Critique my job offer please

[Anonymous]

We are looking for a nanny and found someone we like. We offered $17/hr with 5 sick days, 2 weeks vacation. This is for 2 kids (infant and toddler) and we would need someone probably 37 hours per week over 4 days, but we offered to guarantee 40 hours per week even though the nanny would most likely not work 40 hours most weeks unless one of us was running late. A nanny that we really like turned us down and said she needed $18/hr. I wish we could pay more, but we can't, and I just want to make sure what I'm offering is reasonable. Will I be able to find good candidates with experience? Is there really a big difference for nannies from $17/hr to $18/hr?

[Anonymous]

I think what you're offering is reasonable, but if you continue to find that the candidates you like are asking for more, your expectations may be out of line with your offer. I have a degree in early childhood education, teaching and nanny experience, and I speak 3 languages. I would also not take less than $18/hour for your job, but that does not mean that you won't find someone.

[Anonymous]

Your offer is good for the DC area, OP.

[Anonymous]

I think that's a perfectly reasonable offer OP. You should be able to find many qualified, legal candidates for that position.

[Anonymous]

Also wanted to add, for me $17 or $18/hr doesn't make a huge difference but I would not accept $17 because of what it would do to my wage history. Say your job ends, and my new potential employer calls for a reference and verifies my last salary. My minimum before your job was $18 but I accepted $17 to start. My new minimum is $19, but potential employer offers $16 because there isn't a huge difference between $17 and $16. Now we are on completely different pages!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think what you're offering is reasonable, but if you continue to find that the candidates you like are asking for more, your expectations may be out of line with your offer. I have a degree in early childhood education, teaching and nanny experience, and I speak 3 languages. I would also not take less than $18/hour for your job, but that does not mean that you won't find someone.

Thanks, PP. The nannies I'm looking at do have experience nannying but not degrees in early childhood development (or actually no degrees at all) or any teaching experience. So it sounds like $17 is pretty reasonable.

Another question - if a nanny is currently making, say $18, with her current family but has been with them for several years, I would presume she earned a raise up to that amount and probably started a little lower (maybe $16/hr). So when she goes to a new family, does she always start where she left off ($18/hr), or would she start a bit lower with the new family and then get raises with that new family? Just wondering what is typical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think what you're offering is reasonable, but if you continue to find that the candidates you like are asking for more, your expectations may be out of line with your offer. I have a degree in early childhood education, teaching and nanny experience, and I speak 3 languages. I would also not take less than $18/hour for your job, but that does not mean that you won't find someone.

Thanks, PP. The nannies I'm looking at do have experience nannying but not degrees in early childhood development (or actually no degrees at all) or any teaching experience. So it sounds like $17 is pretty reasonable.

Another question - if a nanny is currently making, say $18, with her current family but has been with them for several years, I would presume she earned a raise up to that amount and probably started a little lower (maybe $16/hr). So when she goes to a new family, does she always start where she left off ($18/hr), or would she start a bit lower with the new family and then get raises with that new family? Just wondering what is typical.

I think it would depend on the experience or new skills she gained at her last position and how transferable to your position. If she, say, now has experience with multiples, cooking skills, learned a new language, can teach sign language, etc. it's not unreasonable that she would expect a higher starting salary than she earned previously. If your job is identical to her last and she has no new skills, then the same or close to it starting salary would be fine.

[Anonymous]

No OP $17 is perfectly reasonable and actually higher end. When you communicate politely that $17 is your highest offer, the nanny will probably accept $17. There is nothing wrong with the negotiating and I would not hold it against her that she tried to negotiate. Don't keep adding perks, you will want to give these out later for retention and general happiness. I don't think a big list of perks makes a difference but just turns them into entitlements rather than something is appreciated and seen as a reward for good performance later on.

We were really surprised when nannies who had been asking for $17-$18 came back saying that they would accept $15 an hour. We politely told them that we only planned to offer $15 and just assumed that we would all move on. Every single one came back saying she would accept $15.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No OP $17 is perfectly reasonable and actually higher end. When you communicate politely that $17 is your highest offer, the nanny will probably accept $17. There is nothing wrong with the negotiating and I would not hold it against her that she tried to negotiate. Don't keep adding perks, you will want to give these out later for retention and general happiness. I don't think a big list of perks makes a difference but just turns them into entitlements rather than something is appreciated and seen as a reward for good performance later on.

We were really surprised when nannies who had been asking for $17-$18 came back saying that they would accept $15 an hour. We politely told them that we only planned to offer $15 and just assumed that we would all move on. Every single one came back saying she would accept $15.

That is really interesting. One nanny told us she needs $18/hr to pay her bills, so I'd be surprised if she came back and accepted $17 after such a strong statement. I'd also feel kind of bad that she would actually be in danger of not being able to pay her bills if she worked for us! But it is really all we can afford so it is what it is.

[Anonymous]

You're willing to lose a great nanny for $40/week? Ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're willing to lose a great nanny for $40/week? Ok.

I am not "willing" to lose the nanny but am unable to make the additional $185 per month (which includes taxes the employer has to pay) materialize in my budget. So no, I cannot make it work to pay her $18/hr when the top of our budget permits me to pay $17/hr.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're willing to lose a great nanny for $40/week? Ok.

My thought exactly. Are you sure you can afford the caliber you want? Sounds like maybe not. Otherwise, posters who claim you can, should also tell you where to find one, don't you think?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're willing to lose a great nanny for $40/week? Ok.

I am not "willing" to lose the nanny but am unable to make the additional $185 per month (which includes taxes the employer has to pay) materialize in my budget. So no, I cannot make it work to pay her $18/hr when the top of our budget permits me to pay $17/hr.

Well then if the difference between $17 and $18/hr makes a difference in your budget, why are you confused as to why it would matter to a nanny who likely lives on far less than yourself?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're willing to lose a great nanny for $40/week? Ok.

My thought exactly. Are you sure you can afford the caliber you want? Sounds like maybe not. Otherwise, posters who claim you can, should also tell you where to find one, don't you think?

PP, can you explain how I should lower the caliber I'm looking for? Are you saying at $18/hr, I can get a great, experienced nanny but at $17/hr, I should expect an inexperienced, "low caliber" nanny? What exact qualities make a nanny qualified for $17 versus $18 per hour?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're willing to lose a great nanny for $40/week? Ok.

I am not "willing" to lose the nanny but am unable to make the additional $185 per month (which includes taxes the employer has to pay) materialize in my budget. So no, I cannot make it work to pay her $18/hr when the top of our budget permits me to pay $17/hr.

Well then if the difference between $17 and $18/hr makes a difference in your budget, why are you confused as to why it would matter to a nanny who likely lives on far less than yourself?

PP, I didn't say that. I understand that $17 versus $18 makes a difference for a nanny, which is why I'm totally accepting of the nanny not wanting $17 and needed $18, and we both move on. I was asking if there is a difference in the quality of nannies from the two price points (but I'm not sure I made that very clear in my initial post.)