them had terrible flu,and they had days off,just me didnt.With all my past employers I keep in touch,because they respected me,and I respected them.

That is quite a long paragraph and to me it does not make for easy reading. If you look at the beginning, you use "I am" twice in the same sentence. Try to avoid that. There is also a comma before "and". (See Correct Punctuation: Comma for assistance with the use of a comma.)

There are numerous things in the example which someone looking at an application letter/e-mail will pick up easily. I would hope that you would not be writing an application letter in that way. Is that how you would write such a letter or e-mail?

If you have composed an application letter or e-mail and you would like me to take a look, do send it via e-mail. My written English isn't perfect by any means. I did quite badly in my Written English exams at school. So when reading my message posts you will spot errors I make, fairly often!

I presume you are from an EEA country, thus if living and working in the UK you would pay taxes in the UK.
It is the families you are going for interviews with who in my view are trying to not pay the taxes. All you need to do is to say to them that you expect them to operate PAYE, as per them employing any nanny.

nannynorthlondon have you tried registering with the nanny agency www.kidsmatter.uk.com obv you will need a CRB check but sure you could start the registration process whilst you are waiting for that to come back.

Have you registered on www.childcare.co.uk and www.findababysitter.com

Status would be that you are their employee, not self employed.
Sounds like you are getting the rouge employers trying to fiddle things, steer clear of them. You want things to be done legit.
Maybe they are assuming that due to being foreign you won't know or care about the tax rules... However it affects you if you don't have your National Insurance paid as that would go towards a pension eventually (if state pensions exist still when we are old). For now, it's important to have payslips so you and your partner can get a mortgage, should you decide to buy property.