How do you choose one sitter over another?

[Anonymous]

I posted an ad on sittercity and the responses keep flooding in. So many of them are have degrees, impressive resumes and they all check out. What would you look for in a PT babysitter that would help narrow it down?

[Anonymous]

Go with your gut

[Anonymous]

I would start by eliminating people who don't articulate themselves in writing. It may not be fair, but you have to start somewhere. As a nanny, I am leery of parents with poor grammar and spelling. It shows a lack of caring and attention to detail which are not great qualities in a working relationship. Once you get to know each other then it's fine to do short hand, especially in text, but in the beginning, you should be making an effort.

The next criteria would be zip code. How far does she need to commute? Then look at availability...is she looking for a job, any job, or is she looking to fill a specific hole in her schedule? Someone who is looking for anything could potentially leave if she finds a FT job.

What experience does she list on her profile? Does it fit your needs, both current and future? Does her description of her parenting style mesh with yours? Email a few that you think might work and ask additional questions, then do a phone interview, then in person interview from there.

Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

Yes, the responses can be overwhelming.

I would winnow the field down by:

- location (proximity to me)
- experience
- rates
- recommendations on file
- quality of the writing/responsiveness to my questions
- availability
- responsiveness and professionalism


Have a few questions you send to interested candidates and see how they handle that. Just that step alone should weed out a chunk.

Also, if you haven't already, try finding people through word of mouth - neighborhood listservs, neighbors, local moms groups, etc...

[Anonymous]

14:58 - you may be my sole mate in the nanny/mb world! A nanny who judges potential employers by how they write?! Heaven sent!!!

(I'm 14:59, and struck by how similar our responses are!)

[Anonymous]

Mine was decided on their driving records.

[Anonymous]

14:58 here...lol! I'm sure someone will com eon here and rip me apart for caring about spelling and grammar but oh well. I just think in the beginning especiallly, you should be trying to sound intelligent rather than like a Nigerian scam artist or whatever. I almost didn't respond to a couple of families who wrote in all lower case and with poor punctuation because they claimed to have an MD in one case and teaching degree in another and being educated doesn't fit with poor spelling and grammar so it looked suspicious. I went on to work for one of them for two years full time and found the parents weren't good communicators in other ways and didn't seem to care or have an eye for detail. The initial grammar errors were my first clue about their personalities.

[Anonymous]

I would call as many as I can and get a feel for their personalities.

No matter how qualified someone may be on paper, how many degrees one may have, unless they have that "it" factor...that certain personality that children love, then I won't even consider them.

Education, credentials, certifications, etc. are all well and good, but are meaningless if someone is a dud around kids.

[Anonymous]

If someone cannot properly write a response letter to you, then how the heck can they be expected to care for a young child??

So I would make sure someone sent me a response letter with proper spelling, grammar and punctuation. Also, the tone must be friendly, but professional.

And not too long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:58 here...lol! I'm sure someone will com eon here and rip me apart for caring about spelling and grammar but oh well. I just think in the beginning especiallly, you should be trying to sound intelligent rather than like a Nigerian scam artist or whatever. I almost didn't respond to a couple of families who wrote in all lower case and with poor punctuation because they claimed to have an MD in one case and teaching degree in another and being educated doesn't fit with poor spelling and grammar so it looked suspicious. I went on to work for one of them for two years full time and found the parents weren't good communicators in other ways and didn't seem to care or have an eye for detail. The initial grammar errors were my first clue about their personalities.

I'm the same way when responding to ads or back to parents that responded to mine. I try to have great writing, and I have gotten jobs in the past due to this. I don't have a college education but many parents would think otherwise because of the fact that I care about how I write. It impresses them, and many lean more towards that in the end.