How far in advance should I start looking for a nanny??

[Anonymous]

I am a new Mom-to-be and of course obsessing about everything. I will need a Nanny come July/August when I go back to work full time. Is it too early to look now? When would be a good time to start searching?

Thanks for any advice!!!

[Anonymous]

For that time frame I'd start looking about two months out. There will be lots of nannies whose positions are ending as kids will be entering school. So you're likely to have a great pool of candidates.

Congrats!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For that time frame I'd start looking about two months out. There will be lots of nannies whose positions are ending as kids will be entering school. So you're likely to have a great pool of candidates.

Congrats!

This. If you have some flexibility (willing to hire a temp for a month or have tour mom come out for a few weeks, etc.) that will also help as, again, the end of summer/start of school is when a lot of families move from nanny to aftercare.

[Anonymous]

Two to three months before you need someone to start. Keep in mind you'll want to work with them for a couple/few days to show them the little things you've found out about your baby and where you keep things, etc.

It took us until FOUR DAYS before I had to return to work for someone to begin their first day. I nearly had a heart attack thinking we wouldn't find anyone.

[Anonymous]

I have had a situation where I had two candidates I was willing to hire within a week of starting a search. However, be prepared for the search to take longer than expected. We recently had to hire a new nanny and, even with an agency, it took about a month longer than anticipated. We are super happy with her so it was worth the wait. You may want to start looking sooner and have to pay a few extra weeks of salary so to have someone on board. It really depends when the right candidate shows up at your door. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For that time frame I'd start looking about two months out. There will be lots of nannies whose positions are ending as kids will be entering school. So you're likely to have a great pool of candidates.

Congrats!

This is awful advice. Why not start looking right now? Good nannies are very hard to find.

[Anonymous]

I wanted a nanny to start the day DD was born so I hired our amazing nanny a month before my due date and offered her a retainer to keep her available. Expensive but so worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For that time frame I'd start looking about two months out. There will be lots of nannies whose positions are ending as kids will be entering school. So you're likely to have a great pool of candidates.

Congrats!

This is awful advice. Why not start looking right now? Good nannies are very hard to find.

Most nannies do not know months in advance that they will be out of work. Unless you are going to pay her for months before her start date, you run the risk of her accepting and then taking another job that starts sooner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For that time frame I'd start looking about two months out. There will be lots of nannies whose positions are ending as kids will be entering school. So you're likely to have a great pool of candidates.

Congrats!

This is awful advice. Why not start looking right now? Good nannies are very hard to find.

Most nannies do not know months in advance that they will be out of work. Unless you are going to pay her for months before her start date, you run the risk of her accepting and then taking another job that starts sooner.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For that time frame I'd start looking about two months out. There will be lots of nannies whose positions are ending as kids will be entering school. So you're likely to have a great pool of candidates.

Congrats!

This is awful advice. Why not start looking right now? Good nannies are very hard to find.

Most nannies do not know months in advance that they will be out of work. Unless you are going to pay her for months before her start date, you run the risk of her accepting and then taking another job that starts sooner.

Don't be so ridiculous. The very nannies who you referred to, would in fact know months in advance that they'll be available when their charge starts school.

More time is always better than less time, when you're forced to settle for what you get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For that time frame I'd start looking about two months out. There will be lots of nannies whose positions are ending as kids will be entering school. So you're likely to have a great pool of candidates.

Congrats!

This is awful advice. Why not start looking right now? Good nannies are very hard to find.

Most nannies do not know months in advance that they will be out of work. Unless you are going to pay her for months before her start date, you run the risk of her accepting and then taking another job that starts sooner.

This. I used to work for an agency, and almost no one hires a nanny 5-6 months out. I certainly would not have brokered that kind of deal. The time period is long enough for both parties' circumstances to change.

The best time frame is about two months out. OP, provided your job offer is a good one, you should have lots of candidates to choose from in July and August. Tons of nannies come on the market at that time because their charges are starting school. Some families keep their nannies through the start of school, and others let them go in June or July because they will be busy with summer travel or summer camps.

[Anonymous]

I would say officially between 2-3 months.

You want to allow yourself enough time to make an important decision w/out any pressure since desperation can make one do crazy things.

In the meantime, put out some feelers.
Spread the word around your community that you will be looking to hire someone later on this year & see if anyone knows someone who may be unemployed by then.
I.e., Having a charge start school, Nanny family moving away, etc.

[Anonymous]

More time puts you at an advantage.
Of course you make it work for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For that time frame I'd start looking about two months out. There will be lots of nannies whose positions are ending as kids will be entering school. So you're likely to have a great pool of candidates.

Congrats!

This is awful advice. Why not start looking right now? Good nannies are very hard to find.

Most nannies do not know months in advance that they will be out of work. Unless you are going to pay her for months before her start date, you run the risk of her accepting and then taking another job that starts sooner.

Don't be so ridiculous. The very nannies who you referred to, would in fact know months in advance that they'll be available when their charge starts school.

More time is always better than less time, when you're forced to settle for what you get.

Unless the family hasn't yet decided whether to keep the nanny one more year. And again, you run the risk of hiring a nanny in April for a job that starts in August and having her circumstance change (family decides to keep her on, she gets an offer with more money, etc.). Start looking at the beginning of May. Before then, just put feelers out via friends and family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For that time frame I'd start looking about two months out. There will be lots of nannies whose positions are ending as kids will be entering school. So you're likely to have a great pool of candidates.

Congrats!

This is awful advice. Why not start looking right now? Good nannies are very hard to find.

Most nannies do not know months in advance that they will be out of work. Unless you are going to pay her for months before her start date, you run the risk of her accepting and then taking another job that starts sooner.

Don't be so ridiculous. The very nannies who you referred to, would in fact know months in advance that they'll be available when their charge starts school.

More time is always better than less time, when you're forced to settle for what you get.

Unless the family hasn't yet decided whether to keep the nanny one more year. And again, you run the risk of hiring a nanny in April for a job that starts in August and having her circumstance change (family decides to keep her on, she gets an offer with more money, etc.). Start looking at the beginning of May. Before then, just put feelers out via friends and family.

Smart employer parents and smart employee nannies don't have that problem, just like in any other profession. Please stop being so condescending.