Would you hire this person?
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Anonymous
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I’ve been searching for a nanny who can be flexible with the hours I need and overall it’s not been easy. I’d need 10 hours one week and possible 50 the next. I’m willing to guarantee 30 a week because that’s the average I’ll need, but also would need anyone I hire to keep an open enough schedule to cover the weeks I need 50.
I’ve worked with two agencies and they haven’t been very helpful. I posted in Nextdoor and a woman a few blocks away said she was interested. She came and interviewed and was great. There was immediate chemistry and I really think she’s great and we click. The issue is that she’s not really the traditional nanny. She did nanny professionally for about ten years, but married and had her own kids (now 9, 11 and 15) and has been a SAHM and SAHW for almost two decades. When her youngest started school she started part-time nannying and doing back-up care. She said she loves what she does, and misses the baby stage (I haven’t had the baby yet, she exclusively works with infants and toddlers). She is willing to be very flexible, but I’m worried once things become inconvenient she won’t show up. It seems like more of a paid hobby, than a job because she doesn’t *need* the money. Her husband works in the same field as DH and probably makes twice as much. I feel so odd paying someone who is living comfortably, rather than paying someone who needs an income. Thoughts? |
Anonymous
| You don't know her circumstances. My friend just had to get her first ever job at age 35 because she wants to leave her husband but has no money of hers to do it. I would hire that nanny. Maybe she wants the money to pay off debt, fund an amazing vacation, college, fun money or bills . What she does with it is her business and if yo become an employer you need to realize that now. |
Flatboosh163
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| I think hours might be inconvenient for her since she has school aged children. For example if one day you need coverage form 7-7, she would need to plan in advance for her own childcare. If you’re able to provide a schedule at least a week in advance that would really help. As someone who works because I have to, I know that I can’t leave my job whenever I feel like. She’s probbaly just bored at home and looking for something to do while kids are in school. To me it seems you need someone who needs the money and doesn’t have other commitments that might interfere with the schedule. Maybe a single woman with no kids. |
Anonymous
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Yes I would hire her.
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Anonymous
She has a PT nanny herself. |
Flatboosh163
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| Ah, I see. Well I also see what the person above meant. Maybe she’s in a circumstance where she might need the extra money. But I’ve never heard of a nanny having a nanny. Seems quite odd to me. But you say she has experience with children so she obviously has knowledge to take care of kids plus she has 3 of her own. I would just say proceed with caution. |
Anonymous
| I think your concerns on hiring her are insane. Yes, I would absolutely hire her! Plus, college for theater is expensive, of course she needs the money, but her HHI is absolutely none of your business. And adults don’t just not show up one day, so that is also a ridiculous concern. |
Anonymous
| My take on the situation is that she probably welcomes the chance to escape. A lot of people work not because they have to but because they want to. To be able to leave the house and to work is a deep-seated? need in some people, even if they do not need the income. I have always been this way. |
Anonymous
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OP, is this something that's scheduled regularly in advance? That is, will you always need 10 hours in one week, followed by 40-50 hours the next? Or do you not know which weeks those would be?
I would think that if these were scheduled weeks, you'd be able to find someone. Your problem may be less that you need the flexibility than that the total number of hours doesn't add up to a full time job. |
Anonymous
+1 you have no idea her reasons behind wanting to work. Perhaps it's boredom or wanting a bigger sense of purpose that just pittering around the house alone all day. perhaps her husband and her are having problems and she may be trying to get on her feet to prepare for a divorce. Perhaps she just likes the feeling of bringing in her own income to the marriage or have specific savings goals. Honestly who knows. I would absolutely hire this person if the interview went well and she has experience. |
Anonymous
| I would love to find a nanny who I didn't worry was completely dependent the income I provided. We pay our nanny well (close to $70,000/year gross, taxed legally), but it's still not a lot of money to live on in DC. |
Anonymous
Mostly every one is dependent on their income. Everyone has bills, rent etc to pay. This shousont be a concern because that’s the whole point of working: to work and make money. |
Anonymous
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I wouldn’t worry too much about why she would want to do this job, though you do have a good point OP.
My best advice is to hire her & let the chips fall where they may. This is a risk anyone who hires a Nanny takes. Being that the hours offered are so different week to week, it might be a little difficult to find a Nanny who depends on your income to survive because even 30/Hours per week cannot sustain most people. I hope you end up hiring her + things work out for everyone in the end! Good luck! 
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Anonymous
| I would hire her because most professional nannies will not take your job. You will have a tough time finding a nanny willing to work 10 hours one week, and 50 the next week, with only 30 hours of guaranteed pay. I’m a nanny and would never take a job like this. If you find a nanny, she will Leila levee for a more stable job. I think a SAHM who doesn’t necessarily need the income is the best option. |
Anonymous
| If OP doesn't offer a very high hourly rate, no one will stay long at all. Her suggested schedule is crazy. |