@TheSpottedZebra
I wouldn’t be able to say names obviously and if I haven’t worked for the family it’s all hear-say in some way anyway, but it’s usually very easy to know which families are really hard to work with as they go through agencies and if you keep seeing the same ads every few weeks, there is a good chance that they either have terrible luck or can’t keep staff because of how they (or their kids) treat the staff. So if I see an ad popping up for the same family again and again, I don’t even consider it!
@JudgeRindersMinder
It was actually not very hard. It started as a bit of a bait to myself. I had been doing my job for years and nannying isn’t well paid, and there isn’t much progression so I thought “I wonder if I could be a nanny for rich people” I signed up to a couple agencies with high paying jobs and my first gig and interview from one of those agencies was for a well-known family and I got the job, and then once you have worked for one and have a good reference, it’s very easy to work for more the same way we talk amongst ourselves and recommend families and nannies to the families, they also can recommend us to their friends etc… so once you are in it’s easier to stay in (if you are good at your job) but it also isn’t that hard surprisingly to make the jump.
I will say though that I have a profile that tend to attract families. By the time I started this I had lived and nannied in multiple countries already for families, had lots of good references from them, I also speak several languages and have a EU passport so can travel easily so in many way I already suited with their lifestyle as usually they look for nannies who have experiences abroad, or at least are keen to travel, speak another language on top of English or have specific skills (Piano/skiing/horse riding).
Maybe it would have been harder if I only spoke English or only worked in one country, I am not sure as British nannies are still very popular.
@WindowWanker (love the username!)
Most talk to me and take an interest in my life yes, I mean I spend A LOT of time with them, I see them in their most intimate moments and I look after their children so they will ask questions for sure, there is still a certain boundary, like I won’t tell them too many details but they usually bits and pieces about my family and we can have very casual and interesting conversation about current events, etc… I too ask questions. Nothing nosy but I ask them question like I would any other parent I don’t know much about or someone who has an interesting job and usually it’s all fairly casual overall.