nanny references

[hatstand]

what should I cover? So far have mentioned reliability, kinds of activities, cooking, nursery duties, discipline, safety. anything else?

Key thing I always look for in a reference is whether the employer LIKED her (there are many ways of showing this - "I wouldn't hesitate to employ her again" - "We will miss her" - "We hope she will keep in touch" - "She was very easyto live with and had a great sense of humour" - "Anyone who hires her will be very lucky")

I wouldn't even interview someone if I couldn't tell from the reference that the employer liked her.

Also mention that she is a good driver, if applicable, and the word "trustworthy" is pretty crucial too.

Oh and calmness and unflappability is always a high scorer in my book. As is flexibility...

And if you have left her with the children while you and dh went away for the night/weekend/week, mention this too. Always a sign of rating someone highly!

it's a pretty glowing reference - do you think trustworthy can be left implicit - have said I have no hesitation in recommending her. It almost verges on insulting in a sense, to say trustworthy. what do you think?

also how long do you think it should be?

short is fine, you just need to be sure that it radiates warmth and goodwill (assuming it is a good ref!)

trustworthyness doesn't have to be explicit if you think it is implicit.

my best nanny came with a 6 line reference that started "Lucky the woman that hires [Doris] as her nanny" and basically said we've relied on her for 3 years, she is wonderful in every way and if we had any reason at all to still have a nanny then we'd never let her go!

thanks pph