So hard to even find candidates for a nanny...

[KrispyKremeDonuts]

...or is it just the job that's so unattractive? Last time I advertised on gumtree i got a lot of junk replies and no real potentials, so this time i emailed about 10 people advertising themselves on nannyjob and gumtree, and a week later, only 1 has got back to me (to say she's not interested!).

It's only a 4 day job and most of them stated "full time", but 10hrs x 4d = 40 hrs/wk is still 2 hours longer than my working week full time. I did target British nannies - are they in huge demand? Or is it just that people don't check emails very often? Surely you would if you are looking for a job?

It depresses me that I'm probably going to have to go to an agency and pay >£2000 placement fee... sigh

Hi krispykreme where are you situated. I think people advertise then get jobs and don't take advertisements off. Anyway good luck.

Generally a full time nanny position is considered to be 50 - 60 hours a week so that may be part of the problem. Good luck with the hunt

where do you live? if its london or surrounds try simplychildcare.com. its a listing mag, you pay for an advert for four or five issues - i think it's about £30-40 - in which you advertise the job andd then you can also read ads from nannies offering themselves (so to speak). it was recommended to me and the candidates are a lot better than they were on gumtree, also higher percentage of british nannies. it is also good for shares. also registered on nannyshare.co.uk which might help you hctsb if you are in london, but we didnt find anyone.
in the end we got our fabulous nanny thru an agency but did wince as i wrote the cheque (she is worth everry penny, but i dont see exactly what the agency does for the money frankly). good luck with the hunt!

Try the lady magazine

Have you placed an advert yourself on NannyJob, NannySelect, Gumtree? If not, surely that is the next step, before using an agency. Also consider local print media ads - Local paper, postcard in local shop windows.

where are you... i currently know a fair few (really good) nannies looking for 4 day positons!

hijack, nannyL any of those 4 days a week people in Cambridgeshire by any chance??

[desperate pleading emoticon]

also try netmums to put ad on

think on the NJ ads, it does say when you look on cv in red letters at top that if they havent updated for 3mths that they might not be still looking, but agree if they dont renew the ad after a month, they should be deleted,be so much easier.

I do know of a nanny who is nearish cambridge who is looking

she is on NJ

Glad to hear I'm not the only one finding it difficult - and thanks, i will follow up suggestions. 50-60 hours seems awfully long hours to me.the people i emailed had only put their ads on a few days before, so they must have been snappped up really quickly.

NannyL, I'm in London - any suggestions gratefully received!!!

sorry... i know people on the south coast... hants / sussex

Where abouts in London Krispy?

West London, zone 2/3 ish. Any further ideas of where to look gratefully received

the person I emailed (twice) and not received a reply has renewed their advert now. I'm tryin gnot to take it personally...

It might be worth trying a new advert on gumtree - perhaps changing the wording slightly - that's what I did and second time round I found some better quality candidates ( and some not so good ones..). FWIW I found that when I signed on with a couple of local agencies, some of the nannies on their books had also replied to my ads on gumtree, so the agencies don't necessarily have "better" nannies.

I found mine word of mouth via the college of fe where they trained (I live in the Channel Isles so don't know Uk situation on this). May be worth finding where local nanny's qualify from and have a word with one of their tutors. They will be sitting exams and graduating pretty soon I would have though so it is a good time.