Where should I advertise for a nanny?

[Jacksterbear]

Have heard people talking about gumtree is this the best place?

id say nannyjob

although gumtree i think is free, and due to people placing stupid adverts there is now a small charge for parents to use nannyjob.

Be prepared to have lots of applicants from people who you wouldnt leave your dog with, but amoungst those, most people get several proper nannies worth interviewing, applying as well.

Personally i wouldnt bother with agencies who charge a small fortune to filter the unsuitable applicants for you. Whilst they do also check refs, if employing a nanny you will should do that yourself anyway

I agree, NannyJob is where I would look.

Also I'd also look on Childcare.co.uk plus contact a local agency or two (though that isn't helpful for you to know if you will not be using an agency).

Compose the advert well such that it contains all the vital information... working hours/days, pay level, specific duties, things you would want nanny to be doing, be very clear with regard to if you need someone who drives and if they need to provide a car or not.

Even with being specific in your advert, some people won't read it and apply regardless. So be prepared to sift through applicants.

Don't forget about more local advertising... a postcard in the window of the local newsagents/postoffice.

NetMums childcare board.

I got both my nannies from gumtree - its about £25/30 to advertise. I also put an ad on nannyjab last time which was about the same cost.
You do get lots of non-suitable people applying, but you can save so much money doing it yourself.

Great, thanks a lot for the replies.

Hi, I am a nanny and met my wonderful family through childcare.co.uk, most people on the site are qualified where as on gumtree its open for anyone to apply, you can also see how the nanny has described themselves on childcare.co.uk so you can see who you like the sound of. Good Luck x

Hi ladies,

Is there any other information that it's helpful to provide in the ad?

On salary is it OK to say "dependent on skills and experience" and then negotiate later, or does this put people off?

Have seen a few ads stating "nursery duties required", not sure what this means!

Nursery duties is anything in the house to do with child - child laundry, bedmaking, cooking, cleaning their room.

I would put a salary range that you're prepared to pay - no use anyone who wants £15/hour applying if you won't pay that - and then say negotiable on qualifications and experience.

Nursery duties are generally accepted to mean looking after all aspects of children's care and welfare incl laundry, clothes repairs, ironing, changing their beds and keeping their bedrooms neat and tidy, children's bathroom clean, all child related cooking and meal planning but not necessarily shopping. HTH.

Thanks, yes, agree would be silly to waste people's time. The salary bit is the hardest. Am inclined to offer a gross wage.

Thanks for the "nursery duties" explanation, all seems terribly traditional! Don't think we'll need all of that, so will try to explain what we do need.

Good to hear that good people can be found on gumtree, might try that and nannyjobs.

On salary is it OK to say "dependent on skills and experience" and then negotiate later, or does this put people off?

It would put me off. I have a mortgage to pay, I need to know what salary is on offer. If someone had that on their advert, first question I would be asking is what is the salary range. So may as well put the range, or the actual salary on the ad in my view.

Nursery duties is a short way of putting things going back to Print Media ads which used to cost a fortune and were charged on a per-word basis.

These days you can often have as much information as you want on an advert on the net... or will be limited to several thousand words, so use that space to it's advantage and list out the duties you expect to be done. Personally I don't Iron children's clothes - many don't need it these days with modern washing machines and synthetic fibres. I feel someone is hiring me for my childcare skills, not my housekeeping skills.

Work out what it is your want someone to do and put the full job description in the advert... you have the space to do so these days.

Gross - Gross - Gross. If a nanny wants to know what their take home pay might be, they can use a PAYE Calculator as it will change depending on their tax code and other circumstances (such as student loan or any other deduction from source).