How big of a red flag is this? Would you ask about it (and how, tactfully)?
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Anonymous
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I have an interview scheduled for tomorrow evening with a family seeking a full time nanny. I found them by applying to their post on care.com. I can see on their profile that they posted a full time nanny position on care.com in August 2014, and again in November (and they just reposted it again this past week). Now, obviously this is a red flag, but I feel like it's worth giving them the benefit of the doubt and at least meeting with them, etc.
I was going to ask here if I should ask about it in the interview, but I think I am dead set on bringing it up (seems foolish not to). Is there a tactful way to ask? "I noticed on care.com that you've resposted this position three times in the past six months. May I ask what happened and why you are looking for a new nanny again?" I guess that's tactful enough, I just don't want this woman thinking I'm snooping on her (the postings show right up as soon as I click her profile so it's not really snooping is it?). I'm also worried about upsetting her by bringing up what may be a negative experience or something... The family has 4 kids, but 2 will be in elementary school so most of the job is caring for the youngest 2. The pay range they have posted is quite wide ($10-20/hr; not in DC, rates here are a bit lower). Obviously if they were underpaying previous nannies that could be why they're looking again but if they are offering as high as $20 then that's pretty good for this area. Has anyone else been in this position before (considering working with a family who has already been through at least 2 nannies in six months)? Has it ever worked out well, or is it always a nightmare? |
Anonymous
| Before you have an interview you should narrow down the salary. |
Anonymous
| My current family posted several times before hiring me. I never asked about it. 8 months in and we have had no real issues. |
Anonymous
| I reposted a job a couple times, tweaking the job description and compensation to get more appropriate applicants. I didn't hire out of the first ad. I don't think you should assume they've blown through two nannies I'm the past two months. Maybe they were taking their time with the search and posted new ads when the first didn't get the replies they wanted. |
Anonymous
| From August to now it really doesn't sound like they were hiring and firing nannies, it sounds like they just started looking 4 months early and have been reposting to search. But you could ask. |
Anonymous
| We had a profile that looked something like that. We posted, found out former nanny would be available for several months so deferred the search, restarted, didn't find anyone we really liked, were about to hire someone and pulled the ad but then found bad background info on her, reposted, still didn't find anyone we liked. We also have four kids and it can take a while to find the right person. Many applicants but not that many I thought could truly manage our kids. |
Anonymous
| This sounds really similar to what happened with my current family. I never did ask the mom about it directly. I asked if they'd ever had a nanny before and if so how many. She told me they had never had one before me, so I dropped it. Now, 18 months later I'm super happy in my job. |
Anonymous
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I posted on Care.com a few months ago, just to see the quality level of nannies available. I have an Au Pair that isn't working out and I'm thinking about what to do for childcare if she goes home. If I need to get a nanny, I will post again in a month or so.
I wouldn't read into her multiple postings. I would ask her of a timeline of what she has had for childcare over the last few years and her opinion on each, like: we used daycare from 2010-2012 then we got nanny Betty from 2012 to August 2014- she was good, but left to go back to school then we had nanny Mary from Aug 2014- Dec 2014, but she let my child get hurt, so we had to let her go. The timing and nature of their previous childcare experiences can tell you a lot about their expectations and ease to work for. |
Anonymous
| Ask about in terms of their care situation to date - the probably did not hire, either because they couldn't get a candidate they felt good about or because mom or dad just kept pushing back return to work, rather than going through several nannies already. |
Anonymous
This is the Gold Standardin advice OP. Do not waste your valuable time and gas driving to someone's home until you and this family have narrowed down a salary. If the family does not want to discuss salary beforehand, then take that as a huge red flag and cancel the interview. I live in CA where a gallon of fuel is pretty pricey so I cannot afford to drive all over town meeting potential families unless I know for sure that we are all on the same page regarding pay scale. What is kinda weird to me about this job posting OP is that the salary range is quite broad here. $10-20/Hour is extremely broad. I would understand a few dollars or so, but a ten dollar margin. That is a red flag in itself. 
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Anonymous
People do that because if you put the max you are willing to pay then you can't negotiate and every $10 an hour nanny will end up applying for a $20 an hour job. I have applied for jobs with such a range and because of my experience and skills they will offer the top of the range. It's nothing to fear as long as you aren't a terrible nanny. |
Anonymous
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OP here. She lives about two miles away so gas wasn't a huge issue. I have also applied for other jobs with wide salary ranges given and usually it isn't an issue (also my profile lists my rates so families who view my profile should have some idea of my costs).
I will say that once I met with their family I realized what a nightmare it would be to work with them. Their house was a disaster-- not just dirty (which it was), but literally in the process of being remodeled (and it looked like it was a long haul sort of thing, not something that would be done quickly). Before I'd even knocked on the door I could hear all four kids screaming. I was there for 45 minutes and there was just constant screaming the entire time, usually by three or more kids at once (their youngest is 2 so it wasn't just baby screaming it was fighting, arguing, defying mommy screaming). Apparently the father (not divorced) lives and works in another town and flies home every other weekend. The mom was clearly trying her best but couldn't manage them all at once herself so I'm not sure how I'd be expected to? ehh, back to searching through job postings... |