When to begin nanny search?

[Anonymous]

I am going to be seeking a full-time nanny to start when I return to work in the beginning of April. Do people have thoughts about the right time to begin looking? And how much of an overlap/trial period should I plan on? Other advice?

[Anonymous]

My personal advice is that it's never too early to start looking. However, you're likely to hear the opposite here.

Of course, when there's little time, you have little choice, but to settle for whatever you can get.

So start now. You may find parents who want to help secure an excellent position for their former nanny.

[Anonymous]

Definitely start now. We hired our nanny about a month and a half prior to the agreed upon start date. There may be some nannies that want something to start sooner, but there will also be some where the current families still need them for a couple months and are just helping them with their search.

I did a full week overlap both for nanny and for me. I had a hard time being away and during that week I took longer and longer trips/errands during the day to get myself accustomed to being away. The week also made me feel comfortable with the nanny as I could see how she interacted with my child and hopefully got her comfortable with my child's preferences.

[Anonymous]

It certainly can't hurt to start now, although in my experience a lot of nannies don't get a ton of notice and end up being in the job search without a lot of warning. So keep your options open and don't feel like you have to choose someone right away - you do have a fair amount of time.

I took a week of flex time to overlap w/ our nanny. We had her over twice during the interview process, and once after we hired her (so it wasn't a totally cold start) and I spent her first 2 days at home. Then I did two days of half time at work, and Friday a full day (more to test myself than the nanny).

If you are confident in the person you hired you shouldn't need a ton of overlap time. He/she will want to able to get on with the job.

Good luck!