How involved were you in helping nanny find new position?

[Anonymous]

We recently parted ways with our nanny because our family’s needs changed. We gave her about 3 months’ notice, so this was not a surprise to her. I am of course happy to serve as a reference and have posted about her seeking work on our neighborhood list serve. She isn’t advertising herself anywhere and seems to be relying on me to generate leads and pass them on to her. Is this normal?

[Anonymous]

No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No.

Care to elaborate?

[Anonymous]

We were our nanny's third family. Every job came from a family referral so she was expecting that from me. I advertised for her, she ended up taking a part time job, I (with my resources) didn't find anything full time for her. I do think she could have done better if she had tried and asked her network instead.

[Anonymous]

Nanny left business cards on doors, put flyers up with permission at community center, all I did.eas talk to people wanting references. She was fluent English speaker, paid over the table, good driving record

[Anonymous]

While it is very generous + kind of you to help your Nanny find a new position - the onus should be mostly on HER to find a new job.

She shouldn’t expect you to do all the fancy footwork. 🤔

[Anonymous]

We found our nanny her next position. I wanted to make sure she had a job. I also think that recommendations from employers are better than nanny self promotion. I was able to give a very honest assessment of strengths and weaknesses, nobody is perfect, and it's been a great fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We found our nanny her next position. I wanted to make sure she had a job. I also think that recommendations from employers are better than nanny self promotion. I was able to give a very honest assessment of strengths and weaknesses, nobody is perfect, and it's been a great fit.

Agree 100%. If the nanny was decent to you, and especially if she’s an immigrant, I think the least you can do is market her to your network. Not just one half-a**ed FB post, but make it compelling. Also tell your friends and colleagues that you know someone in case one of their colleagues or friends is looking, etc.

Nowadays so many people are desperate for a nanny. So if you’re not able to generate leads I have to imagine you are not trying very hard. I had to let a good (not great) nanny go due to a move but invested time into crafting a really compelling (but honest) blurb about her. Started off posting in only the neighborhood FB group and texting a couple of friends about her, but that itself generated several good leads. If I had gone so far as posting in Nanny Network of NoVA or similar, I imagine it would have resulted in a ton more.

[Anonymous]

I helped her as much as I could, but because she was with us for so long (15 years!) I wasn't connected enough to parents of younger DCs to find her something easily. I had a glowing letter of recommendation on hand for her, and I made myself easily available by phone to her prospective employers. We eventually found a position for her through a local online parents' group---she would alert me to posts that interested her from parents seeking nannies, and I would respond to them and follow up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While it is very generous + kind of you to help your Nanny find a new position - the onus should be mostly on HER to find a new job.

She shouldn’t expect you to do all the fancy footwork. 🤔

I feel like being helpful in this sort of scenario has benefits beyond just helping your nanny. When my older child was an infant and I was getting ready to return to work, I really appreciated the nanny referrals from friends and acquaintances. I found my wonderful nanny through a lovely neighbor who was willing to do the fancy footwork for both of us at a time when I was feeling overwhelmed and anxious. It takes a village.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We recently parted ways with our nanny because our family’s needs changed. We gave her about 3 months’ notice, so this was not a surprise to her. I am of course happy to serve as a reference and have posted about her seeking work on our neighborhood list serve. She isn’t advertising herself anywhere and seems to be relying on me to generate leads and pass them on to her. Is this normal?

Did you give her a fabulous detailed reference letter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We recently parted ways with our nanny because our family’s needs changed. We gave her about 3 months’ notice, so this was not a surprise to her. I am of course happy to serve as a reference and have posted about her seeking work on our neighborhood list serve. She isn’t advertising herself anywhere and seems to be relying on me to generate leads and pass them on to her. Is this normal?

Did you give her a fabulous detailed reference letter?

OP. I wrote a very nice blurb for her and posted it on multiple neighborhood listservs (I live on the boundary line of a few neighborhoods) and also sent it to a school listserv. None of my friends or their friends are hiring anyone right now, so this is really the extent of my network at the moment. I’m fielding calls and recommending her to people. She was good, not great, but I think she can still be the right fit for someone. She is an immigrant but has lived and nannied here for decades and is a citizen. She still seems to expect me to be doing all the legwork, including following up with people to make sure they reach out to her.

[Anonymous]

It's not your job to find her next position. I've been in the industry for 20+ years. While I've had families give me referrals and post in groups for me, I still did my due diligence of applying to different positions, posting myself, etc.

[Anonymous]

No it is not.

She is 💯% responsible in obtaining new employment so she needs to be making the majority of the effort.

What you are doing to help her is very generous but is not a requirement.

I find it a little odd that she does not seem that invested in looking for a new job.

[Anonymous]

I posted on neighborhood listserv and followed up with the handful of families who expressed interest. After she interviewed, gave nanny my opinion on which family I thought might be the best fit. She accepted their offer and was happily employed for the next several years.