Tips for wading through responses on care.com? (I am potential employer)

[Anonymous]

We are looking for a new childcare arrangement, something rather specific. When I used care.com 5 years ago, I got flooded with emails from people who clearly didnt meet even the basic criteria (fluent in English, have own car, etc). I really dont have time to wade through all of those. Any tips for easy ways to narrow down the responses to those who meet basic criteria?

[Anonymous]

Delete any messages that don’t reference your ad/requirements in the first two lines. Don’t bother reading the rest of the message, it’s likely to be a waste of your time.

Run your own search and reach out the nannies with good profiles in the range you want.

[Anonymous]

There are few things more important than who is caring for your child. Take the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Delete any messages that don’t reference your ad/requirements in the first two lines. Don’t bother reading the rest of the message, it’s likely to be a waste of your time.

Run your own search and reach out the nannies with good profiles in the range you want.

Thanks. I was thinking about providing a specific direction and only considering candidates who follow them (following direction obviously being important to this job!), like “if interested, please respond and provide the following information. Only candidates who provide this information will be considered.” I wouldn’t ask for references at this point, more like hours available, # years experience and what ages, etc - stuff they should have no issue providing if they read the instructions. Thoughts/suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Delete any messages that don’t reference your ad/requirements in the first two lines. Don’t bother reading the rest of the message, it’s likely to be a waste of your time.

Run your own search and reach out the nannies with good profiles in the range you want.

Thanks. I was thinking about providing a specific direction and only considering candidates who follow them (following direction obviously being important to this job!), like “if interested, please respond and provide the following information. Only candidates who provide this information will be considered.” I wouldn’t ask for references at this point, more like hours available, # years experience and what ages, etc - stuff they should have no issue providing if they read the instructions. Thoughts/suggestions?

Yes this sounds like a good plan. Ask for years of experience and ages as well maybe where they live (to make sure commute isn't too far).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Delete any messages that don’t reference your ad/requirements in the first two lines. Don’t bother reading the rest of the message, it’s likely to be a waste of your time.

Run your own search and reach out the nannies with good profiles in the range you want.

Thanks. I was thinking about providing a specific direction and only considering candidates who follow them (following direction obviously being important to this job!), like “if interested, please respond and provide the following information. Only candidates who provide this information will be considered.” I wouldn’t ask for references at this point, more like hours available, # years experience and what ages, etc - stuff they should have no issue providing if they read the instructions. Thoughts/suggestions?

Yes this sounds like a good plan. Ask for years of experience and ages as well maybe where they live (to make sure commute isn't too far).

Commute really isn’t even that important if you hire a responsible and reliable person. I commute from Clarksburg to Tenleytown and have no issues being on time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Delete any messages that don’t reference your ad/requirements in the first two lines. Don’t bother reading the rest of the message, it’s likely to be a waste of your time.

Run your own search and reach out the nannies with good profiles in the range you want.

Thanks. I was thinking about providing a specific direction and only considering candidates who follow them (following direction obviously being important to this job!), like “if interested, please respond and provide the following information. Only candidates who provide this information will be considered.” I wouldn’t ask for references at this point, more like hours available, # years experience and what ages, etc - stuff they should have no issue providing if they read the instructions. Thoughts/suggestions?

Yes this sounds like a good plan. Ask for years of experience and ages as well maybe where they live (to make sure commute isn't too far).

Commute really isn’t even that important if you hire a responsible and reliable person. I commute from Clarksburg to Tenleytown and have no issues being on time.

I know, but some people might not want to drive far or the family would prefer someone who lives closer. While you might have no issues being on time others might

[Anonymous]

You can ask them what they would imagine a typical day w/your child may include.

For example, if your child is three....
You will want someone w/experience with that age group correct?

Ask what activities they would likely participate in, age-appropriate of course.
What favorite books might the prospective Nanny read to your child?
See if she is familiar w/books appropriate for your child’s age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Delete any messages that don’t reference your ad/requirements in the first two lines. Don’t bother reading the rest of the message, it’s likely to be a waste of your time.

Run your own search and reach out the nannies with good profiles in the range you want.

Thanks. I was thinking about providing a specific direction and only considering candidates who follow them (following direction obviously being important to this job!), like “if interested, please respond and provide the following information. Only candidates who provide this information will be considered.” I wouldn’t ask for references at this point, more like hours available, # years experience and what ages, etc - stuff they should have no issue providing if they read the instructions. Thoughts/suggestions?

I did this.. as simple as “please start your reply with XXX sentence to be considered.” Filtered out 80% of people who had not read my listing.

[Anonymous]

Don't only post on care.com, not all great nannies are there. Also try sittercity.com

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't only post on care.com, not all great nannies are there. Also try sittercity.com

Sittercity is the worse!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't only post on care.com, not all great nannies are there. Also try sittercity.com

Sittercity is the worse!!!

Sittercity is the dregs of the nanny world. Would never, ever use sittercity.

[Anonymous]

OP here - is care.com the best then? I started to enter my post yesterday and was really unimpressed. If you have other places to recommend, please say so!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - is care.com the best then? I started to enter my post yesterday and was really unimpressed. If you have other places to recommend, please say so!

Your neighborhood list server is the best but care.com is up there. Or go through an agency. You

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - is care.com the best then? I started to enter my post yesterday and was really unimpressed. If you have other places to recommend, please say so!

Your neighborhood list server is the best but care.com is up there. Or go through an agency. You

This. If you have a local listserv or other online gathering place for parents, that's the best--word of mouth and often you can get other references from nearby families. Plus, we found that nannies often want to work in specific areas, so if you start with people who are already working in your neighborhood, there's a greater chance that they might want to continue doing so. Care.com and SitterCity scare me a little--I recognize that we're incredibly fortunate to have an active community listserv and never had to look further than that, but DH's work also gave employees a free SitterCity account at one point for backup care, and it felt like looking at an online dating site. :/