Being Declined..

[Anonymous]

Have you ever created a account seeking a job opportunity and responded to ads for nanny or babysitting position, only to be declined? Why do you think someone who has a professional background, gets declined or no response at all? Now, I know people will ask question like: What was on your profile, exactly? Did you have appropriate pictures? Are you asking for reasonable pay? Do you talk about your experience? Yada Yada Yada.... Now, I know from research that a lot of nannies, babysitters, au pairs, etc. don't have appealing profiles or don't have anything other that CPR and First Aid (I am not trying to discourage anyone who only obtains those certifications), but I speak with a lot of nannies who have shared it has been rough, trying to land a position on care or sittercity, and end up going with an agency. Most of these nannies are qualified (degree, 10+ years of experience, owned their own child care business etc) so why aren't they being picked over the individuals who have less experience and or less qualifications? Is it really just because families want to pay less? I will say "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!" I have worked and interviewed with a lot of families who are seeking a new nanny because they had to let their former nanny go for lying, being late, not interacting with the child(ren) etc. And guess what? They have all made about $7-$12 less than they should. My current families paid their former nanny $8 less than what I earned as my start rate, working for them.

I am just curious as to why educated, experience professionals get declined? Is it solely because we demand more pay, or does age, appearance (not talking about not being approachable), race ( I hate to say that but hey) play a part? I do understand that some families don't have the time to respond to every message, but I think it is worth it (ask a friend or family member to help with the process) because I am tired of hearing that qualified nannies aren't being chosen or given the chance to interview and most of all your children, who are building relationships with this nannies, babysitters, au pairs, only to be taken away from them because they weren't doing their job.

Side note: Parents stop being cheap! We provide care all year around (even when your child(ren) are sick), clean your house, take out your trash, use our cars to transport your children-with no breaks.

[Anonymous]

You're right. It's the pay. Feel better now?

[Anonymous]

OP is EXACTLY right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're right. It's the pay. Feel better now?

You must be one of the cheap parents. I feel great! Why? Because I speak up, and because of that, I get paid my worth!!

[Anonymous]

Of course it is money. And the fact that some of the lesser educated mothers want the housekeeper/nanny rather than the teacher/nanny. And they probably are looking for undocumented, off the books, pay $15 an hour type of childcare.

[Anonymous]

You can ask for whatever you think you deserve, but if people can find someone adequate to do the job for less, they aren't going to pay your rate. The extra $5 per hour that you are asking comes out to 10k per year not including overtime. Since I'm taxed on my money before I pay you, I need to make an extra 17k per year to pay you that extra $5 per hour.

Personally I didn't want an older nanny for my kids. I wanted someone young and energetic, and from experience my kids bond better with younger caregivers.

I also didn't care about a degree. Taking care of kids requires a lot of patience, but it's not rocket science. Having some prior nannying experience with same aged kids was more important than a degree. Our favorite nanny ever had a degree in math.

[Anonymous]

I used care recently in my nanny search. I found that while good nannies are experienced and charge more, not everyone who charges more or is experienced is a good nanny. Some reasons I didn't reply or declined people with experience:
-very generic application that asks questions I answered in the ad, gives inconsistent info about themselves showing they didn't put much time into their bio, or gives info indicating they don't meet requirements I listed. I put a lot of time into crafting an ad that details what I want, so if someone gives me the impression they didn't even bother to read it, I probably won't bother to respond
-No resume and not even willing to put together a written list of previous experience. I was surprised by how many nannies with 10+ years experience had no resume
-Gave me the feeling they were very money-oriented. I don't mean if someone quotes me a high rate -- in fact I was more likely to give people quoting $20+ a closer look under the assumption they were better. But multiple candidates clearly were angling to figure out the max I could afford and quote me that as their rate (sometimes giving themselves 20-40% raises in the course of one interview!). Fine if that is their negotiating tactic, but then they definitely need to be the best candidate I see, not just one of several good ones. In these instances I would also worry that the nanny would always be looking for raises or another job. Just as my primary concern is a good fit rather than lowest cost, I want the nanny to have similar priorities in looking for a job
-experienced nannies are clearer about what they want and what their deal breakers are. This is great for both sides -- "bad fits" are recognized earlier and no one wastes their time being unhappy. But it does mean I said no to some well-qualified nannies that I thought were probably great caretakers but not right for my family's situation.

[Anonymous]

The vast majority of my friends have nannies with no academic credentials (i.e., ECE), CPR certification, they are almost all immigrants, but they're legal. They all have years of experience, though. I think these nannies' asking rate is probably a lot less than yours. We had nannies in the past and if we were to hire one again, I would probably hire a nanny like my friends have. For me, personally, I've learned that the fancy credentials don't matter as much as someone who is loving and nurturing and a kid will learn plenty with this kind of nanny.

[miamitile]

great

[Anonymous]

Change your profession,you like work as nanny just for money ,you really don't love babies.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you ever created a account seeking a job opportunity and responded to ads for nanny or babysitting position, only to be declined? Why do you think someone who has a professional background, gets declined or no response at all? Now, I know people will ask question like: What was on your profile, exactly? Did you have appropriate pictures? Are you asking for reasonable pay? Do you talk about your experience? Yada Yada Yada.... Now, I know from research that a lot of nannies, babysitters, au pairs, etc. don't have appealing profiles or don't have anything other that CPR and First Aid (I am not trying to discourage anyone who only obtains those certifications), but I speak with a lot of nannies who have shared it has been rough, trying to land a position on care or sittercity, and end up going with an agency. Most of these nannies are qualified (degree, 10+ years of experience, owned their own child care business etc) so why aren't they being picked over the individuals who have less experience and or less qualifications? Is it really just because families want to pay less? I will say "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!" I have worked and interviewed with a lot of families who are seeking a new nanny because they had to let their former nanny go for lying, being late, not interacting with the child(ren) etc. And guess what? They have all made about $7-$12 less than they should. My current families paid their former nanny $8 less than what I earned as my start rate, working for them.

I am just curious as to why educated, experience professionals get declined? Is it solely because we demand more pay, or does age, appearance (not talking about not being approachable), race ( I hate to say that but hey) play a part? I do understand that some families don't have the time to respond to every message, but I think it is worth it (ask a friend or family member to help with the process) because I am tired of hearing that qualified nannies aren't being chosen or given the chance to interview and most of all your children, who are building relationships with this nannies, babysitters, au pairs, only to be taken away from them because they weren't doing their job.

Side note: Parents stop being cheap! We provide care all year around (even when your child(ren) are sick), clean your house, take out your trash, use our cars to transport your children-with no breaks.

I am a nanny. I DO NOT CLEAN ANYONE'S HOUSE - not even my own as I have a maid service come in once a week.

And to answer your question, OP, I would guess it is 100% about the cost of an educated and experienced nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I speak with a lot of nannies who have shared it has been rough, trying to land a position on care or sittercity, and end up going with an agency.

OP, what's wrong with you and your qualified friends going through an agency? There is nothing wrong with the existence of a childcare market with less-experienced nannies and lower-budget families as on care & sittercity. How else would a nanny get experience and work up into the 10+ years experience and higher rates anyway?

[Anonymous]

I hired someone with no nannying experience for $15 an hour who lives here legally, and passed up higher costing people because DH and I didn't feel good about them, or didn't like the way they tried to come in and tell us how we had to do things.

[Anonymous]

Because some of us can smell attitude and want no part of it, especially at top of the market rates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because some of us can smell attitude and want no part of it, especially at top of the market rates.

"Attitude"?! Is that like "uppity"?