| I'll be coming to DC for job related training in June/July for about three to four weeks. I'll have my two kids in tow, and we'll rent a small house in NoVa or NWDC for the month. I'll need to find someone to care for my kids while I'm in training - maybe 9 to 5 or so each day. Is is possible to find a great nanny who would consider such a short gig? Do I just post here a month or so ahead of time? Or is there another solution I haven't thought of? Thanks much. |
| They wll be lining up and beating the door down for one month of work. |
| Why not bring a college student with you? You all should get to know each other beforehand. |
| OP here. I know it would be ideal to have someone we know - a family member or college kid - but I've thought and thought and can't come up with anyone. I'm a foreign service officer (work for the department of state) and we're moving from one foreign country to another this year. It would be crazy to line up the visas and work permits to bring someone with us for just a few weeks, but it is really important to me to find someone warm, friendly and competent to take care of my kids for the few weeks we're in dc. |
| Don't know your budget, but an agency might be your best bet. They might be able to find someone who's in between permanent gigs, for example. A local college student with some serious babysitting experience might also be an option. |
| How old will your children be when you come? |
| Once you sort out housing and you know what neighborhood you'll be in, you can join the local parents listserve and post what dates you're looking for. A family going on vacation may have a nanny who's happy to work during the break or perhaps a local college babysitter will come highly recommended to you. |
| Temp agency. |
| Thanks, all. Kids will be 3 and 6, so too young for camp but old enough to be going to parks and museums and such during the day. I don't know if I have the $ for a temp agency. I looked at a couple of nanny finder services, but they charged huge rates for the "match" even if it was for a situation like mine. The neighborhood list serve is a great idea - we'll likely be in close in Arlington someplace, near a metro - so I'll look into that. And a college kid would be great too, if I knew how to find a fantastic one! |
| What are you planning on paying? Minimum wage? |
| Marymount University (in Arlington) has an online job board. |
| I don't have an exact figure in mind. I suppose it depends on who I find to hire, but I was thinking somewhere between $15 and $18 / hour. Does that sound about right? And I'll totally check the Marymount board closer to the summer, thanks for that idea!! |
They aren't too young for day camp. Most of the preschools run them. My 4-year-old had a blast at his camp, but it's in Silver Spring and probably too far out of the way for you. |
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I took a temp job when I was between jobs. I think you can probably find someone who is between jobs if you post about a month ahead of time.
Or a college student who wants a few weeks of work in the summer. |
| I found my wonderful nanny on care.com. Before she started full time with us, she was doing short gigs with other families. Try posting a job listing on care.com closer to your arrival date (maybe in May) and line up a few candidates to do a telephone interviews with. Have the one you re most interested in email their resume/references and check them out. You can also run a background check on them through care.com. |