Which nanny would you go for?

[Chattanoonoo]

Currently interviewing nannies and down to a shortlist of 2 who are quite different. One has 4 years experience and seems quite fun and outgoing - the other has about 8 years experience, much more mature but also more reserved and not as much fun. The first candidate has only recently moved to London and doesn't know the local area and has never worked as a full time nanny in London before so she would need time to settle in. The other has worked locally so knows the parks, playgroups etc and what is expected of her. Both have good references - the only negative was that the more mature nanny could be a bit stroppy and bossy (!) but all the refs said she was reliable, punctual and had formed great relationships with the children. My gut instinct says either would be ok but I want someone great for my kids rather than just ok! Which would you go for??

i would go for the fun one! definitely

also, the fact that she doesn;t know the local area isn't a bad thing, it means they can all explore together. she won't be bored of any of the local attractions, she won't be set in her ways and like going to particular places

4 years is a good amount of experience too

Thanks both. The other one has a lot of experience though and I can be sure she'll turn up in the morning! I'm not saying she isn't fun but mainly worried about the stroppy and bossy comment from one of her referees.

fun fun fun

Is 4 years experience enough though, to look after a 3 year old and a 1 year old? Without being in any way ageist, she's only 25!!

Agree with everythingiseverything If a referee felt she had to mention it then you can be sure it wasn't just the odd occasion or just a little bit stroppy or bossy.

The stroppy comment is really offputting.

The younger candidate sounds like they should be fine - they have more experience than you do, given your eldest is only 3!

How did they get on with you and your children when you met?

What about other factors such as travel to work distance, driving experience. If you need a driver then you will need someone confident enough to drive in London traffic.

Older one lives close by, knows the area etc. The younger one lives in a different part of London - will take 45 minutes/an hour to get to work, average for London really.

Bossy & Stroppy ... it might just be that the parents are a nightmare, too laid back & disorganised causing the nanny a lot of hassle and on occasion she's had to be firm about things.... it's the nanny that often has to deal with the fall out if the kids don't have the things they need for school etc.

What are her other refs like?

I agree with ChippingIn. I had a bad verbal ref from an old boss who said I liked everything my own way and organised everything but that was because I had to as my bosses were disorganised and the children often late for school or missing things from their book bags when left for the parents to do. Being an older nanny I would opt for the more serious one as although fun is great you want to feel that you are leaving the house in the morning with a confident, capable nanny who you're not going to worry about whilst at work. Also she may relax and you may see a more fun side to her more as time goes on as interviews can be quite tense and you want to make a good impression and not leave the parents feeling you are immature and not professional.

45 mins - 1 hour is not a good distance. I know it can be quite typical for London, but what happens when there is tube strike etc?

ChippingIn makes a good point. Maybe talk to older nanny and tell her what has been said and it gives her a chance to defend herself - see what she has to say.

Can you give trial days?

Beat me to it - try a trial.

25 with 4 years experience is only a little less than I have. There are people who ate parents younger than that and quite frequently with less experience. If you think she's capable then don't let that bother you.

The older one however does have the benefit of that experience, she's clearly committed to the job and she's local which is a bonus but the bossiness needs further investigation.

That said neither seem to have struck your fancy so are you happy to settle for either or try another round of recruitment?

But definitely get them in fir a trial and get your 3yo involved in choosing. After all your kids are the ones who spend the most time with the nanny

Our last nanny was 25, and looked after our 1 and 3 yr old. She didn't seem to struggle maturity or responsibiity wise at all - was excellent -they had great fun, did an embarassing anount each day, and she still seemed to find time to cook a family dinner most days (this was not part of her job - I always told her to rest while they were both asleep and she claimed to feel guilty about doing nothing). She didn't drive them anywhere, (we don't have a second car) but did lots locally, and used to take them out on trains and buses, which the 3 yr old especially used to love. "Stroppy" as a comment would worry me.

Agree with a trial day but also think you aren't 100% sure of either

exp is great as is being local&knowing the area

what would worry me is the travel of the younger one. That's a long day on top of 11/12hrs

nothing wrong with 4yrs exp - we were all there once :) tho I would go with the older one - bossy isn't necessary bad

I wouldn't call myself bossy but I would say I'm strict/firm but fair& organised and know what I want - some might call this bossy

do they want different pay levels?

I'm not a London nanny. 45-60 min travel time would worry me. Makes for a long day and could mean more likely to be late for work.

London based nannies - do you travel that long, is it really the norm?

Both the travel time AND the comment about the older nanny would worry me. I would be a little tempted to keep looking but if you really think you can choose between the two I'd still consider:

Re Travel:

How many different sort of tubes and buses or trains is she needing to use to get to you (if it's many, strong poss that one part of the chain will fall down on a regular basis.)

Has she commuted before or will this be her first experience of a real schlep to get to work? (therefore not realising how tiring it can be - and what it may add to her costs.)

Re stroppiness:

I agree she won't be just 'a little' stroppy either. Was there any other context for that? Maybe you can go back to them and try to find out if a question of whether they're happy to be fairly 'spontaneous' i.e. playdates at a minute's notice, change of plan etc. I suspect it could well be due to their lateness. Ask how she reacts when you are a few minutes late and see if that draws them out.

For me it would be a no-brainer. If a reference is not really positive then the candidate goes in the bin. Bossy and stroppy to me means that she does things her way and will get the hump of you tell her to do it differently. I could not bear that in a nanny, wheras a bit of slap-dash and lots of fun is exactly what I want for my kids.

I'm London based and always lived in areas with fewer nanny jobs so have had to commute to find what I wanted/needed. I've got it down to 30 mins communte now but once had just over an hour. I would say 45 mins is acceptable.

I weigh up all good and bad points in job and happy to travel for my ideal position- can do reading/music/video on train- if not too squashed! But if there's a road, tube, bus problem everyone else is trying to go the alternative route too and delays are not 10 mins, more like 40mins. Having said that I've only been late three times in 6 years in London but been REALLY late. I suppose I consider travel time and punctuality as my decision and responsiblity, not the employer's.

I would read "stroppy" as "doesn't know who works for whom" or "sulks a lot". I have experienced both of those traits and neither will ever work for me again.

4 years is quite a lot of experience. I usually target minimum of 2.

I live in London and travel 1-1.25 hrs to work every day. I did look for a job closer, but in the end, I get about 100/net a week more working in Central than I would closer to home, so that swings it for us at the moment. When baby comes along we may very well re-evaluate priorities.