Nanny candidate thinks prior job determines current pay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't think of a single other service provider you would presume to question their rates or the method by which they set them. She has an expectation and you have yours. If you don't feel her rates are in your price range or appropriate for the position, hire another candidate. If you can't find a suitable candidate in your price range (and I think you should be able to) adjust your expectations.

Agree.
In no job field do you drop your pay scale just because it's a new job.

Op's entitlement is appalling.

OP's position aside, rates stay the same only if the job is the same.

Ha! Just like my rent.

[Anonymous]

This one is plain and simple.

Both sides are not even on the same page...Nor even in the same book regarding salary.

I advise to keep on in your nanny search while she does the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many others run into this issue? We're hiring a nanny for our kids; candidate has recently left a many-years job and seems to think her pay rate with our family should pick up where she left off with the old. Among her justifications for her ultra-high wage request: she managed a 10,000 sq ft house. Well, ours isn't even half that size, so does that mean I get to suggest she charge half her requested rate? It's great that she was working for a very wealthy family with a very large home, but she seems to expect that she should be able to transition seamlessly into another position at the same wage, never mind that her qualifications aren't anything unusual and honestly, she's going to have trouble finding another family that fits the description of where she just was (no longer local to DC; this is in an area where 10,000 sq ft homes are distinct anomaly).

What's a reasonable compromise when someone starts off thinking she wants, say, $32/hr, "drops" her rate to $29/hr, but I'm not planning on paying more than $25? We're not paying $25 now, so it would be an increase for us but a substantial decrease from what she thinks she deserves.

I will admit I sometimes want to point out the obvious: that nanny jobs don't necessarily lend themselves to ever-increasing pay rates, and given your career choice there's a pretty good chance you'll have to hit the reset button on salary (at least to some degree) as you move from job to job.

Yes, the obvious fact here is that you simply can't afford the nanny you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many others run into this issue? We're hiring a nanny for our kids; candidate has recently left a many-years job and seems to think her pay rate with our family should pick up where she left off with the old. Among her justifications for her ultra-high wage request: she managed a 10,000 sq ft house. Well, ours isn't even half that size, so does that mean I get to suggest she charge half her requested rate? It's great that she was working for a very wealthy family with a very large home, but she seems to expect that she should be able to transition seamlessly into another position at the same wage, never mind that her qualifications aren't anything unusual and honestly, she's going to have trouble finding another family that fits the description of where she just was (no longer local to DC; this is in an area where 10,000 sq ft homes are distinct anomaly).

What's a reasonable compromise when someone starts off thinking she wants, say, $32/hr, "drops" her rate to $29/hr, but I'm not planning on paying more than $25? We're not paying $25 now, so it would be an increase for us but a substantial decrease from what she thinks she deserves.

I will admit I sometimes want to point out the obvious: that nanny jobs don't necessarily lend themselves to ever-increasing pay rates, and given your career choice there's a pretty good chance you'll have to hit the reset button on salary (at least to some degree) as you move from job to job.

Yes, the obvious fact here is that you simply can't afford the nanny you want.

Nannies are like houses.

Maybe OP is upset because she thinks there is some inherent cap on the cost of a house and obviously there isn't.

Maybe the nanny is priced too high for the market to bear, and given her willingness to continue this conversation, that's looking at least plausible.

Maybe she got offers last year at her asking price, but now can't find any and will have to come down.

[Anonymous]

The nanny candidate will have to adjust her rate to what the market pays in her new town for the job requirements. I would not hire a candidate who took a significant pay cut from her last position because I would feel like they wouldn't be satisfied in the long run. My current nanny has been with us a long time and, as a result, she is very well-compensated with pay and a full benefits package. It is worth it to us to pay her above market since she knows us and our needs so well that with the three adults working together, our household runs almost seamlessly. However, this would not be the case with a new nanny and she could also not command such a rich comp package if she was to move into a similar new position tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Let the market sort this out on her own. I know you want to give her some tips on finding the next job, but you're not her career coach. If she honestly thinks she can easily find a $29-32/hr nanny job in DC, she's welcome to look and see if she finds it.

You're not obligated to create the job she feels entitled to. You have certain qualifications you're looking for, it sounds like she barely meets them anyway, so keep looking at other candidates and if you're not finding what you want - then adjust the pay up and/or adjust your qualification requirements down.

The market will guide her and it will guide you on whether you're being reasonable. IMO, $25/hr is a really high rate - you can expect a lot for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you take a pay cut when you go to a new job? Didn't think so. Why should she?

Why yes I did! By tens of thousands of dollars. I moved from an organization with high pay and higher expectations to one with reasonable pay and more reasonable expectations. I did not assume my former compensation would determine what I must be paid in a new, different job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The nanny candidate will have to adjust her rate to what the market pays in her new town for the job requirements. I would not hire a candidate who took a significant pay cut from her last position because I would feel like they wouldn't be satisfied in the long run. My current nanny has been with us a long time and, as a result, she is very well-compensated with pay and a full benefits package. It is worth it to us to pay her above market since she knows us and our needs so well that with the three adults working together, our household runs almost seamlessly. However, this would not be the case with a new nanny and she could also not command such a rich comp package if she was to move into a similar new position tomorrow.

This is the exact scenario.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many others run into this issue? We're hiring a nanny for our kids; candidate has recently left a many-years job and seems to think her pay rate with our family should pick up where she left off with the old. Among her justifications for her ultra-high wage request: she managed a 10,000 sq ft house. Well, ours isn't even half that size, so does that mean I get to suggest she charge half her requested rate? It's great that she was working for a very wealthy family with a very large home, but she seems to expect that she should be able to transition seamlessly into another position at the same wage, never mind that her qualifications aren't anything unusual and honestly, she's going to have trouble finding another family that fits the description of where she just was (no longer local to DC; this is in an area where 10,000 sq ft homes are distinct anomaly).

What's a reasonable compromise when someone starts off thinking she wants, say, $32/hr, "drops" her rate to $29/hr, but I'm not planning on paying more than $25? We're not paying $25 now, so it would be an increase for us but a substantial decrease from what she thinks she deserves.

I will admit I sometimes want to point out the obvious: that nanny jobs don't necessarily lend themselves to ever-increasing pay rates, and given your career choice there's a pretty good chance you'll have to hit the reset button on salary (at least to some degree) as you move from job to job.

If she started out negotiations at 32 and you started with your maximum at 25, you aren't a match and should move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you take a pay cut when you go to a new job? Didn't think so. Why should she?

Why yes I did! By tens of thousands of dollars. I moved from an organization with high pay and higher expectations to one with reasonable pay and more reasonable expectations. I did not assume my former compensation would determine what I must be paid in a new, different job.

You were already overpaid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you take a pay cut when you go to a new job? Didn't think so. Why should she?

Why yes I did! By tens of thousands of dollars. I moved from an organization with high pay and higher expectations to one with reasonable pay and more reasonable expectations. I did not assume my former compensation would determine what I must be paid in a new, different job.

You were already overpaid.

Or, you know, was appropriately paid for the job I had at the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The nanny candidate will have to adjust her rate to what the market pays in her new town for the job requirements. I would not hire a candidate who took a significant pay cut from her last position because I would feel like they wouldn't be satisfied in the long run. My current nanny has been with us a long time and, as a result, she is very well-compensated with pay and a full benefits package. It is worth it to us to pay her above market since she knows us and our needs so well that with the three adults working together, our household runs almost seamlessly. However, this would not be the case with a new nanny and she could also not command such a rich comp package if she was to move into a similar new position tomorrow.

Dream on. She earns a decent rate because her skills command that rate.

No smart person accepts lower pay for the same sort of job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The nanny candidate will have to adjust her rate to what the market pays in her new town for the job requirements. I would not hire a candidate who took a significant pay cut from her last position because I would feel like they wouldn't be satisfied in the long run. My current nanny has been with us a long time and, as a result, she is very well-compensated with pay and a full benefits package. It is worth it to us to pay her above market since she knows us and our needs so well that with the three adults working together, our household runs almost seamlessly. However, this would not be the case with a new nanny and she could also not command such a rich comp package if she was to move into a similar new position tomorrow.

Dream on. She earns a decent rate because her skills command that rate.

No smart person accepts lower pay for the same sort of job.

I wonder how long she'll be looking. I suspect a while before settling for no more than $25/hr.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The nanny candidate will have to adjust her rate to what the market pays in her new town for the job requirements. I would not hire a candidate who took a significant pay cut from her last position because I would feel like they wouldn't be satisfied in the long run. My current nanny has been with us a long time and, as a result, she is very well-compensated with pay and a full benefits package. It is worth it to us to pay her above market since she knows us and our needs so well that with the three adults working together, our household runs almost seamlessly. However, this would not be the case with a new nanny and she could also not command such a rich comp package if she was to move into a similar new position tomorrow.

Dream on. She earns a decent rate because her skills command that rate.

No smart person accepts lower pay for the same sort of job.

I wonder how long she'll be looking. I suspect a while before settling for no more than $25/hr.

Fewer people can afford higher rates, so of course it'll take longer than your average nanny with her average rates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The nanny candidate will have to adjust her rate to what the market pays in her new town for the job requirements. I would not hire a candidate who took a significant pay cut from her last position because I would feel like they wouldn't be satisfied in the long run. My current nanny has been with us a long time and, as a result, she is very well-compensated with pay and a full benefits package. It is worth it to us to pay her above market since she knows us and our needs so well that with the three adults working together, our household runs almost seamlessly. However, this would not be the case with a new nanny and she could also not command such a rich comp package if she was to move into a similar new position tomorrow.

Dream on. She earns a decent rate because her skills command that rate.

No smart person accepts lower pay for the same sort of job.

I wonder how long she'll be looking. I suspect a while before settling for no more than $25/hr.

Fewer people can afford higher rates, so of course it'll take longer than your average nanny with her average rates.

Most of us can't afford to be out of work for long.