pay for immigrant nannies?
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Anonymous
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A friend of mine is interested in finding a job as a nanny. She currently works in a restaurant and has been living in the US for about 5 years. She does not drive or speak good English and she's in her mid-thirties. What should she charge per hour? Will she be able to find a job? I think she's under the impression that it will be easy for her because I haven't had trouble finding jobs. I have a degree, native English speaker and have lots of experience. It has still been kind of hard sometimes even for me... I've also taken a lot of parenting works shops etc. I think she really wants to work with American families instead of Arabic families. I also wanted to mention that she could speak Arabic and French language to her charges. Any advice?
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Anonymous
| Maybe 10? She needs to get out and look for herself. |
Anonymous
| Depends on where she lives, but I personally would not hire someone who I could not communicate with smoothly. Since I only speak English fluently I rule out all non-native English speakers. It just makes sense to be able to communicate well with your child's caregiver. |
Anonymous
| She's more likely to find a job with families who are also immigrants and speak Arabic or French. This could make her much more marketable in those communities as many people speak their native language at home and want their kids not to lose touch with it. I have several friends who have been in the country for 10 years who still are not entirely comfortable with speaking English. Their English abilities in reading and writing is strong and they have basic conversational english but they struggle with speed, fluency, nuance and understanding different terms. They have nannies who speak their language because its stressful not to be able to understand your caregiver. |
Anonymous
| If she were interested in working for a French- or Arabic- speaking family she could probably pull in a reasonable amount. Unfortunately, even with her language skills, being unable to advocate for herself in English will make it harder to find an American family who wants to hire her (although many would love for a nanny who could support a bilingual child by speaking to them in fluent French or Arabic) - but they are out there. If you are willing to help her write a really great ad, and make it clear that she hasn't written it herself (nothing worse than scheduling an interview with someone and finding out they don't speak your language!), that could go a long way toward reaching the right families. |
Anonymous
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If she wants to work for American families I would STRONGLY advise her to work on her english. I hired a nanny who is foreign born, and I love that our kids are growing up bilingual. But her english is good and we can communicate well. I didn't hire another candidate who I could barely understand.
She could pretty quickly ramp up her english if she took a couple of classes. Otherwise her prospects for what she seems to want are pretty slim (I think). Obviously we don't know everything from just your post, but it doesn't sound like she's taking the responsibilities of a nannying position terribly seriously. She sounds cavalier about what's involved, how tough it can be to find the right position, what parents look for, and how competitive the market might be. From the little you've said I would see her as a the kind of cheap, low cost option that folks here are always railing about. But it would be unsatisfactory for me. A nanny being able to communicate clearly with me about what's happening with my children (including over the phone or email - not just in person) is absolutely non-negotiable. |
Anonymous
| Does she even like kids? Or does she just think this would be an easier/better option than restaurant work? |
Anonymous
| OP here: She thinks it will be an easy job..... |
Anonymous
| Why would any family want a nanny who barely speaks English? |
Anonymous
| I really don't feel like helping her search anymore. it feels like cheating since I am writing her profile and responding for her. she uses "gonna" all the time . perhaps i should correct her english. i'm not really sure what to do . |
Anonymous
Tell her you don't feel comfortable responding to potential employers for her and then stop doing it. It is not your responsibility to correct her English. |
nannydebsays
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There will, unfortunately, always be people willing to hire someone like your friend because they figure cheaper is better, even in childcare.
In your shoes, I would stop helping her job hunt, because if she thinks being an actual nanny (as opposed to a warm body) is "easy", she'll probably burn out spectacularly, and I'd guess you don't need to feel the heat from that little implosion. |
Anonymous
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I think you definitely should stop helping her. It's not fair to you but it's also wildly misrepresenting her to potential employers.
Perhaps you can just be too busy to help her? It's pretty insulting to you that "she thinks it will be easy". Let her go and try to find a job first, and then if she does, let her call it "easy" after she's done it for a few months. I'm an MB and I think being a nanny is an incredibly challenging job that takes a special kind of person to do it well, and really enjoy it. She sure doesn't sound like she fits the bill. |
Anonymous
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I'm a PP who suggested helping her, but with your additional detail of her not really WANTING to be a nanny, just thinking it'd be an easier job, I retract that advice. She does not sound like a good candidate for nannying and you'll put your reputation on the line by advocating on her behalf.
Tell her you don't have time to help anymore but that if she posted an ad in french or arabic she might find that she can get a position herself - I've interviewed with parents who spoke both of those languages (although I do not) and I'm sure they'd have preferred a nanny they could communicate in their native language with. Then I'd say, hands off and let her do what she will. |
Anonymous
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Yes it's going to be extremly hard for her. Not only too find a family who will understand her, but her worth won't be worth alot.
The following determines how much a nanny is worth. Whether she'll be below, in the middle, or above market rate. CPR/First Aid Cert Driving Good English ECE / Schooling Experience Good Refrences Etc. |