What do parents look for in a nanny?

[Anonymous]

As a child i spend my younger years caring for my baby brother-along with a neighbor's young child. I am a young, calm,happy,and caring person. I love kid and wish to have many later in life. At the moment i am working toward a child development degree, and have being working as nanny/baby sitter part time. I have my CPR and FIRST aid certification,along with a CNA certification. I want to know what employers look for in a young nanny?Would they hire a 20yr old one? I speak english and legal to work in the us.

[Anonymous]

You may want to look for positions with a SAHM or in a daycare environment. Some moms will take a chance on a 20 year old who only has limited PT babysitting experience for a non supervised full day but most will not. You also need to not reference your childhood as experience its not.

[Anonymous]

Of course some parents will hire you, OP. I feel your best bet is to network with people you already know. Let them know what you're looking for. If you're helpful to them, they'll be helpful to you (if they're good people).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course some parents will hire you, OP. I feel your best bet is to network with people you already know. Let them know what you're looking for. If you're helpful to them, they'll be helpful to you (if they're good people).

Thank you

[Anonymous]

Agree with both the PPs. I'm a SAHM in grad school part-time. I would hire someone like you to help me out when I'm trying to run errands, go to appointments, or just get stuff done for school. I hate to say it though, it would probably be only a part time position.

You want to make sure you market yourself in the best way possible. Have someone proof read anything you put out there. You have a few, minor, grammar issues in your OP and you don't want to give a potential employer ANY reason to suspect you aren't mature enough for the position.

Another unfortunate part of your situation is you might be looking at families who want to use a nanny cam because of your lack of experience. As long as you are ok with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You may want to look for positions with a SAHM or in a daycare environment. Some moms will take a chance on a 20 year old who only has limited PT babysitting experience for a non supervised full day but most will not. You also need to not reference your childhood as experience its not.

well experience start from somewhere,and you may not take me but someone will see-there is more to been a nanny than age. My past experience count. if i did not have it: i could say i had no experience.
Thank you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with both the PPs. I'm a SAHM in grad school part-time. I would hire someone like you to help me out when I'm trying to run errands, go to appointments, or just get stuff done for school. I hate to say it though, it would probably be only a part time position.

You want to make sure you market yourself in the best way possible. Have someone proof read anything you put out there. You have a few, minor, grammar issues in your OP and you don't want to give a potential employer ANY reason to suspect you aren't mature enough for the position.

Another unfortunate part of your situation is you might be looking at families who want to use a nanny cam because of your lack of experience. As long as you are ok with that.

I would love that; I have nothing to hide, and I am not the type of person to object. cam make parent feel safer.

[Anonymous]

OP, I take it English isn't your first language? Just make sure to have a native speaker read your posts before posting in any job forum. You're going to have a difficult enough time finding a good job because of your age and lack of experience, don't make it worse because your posts don't read well.

[Anonymous]

Your childhood (before age 18) experience is NOT caregiving experience. You should only reference it in terms of how much you enjoy kids and how caring for your younger brother and neighbor as a teen led you into nannying as a young adult; if you try to make it sound like actual working experience, many parents will see that as a red flag.

Agree with PP, get a NSoE to proofread your profile and job applications because your age and inexperience combined with an unpolished presentation will make it very difficult to get hired by people who will treat you fairly.

Also maybe take a look at your attitude. You are coming across here as a little bit defensive, which is not a desirable trait in a household employee. Maybe I'm misreading that, but think about it nonetheless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your childhood (before age 18) experience is NOT caregiving experience. You should only reference it in terms of how much you enjoy kids and how caring for your younger brother and neighbor as a teen led you into nannying as a young adult; if you try to make it sound like actual working experience, many parents will see that as a red flag.

Agree with PP, get a NSoE to proofread your profile and job applications because your age and inexperience combined with an unpolished presentation will make it very difficult to get hired by people who will treat you fairly.

Also maybe take a look at your attitude. You are coming across here as a little bit defensive, which is not a desirable trait in a household employee. Maybe I'm misreading that, but think about it nonetheless.

Sorry, I do need help with my english, and I am taking classes to get over my caribbean english.

[Anonymous]

Thank you to the all of you

[Anonymous]

OPD, I am a nanny who started out in my early 20s. I agree with the previous posters that you should definitely work on presenting your self in the best possible light, which will include double-checking your English on every post. If you present yourself well in person, then a slight accent should not be a big deal. But when posting online, people will see that and will toss you out without really giving the rest of your post a second thought. You do not want to rule your self out from the get-go.

I also agree that parents will not consider your babysitting or sibling care as real childcare experience. I agree that it's fine to bring those up, But you have to phrase it as "I babysat a lot and spend a lot of time caring for my younger sibling, which is how I developed a passion for childcare." I would focus in terms of experience on talking about your current nanny job, and the fact that you are pursuing an education related to child care. You may indeed need to start by looking for someone who is a stay-at-home or work at home parent, Or for some combination of part-time care. Perhaps you could find a stay at home mom who wants some help a few mornings a week so that she can run errands, and a separate family with older children who need after school care.

Do you drive? That is something that will help market you later on in your nanny career. If you do not have a drivers license, I would definitely consider getting one simply because you want to be able to say that you have had a drivers license for as long as possible. A spotless record for several years even if you do not have a car looks much better than a brand-new license.

The good news is that if you are truly dedicated to your work, then you only need one good family. I say one "good" family because often younger, especially ESL nannies will attract employers who are looking for someone they can take advantage of. If you are hired by this type of family, then your odds are bad of getting a good reference out of them. Chances are they will be displeased with your performance if you refuse to be a doormat. I say this not to be negative about nanny employers (I have had some wonderful employers who I have loved very much!), However I want you to be aware that picking a good family is more important than getting a job right away. It is far better to accept a job that is less than ideal in someway, but work for people who are caring and compassionate and respectful. If you choose good people for your employers, then you will be able to use them as a reference which will increase your chances of getting the perfect job for your next gig.

I started out as an unpaid part-time nanny working 15 hours a week in exchange for room and board. They were a great family and gave me an excellent reference and my next gig was live in full-time for $350 a week in a Midwest state. My next job was here in DC making even more money as a living in, they also gave me a good reference and now I am making $20 an hour as a Live-out nanny. I have only been in this field for about seven years. Working hard, choosing great families, and always being mindful of getting the best possible reference are the key to success in this industry in my experience.

[Anonymous]

I'm the SAHM who posted upthread and I think pp has excellent advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OPD, I am a nanny who started out in my early 20s. I agree with the previous posters that you should definitely work on presenting your self in the best possible light, which will include double-checking your English on every post. If you present yourself well in person, then a slight accent should not be a big deal. But when posting online, people will see that and will toss you out without really giving the rest of your post a second thought. You do not want to rule your self out from the get-go.

I also agree that parents will not consider your babysitting or sibling care as real childcare experience. I agree that it's fine to bring those up, But you have to phrase it as "I babysat a lot and spend a lot of time caring for my younger sibling, which is how I developed a passion for childcare." I would focus in terms of experience on talking about your current nanny job, and the fact that you are pursuing an education related to child care. You may indeed need to start by looking for someone who is a stay-at-home or work at home parent, Or for some combination of part-time care. Perhaps you could find a stay at home mom who wants some help a few mornings a week so that she can run errands, and a separate family with older children who need after school care.

Do you drive? That is something that will help market you later on in your nanny career. If you do not have a drivers license, I would definitely consider getting one simply because you want to be able to say that you have had a drivers license for as long as possible. A spotless record for several years even if you do not have a car looks much better than a brand-new license.

The good news is that if you are truly dedicated to your work, then you only need one good family. I say one "good" family because often younger, especially ESL nannies will attract employers who are looking for someone they can take advantage of. If you are hired by this type of family, then your odds are bad of getting a good reference out of them. Chances are they will be displeased with your performance if you refuse to be a doormat. I say this not to be negative about nanny employers (I have had some wonderful employers who I have loved very much!), However I want you to be aware that picking a good family is more important than getting a job right away. It is far better to accept a job that is less than ideal in someway, but work for people who are caring and compassionate and respectful. If you choose good people for your employers, then you will be able to use them as a reference which will increase your chances of getting the perfect job for your next gig.

I started out as an unpaid part-time nanny working 15 hours a week in exchange for room and board. They were a great family and gave me an excellent reference and my next gig was live in full-time for $350 a week in a Midwest state. My next job was here in DC making even more money as a living in, they also gave me a good reference and now I am making $20 an hour as a Live-out nanny. I have only been in this field for about seven years. Working hard, choosing great families, and always being mindful of getting the best possible reference are the key to success in this industry in my experience.

How did you come in contact with the people you lived with in exchange for room & board? I'm looking for a set-up like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You may want to look for positions with a SAHM or in a daycare environment. Some moms will take a chance on a 20 year old who only has limited PT babysitting experience for a non supervised full day but most will not. You also need to not reference your childhood as experience its not.

well experience start from somewhere,and you may not take me but someone will see-there is more to been a nanny than age. My past experience count. if i did not have it: i could say i had no experience.
Thank you

Most families will not count taking care of your younger siblings or basic babysitting as real experience to hire you as a nanny. You can use this experience to get a PT mother's helper position where you end up being left alone with the kids at times, and then maybe move to a PT position where you are left alone with them. You will need to go through this before getting enough experience for someone to comfortably hire you as a FT nanny. Anyone that doesn't care about the experience and would hire you FT, I would have a hard time working for. Build up your experience first and then go from there.

I also agree with the other PP that you seem immature/young with how you are writing, and many families will look at that as a con for you. Even if you are not very educated, you want to SEEM educated in the very least. You will be helping their children grow and learn how to speak etc, they want someone that will be good for that. That is why many families do not want to hire a nanny with broken english. Being bilingual is great, and teaching the kids a new language is wonderful, but if the nanny cannot also speak English well, then it defeats the purpose. Having bad grammar is big turn off. Are you ESL? That might account for your grammar, and if so, I would take classes to work on that.