Hiring live-in nanny for 3 kids, struggling to find candidates, what would you do?

[orderlyhall]

I have twin babies (3 months old) and a little boy (nearly 3) and a week and a half ago started a search for a nanny for when I go back to work in July. We're looking for someone to live in and take care of all 3 full time on a sole charge basis, with the exception of when the toddler is at nursery for a few hours in the afternoon (and we may also arrange a nanny share for him some/all mornings). We are struggling to find candidates; my Gumtree posting has only yielded one candidate who had the required qualifications but who we weren't mad on. I'm surprised but am assuming that it's down to the live-in requirement and the fact that it's 3 kids. I've also tapped into all my networks and have been recommended another candidate by someone who nearly hired her (but didn't because she found someone with more relevant experience). [I haven't gone the agency route because I've heard that all they do is filter CVs which I'm happy to do.]

This girl is young and has only been an au pair for 2 years but seems smart (good uni/grades), committed to childcare, proactive, etc. I'm confident in her abilities with 3 year olds but she has very little experience with babies and certainly not with twins or with 3 full time and sole charge! (She does have experience with multiple kids though.) We specifically set out in our search to get someone experienced but given our difficulty in finding any candidates at all we are considering this girl. To complicate matters further she is based in France at the moment, we are going away on Saturday for a couple of weeks and she has an offer she needs to make a decision on by the end of the week. So we're arranging to bring her over for a day this week to spend some time with her but I wonder how much we'll be able to tell in half a day.

Going from au pairing to full time sole charge for 3 is a very big jump that I'm not entirely comfortable with but on the other hand I think good childcare ability is somewhat born rather than learned, being proactive and switched on gets you very far, and we don't seem to have many options! If it were you, would you keep looking and hope to find a better candidate within the few weeks I'll have when I come back from being away?

Thoughts/advice appreciated. Thanks (Sorry such a long post)

IMO 3 under 5's including two twin babies is a lot to take on for somebody with no experience with babies. I would wait for somebody else with relevant experience. I don't think it's the workload that puts the candidates off. For me it would be the fact that it is a live in position. I have experience with babies and that would be my dream job but I would want live out as I have my own family.

I agree, I think 3 under 5 (including new born twins - I have twins so know this isn't easy) is a big ask regardless of experience but especially to someone young with little experience and I'm guessing a lack of network where you live. I'm also thinking that because you want live-in, you're expecting early starts / late finishes (and even perhaps help in the night) given that your twins will only be 5 months.

I haven't used an agency yet, but we're in the process of using one for after school help, and imo they do more than simply sift CVs. They seem to have more candidates in the 1st place, they check qualifications and CRB checks and they seem to know the potential candidates (i.e they'd probably know of candidates who have twin experience / would consider live in even if they're not actively looking for a live in position / someone who might be suitable but timings are slightly out). I think its worth a call to a couple if you're getting no joy elsewhere.

I'd be reluctant to use someone with so little experience in your situation.

At this stage you don't have much to lose by using an agency or two - you only have to pay them if you take on someone via them.

The last time I looked on Gumtree (March) I was shocked by how many agencies were canvassing for candidates on there, which they will then turn around and try to pass onto parents for a mulitple of the salary.

Have you tried Nanny Job or Simply Childcare?

Maybe post your ad on here and get feedback first to see if there is anything that seems out of the ordinary.

sorry not multiple, a percentage

Confused as to why you would send your son to be part of a nanny share some mornings when you have your own nanny.

To be honest as a nanny this would be a job I'd be interested in - however I would prefer the eldest to be at nursery in the morning.

I don't see why the aupair wouldn't work out we al have to start somewhere but you need to trust that she can do it and you don't seem to be very confident almost resigned that shes your only option. Don't chose someone because it's the only option choose someone who will fit into your family.

I agree with grabaspoon, don't take someone on because you don't have anyone else.

How about looking for a temp nanny for now and carry on your search for a permanent.

Where are you based? I have loads of baby twin experience and am looking for temp work at the moment!

I also agree that you don't need to find another nanny for your three year old. A competent nanny will look after three under three.

Is your gumtree advertisement similar to what you posted above?

To be a live-in is very different to the usual but you haven't really addressed the situation - what's her part of the accommodation like, what are the hours, what are your family like (artistic, musical, vegetarian, etc), why would a Young Thing like to live in your locality, ...

Why live-in? If it was live out then it may suit someone local, possibly someone older, someone more experienced.

Some of us nannies avoid live-in jobs as we like having our time off away from our workplace.

From what I know of agencys they do more than sift cvs, as Mandy21's post says.
They ensure things like CRB are done, nannies have first aid certificates, they will send you ones who can drive etc. They have many nannies on their books.

speaking as a hirer, I'd never advertise on Gumtree, I don't think you'll get the best quality candidates there. The experienced nannies who are after the best jobs will go via agencies and then specific sites like childcare.co.uk / nannyjobs will also probably yield better quality candidates. You should of course also search those sites for nannies advertising themselves rather than simply waiting for responses.

Try nanny job.co.UK

Or put a private advert on great care.co.UK .. Loads of nannies get those jobs emailed to them

Also try childcare .co .uk

I know someone who sounds exactly what you need. How many days do you want and what's your pay? She is highly qualified and experienced so won't be cheap...

Hi everyone, thanks for your replies. Some answers to the questions raised:

• Live in because my husband travels a fair bit so we need someone around in case I need to work late, someone gets sick, etc. Also we have a spare room and it makes sense financially to put it to work! (Can understand though that for the majority of both nannies and employers live out is preferable.)
• My posting on Gumtree was quite detailed about our family and the living arrangement (which is pretty attractive, I believe - own bed/bathroom in a fairly spacious house in SW London/Clapham).
• I used Gumtree because as a poster pointed out agencies use it to recruit and I just assumed most nannies who were looking for a job would look on there. There are plenty of adverts on there with what appear to be good nanny jobs. I would expect to get a lot of less qualified candidates applying (and I have) but they're easy enough to filter out. I'll try nannyjob.co.uk and greatcare.co.uk though.
• Point taken about agencies but I'm happy going the DIY route (check references etc. myself) unless I really do HAVE to go through an agency to find good candidates. Which I'm not convinced I need to do.

My reluctance about this particular candidate is less about her and more about the fact that she's only the second candidate we've interviewed and we'd have to make a rushed decision to take her on. Her experience isn't ideal but then again our previous nanny was pretty inexperienced and we loved her - she was a natural. I guess I'm also thinking that you never really know if a candidate is going to work out until you take her on so maybe it's worth committing to her and if it doesn't work out cut our losses early on and try again. But it would obviously be preferable to get it right the first time.

Farewelltoarms - M-F. Pay will depend on the candidate but from my own research it seems like the going rate for what we're looking for is around £350npw.

Also if your in clapham

Put an and on nappy valley.net

For top applicants you'll need to pay 375 / 400 net

I am really not sure why you dont want to use an agency as others have suggested. You are complaining about only finding a few candidates and surely the agencies will help you find more.

Apologies I can see its on nappy valley

using an agency isn't just for checking references. I really believe that good and experienced nannies will ONLY go through agencies when they are looking because from their perspective, the agency will screen out the waste of time employers in the same way they'll filter useless / inappropriate candidates from you.

If i was looking for a job, i'd use a recruitment consultant because they'll have a broader range and will have all the employers who want to go under the radar. It's not the market you're looking for, but eg a Norland nanny is not likely to be on Gumtree, and that filters down.

I wouldn't go near agency - no previous good experiences.

I think you need to put a salary on your gumtree ad and also remove the light housework bit and change it to nursery duties. (the nanny will be expected to tidy and clean up after the kids anyway).

putting sw4 and live in nanny/full time as options on childcare.co.uk gave all these nannies

www.childcare.co.uk/advancedsearch/Nanny/SW4/5+Miles/Both/Both/All+Ages/-/login/2/?tags=Full+Time+Nanny%2CLive+In+Nanny

so worth having a look on there too.

Karoleann, would you mind saying what went wrong with them for you?

I don't want to use an agency because I don't want to pay the fees if I don't have to - as I said before, I've heard that agencies don't actually do all that much (sorry to anyone here who has or works for an agency) and I have the time and inclination to search myself so I will start with that. (EasterHoliday - I wouldn't use recruitment consultants for myself either!)

Karoleann, thanks for the tips.

'I really believe that good and experienced nannies will ONLY go through agencies when they are looking'

You are wrong. HTH.

I just wrote a looong post and lost it!!

OP the job market is very slow at the moment, there are more nannies than jobs so I would expect you to be inundated with applicants. The fact that you're not suggests that there is something unappealing about the job or the ad for the job.

How much experience are you looking for? Bear in mind that the vast majority of live-in nannies are going to be young because older (and therefore more experienced) nannies are going to have their own families/houses.

The au pair could be fine, it really depends on the person. I got into nannying via a similar route (degree, mother's help, nanny to 3 under 4) and I've never had any complaints .

A lot of agencies are a PITA for nannies. I work in an area with a LOT of nannies and the order of preference when looking for a job is; word of mouth, gumtree/childcare.co.uk/nannyjob/private ads, agencies. So in this area the agencies are full of the nannies that couldn't get a job via route a or b. Not that they're bad nannies, but maybe they want a very specific type of job or unusually high salary. The very highest paid jobs do tend to be with agencies, probably because they're parents with more money than sense time.

Have to chip in again. This reminds me of various friends who have brought and sold houses over the years. Complain about estate agents doing nothing for their fee yet how many houses are actually sold privately without one (I am not an estate agent btw!) 10% I would guess. They do do something that we cannot do....

You have few applicants yet you think you can do it yourself. Dont just take someone because they were better than nothing!

Someone correct me if I am wrong but you only pay if they find you someone dont you so why not use them along side your own efforts. If you get a flaky one who was the best of a bad job then you will be back to square one and probably working so wont have time on your side.