do they not read the ad?!

[Anonymous]

Most of the ads I see are pretty useless anyways. These are for older kids (like 3 and above).

Lines that aren't helpful in your ad:

1) "We are looking for someone that loves children" - Oh ok, so that excludes the nannies that hate children. So your parenting style is "love the children" got it.

2) "If children frustrate you, this won't be the position for you" - A line like this makes me think your kids are not well behaved and are "hard to love" to an outsider.

3) "The children are sweet but high energy" - Ok now it's confirmed, your kids are hell raisers and most of your nannies have quit after a few months.

4) "Animal lovers please apply (we have pets)!" - What a dumb line, just say you have a cat or whatever.

5) "Arts and crafts lovers are strongly encouraged to apply!" - I see this on every ad, and I'm sure most of those kids don't want to do arts and crafts. Why not be more specific and say they like to color or want to learn to draw. Just because a nanny might like making a handprint turkey at Thanksgiving doesn't mean they could help your child learn to draw. Just be specific!

6) "Willing to pay well for the right candidate" - Everyone knows this means you pay very little money. Just list the actual amount you are willing to offer. Stop screwing around.

[Anonymous]

And what if (like in my case) you clearly listed out the salary, benefits, stipends, hours, ages, etc. And you state that you need someone with a valid driver's license and receive 40 replies and only three of them have a license. Which you learn after taking the time to reply to each one you think might be a candidate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And what if (like in my case) you clearly listed out the salary, benefits, stipends, hours, ages, etc. And you state that you need someone with a valid driver's license and receive 40 replies and only three of them have a license. Which you learn after taking the time to reply to each one you think might be a candidate?

How is it even possible to get 37 people who can't drive to email you? Are you asking for a high school sitter or a "native spanish speaker"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And what if (like in my case) you clearly listed out the salary, benefits, stipends, hours, ages, etc. And you state that you need someone with a valid driver's license and receive 40 replies and only three of them have a license. Which you learn after taking the time to reply to each one you think might be a candidate?

How is it even possible to get 37 people who can't drive to email you? Are you asking for a high school sitter or a "native spanish speaker"?

Because they don't. read. the. ad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And what if (like in my case) you clearly listed out the salary, benefits, stipends, hours, ages, etc. And you state that you need someone with a valid driver's license and receive 40 replies and only three of them have a license. Which you learn after taking the time to reply to each one you think might be a candidate?

How is it even possible to get 37 people who can't drive to email you? Are you asking for a high school sitter or a "native spanish speaker"?

Because they don't. read. the. ad.

OR your. job. sucks. and only desperate "nannies" are applying. They probably read it, but were hoping your applicant pool was weak (it was) and that you would consider them. If the fish are biting, but not the right ones, and not ones worth keeping, you get better bait, not keeping throwing the same shit out there.

[Anonymous]

When you offer an attractive job with good pay and benefits, the unqualified applicants still apply. There are just a lot more of them and they are looking for jobs a lot longer.
We've posted nanny positions twice on care and sitter city. Both times, we got well over 100 applications. Maybe 15 met our minimum requirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And what if (like in my case) you clearly listed out the salary, benefits, stipends, hours, ages, etc. And you state that you need someone with a valid driver's license and receive 40 replies and only three of them have a license. Which you learn after taking the time to reply to each one you think might be a candidate?

If you are certain your ad is clear and doesn't lead to confusion. I would stop responding to the ones that are not qualified.

My other suggestion is to go with an agency. I know there are fees for parents, but from what I have heard it's less drama.

I am a nanny and I prefer agencies. The care sites are a headache.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of the ads I see are pretty useless anyways. These are for older kids (like 3 and above).

Lines that aren't helpful in your ad:

1) "We are looking for someone that loves children" - Oh ok, so that excludes the nannies that hate children. So your parenting style is "love the children" got it.

2) "If children frustrate you, this won't be the position for you" - A line like this makes me think your kids are not well behaved and are "hard to love" to an outsider.

3) "The children are sweet but high energy" - Ok now it's confirmed, your kids are hell raisers and most of your nannies have quit after a few months.

4) "Animal lovers please apply (we have pets)!" - What a dumb line, just say you have a cat or whatever.

5) "Arts and crafts lovers are strongly encouraged to apply!" - I see this on every ad, and I'm sure most of those kids don't want to do arts and crafts. Why not be more specific and say they like to color or want to learn to draw. Just because a nanny might like making a handprint turkey at Thanksgiving doesn't mean they could help your child learn to draw. Just be specific!

6) "Willing to pay well for the right candidate" - Everyone knows this means you pay very little money. Just list the actual amount you are willing to offer. Stop screwing around.

This is why I'm not a fan of the tick boxes .Simply not enough information. But even if a family fills out a proper listing you can't read it unless you have a premium membership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you offer an attractive job with good pay and benefits, the unqualified applicants still apply. There are just a lot more of them and they are looking for jobs a lot longer.
We've posted nanny positions twice on care and sitter city. Both times, we got well over 100 applications. Maybe 15 met our minimum requirement.

This is different than posting an ad, getting 18 responses, the majority of which don't meet your standards. Sounds like you're actually doing it right PP. the reality is that there is a glut of nannies on the market. No one denies that. Truthfully however, finding a good nanny who meets your standards, suits your family in personality, and is on the same page with regard to benefits is not so easy to find, as many here would have you to believe, and if you find that, it is in both of your interests to try to keep each other happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of these problems would be avoided by putting more detailed information in the ad, for example how much are you paying? $10-15 doesn't tell me much. I've gotten to interviews and find out they're only paying $10, and my starting rate is $14. Are you planning to withold taxes? Are you offering paid time off? Tell me about your parenting style. If you require a car, tell me why. What are you looking for in a nanny? What traits do you hope she'll have? Exactly how many hours are you offering? Are you open to a share if you're offering the low end of market rate?

So many of the ads just have a few form lines clicked (must love children! [Really?!] Looking to start in weeks! (WHEN exactly?) and are missing the information needed to make a good decision about whether I want to apply. Those are the ads that get form letter applications. I generally give a thoughtful application, but so many of them don't get a response that i do a lot of copy and pasting but will change details to suit the specific ad.

If you can work for $14 I'm sure you can work for $10. Get over yourself.

That's a difference of at least $640 a month dumb ass. I don't know about you, but no one I know can take that much of a hit to their income, even if they make a lot more money than that. Not everyone lives in NY or DC or LA and makes $25/hr and even then they'd have a hard time taking that big a hit because the rents are so much higher. What planet are you from anyway?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the ads I see are pretty useless anyways. These are for older kids (like 3 and above).

Lines that aren't helpful in your ad:

1) "We are looking for someone that loves children" - Oh ok, so that excludes the nannies that hate children. So your parenting style is "love the children" got it.

2) "If children frustrate you, this won't be the position for you" - A line like this makes me think your kids are not well behaved and are "hard to love" to an outsider.

3) "The children are sweet but high energy" - Ok now it's confirmed, your kids are hell raisers and most of your nannies have quit after a few months.

4) "Animal lovers please apply (we have pets)!" - What a dumb line, just say you have a cat or whatever.

5) "Arts and crafts lovers are strongly encouraged to apply!" - I see this on every ad, and I'm sure most of those kids don't want to do arts and crafts. Why not be more specific and say they like to color or want to learn to draw. Just because a nanny might like making a handprint turkey at Thanksgiving doesn't mean they could help your child learn to draw. Just be specific!

6) "Willing to pay well for the right candidate" - Everyone knows this means you pay very little money. Just list the actual amount you are willing to offer. Stop screwing around.

This is why I'm not a fan of the tick boxes .Simply not enough information. But even if a family fills out a proper listing you can't read it unless you have a premium membership.

What are you talking about? I have been using care.com and sittercity on the side for over 8 years (well sittercity for 2-3) and have never ever once paid them a dime. I have read, responded to, and landed numerous jobs without paying anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of these problems would be avoided by putting more detailed information in the ad, for example how much are you paying? $10-15 doesn't tell me much. I've gotten to interviews and find out they're only paying $10, and my starting rate is $14. Are you planning to withold taxes? Are you offering paid time off? Tell me about your parenting style. If you require a car, tell me why. What are you looking for in a nanny? What traits do you hope she'll have? Exactly how many hours are you offering? Are you open to a share if you're offering the low end of market rate?

So many of the ads just have a few form lines clicked (must love children! [Really?!] Looking to start in weeks! (WHEN exactly?) and are missing the information needed to make a good decision about whether I want to apply. Those are the ads that get form letter applications. I generally give a thoughtful application, but so many of them don't get a response that i do a lot of copy and pasting but will change details to suit the specific ad.

If you can work for $14 I'm sure you can work for $10. Get over yourself.

That's a difference of at least $640 a month dumb ass. I don't know about you, but no one I know can take that much of a hit to their income, even if they make a lot more money than that. Not everyone lives in NY or DC or LA and makes $25/hr and even then they'd have a hard time taking that big a hit because the rents are so much higher. What planet are you from anyway?

So work a couple extra hours a week. It's not rocket science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the ads I see are pretty useless anyways. These are for older kids (like 3 and above).

Lines that aren't helpful in your ad:

1) "We are looking for someone that loves children" - Oh ok, so that excludes the nannies that hate children. So your parenting style is "love the children" got it.

2) "If children frustrate you, this won't be the position for you" - A line like this makes me think your kids are not well behaved and are "hard to love" to an outsider.

3) "The children are sweet but high energy" - Ok now it's confirmed, your kids are hell raisers and most of your nannies have quit after a few months.

4) "Animal lovers please apply (we have pets)!" - What a dumb line, just say you have a cat or whatever.

5) "Arts and crafts lovers are strongly encouraged to apply!" - I see this on every ad, and I'm sure most of those kids don't want to do arts and crafts. Why not be more specific and say they like to color or want to learn to draw. Just because a nanny might like making a handprint turkey at Thanksgiving doesn't mean they could help your child learn to draw. Just be specific!

6) "Willing to pay well for the right candidate" - Everyone knows this means you pay very little money. Just list the actual amount you are willing to offer. Stop screwing around.

This is why I'm not a fan of the tick boxes .Simply not enough information. But even if a family fills out a proper listing you can't read it unless you have a premium membership.

What are you talking about? I have been using care.com and sittercity on the side for over 8 years (well sittercity for 2-3) and have never ever once paid them a dime. I have read, responded to, and landed numerous jobs without paying anything.

. Have you used it to find a job in the last 6 months?

Because now unless you or the parent pays they cannot read your profile or resp and to your application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the ads I see are pretty useless anyways. These are for older kids (like 3 and above).

Lines that aren't helpful in your ad:

1) "We are looking for someone that loves children" - Oh ok, so that excludes the nannies that hate children. So your parenting style is "love the children" got it.

2) "If children frustrate you, this won't be the position for you" - A line like this makes me think your kids are not well behaved and are "hard to love" to an outsider.

3) "The children are sweet but high energy" - Ok now it's confirmed, your kids are hell raisers and most of your nannies have quit after a few months.

4) "Animal lovers please apply (we have pets)!" - What a dumb line, just say you have a cat or whatever.

5) "Arts and crafts lovers are strongly encouraged to apply!" - I see this on every ad, and I'm sure most of those kids don't want to do arts and crafts. Why not be more specific and say they like to color or want to learn to draw. Just because a nanny might like making a handprint turkey at Thanksgiving doesn't mean they could help your child learn to draw. Just be specific!

6) "Willing to pay well for the right candidate" - Everyone knows this means you pay very little money. Just list the actual amount you are willing to offer. Stop screwing around.

This is why I'm not a fan of the tick boxes .Simply not enough information. But even if a family fills out a proper listing you can't read it unless you have a premium membership.

What are you talking about? I have been using care.com and sittercity on the side for over 8 years (well sittercity for 2-3) and have never ever once paid them a dime. I have read, responded to, and landed numerous jobs without paying anything.

. Have you used it to find a job in the last 6 months?

Because now unless you or the parent pays they cannot read your profile or resp and to your application.

Yes just had two interviews from care.com in the last week. Still have never paid a dime. But you implied in your earlier post the nanny had to pay to read and respond, and that is not true. The parents always had to pay. It's not a free service, it's a business. But my point stand, nanny doesn't need to pay anything to make full use of the site.

[Anonymous]

ANYONE and EVERYONE who has a). computer access and b). internet access can post a profile on either Care.com or Sittercity.com and pose as a nanny/babysitter, etc.

Which is basically anyone since even public libraries everywhere these days offer free internet and computer access.

So basically ANY Tom, Dick, Jane or Mary can post online and claim they are nannies.

These childcare websites are a joke and should not be charging parents money. The lady on the commercials from Care.com is making tons of ca$h money as CEO, but her website offers nothing that free Craigslist doesn't.

It is a scam.

Parents aren't paying for anything that they cannot get for free on CL.