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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]MB here.  When I was hiring if any reference seemed even the least bit fishy or felt odd, I moved on to another candidate. I didn't feel comfortable giving someone the benefit of the doubt when it came to my kids. Just something to think about. [/quote]

OP here. Thank you. This was my first inclination too. Unfortunately, where I live (big city but not DC/NY/SF/LA) the market for professional nannies seems to be smaller, and many of the candidates I've seen with 5+ years nanny experience (which is our minimum bar) have had something weird on their resume: one could not provide her TWO most recent references, one had 5 years experience but never nannied for a family for more than 6 months, etc. So that's why I'm even spending any time looking into these issues before moving onto other candidates.

Nanny #1 does have 3 other glowing references of FT work from within the last 6 or so years, but she provided a full list of work history and reference letters going back 10+ years. I almost didn't call this particular reference thinking it was a temp situation, but now am glad I did! (Though still undecided about what to do with this information.)[/quote]

Agreed with others that you should run from these candidates. But I might revisit some of your other conditions if you are in a market where nannying is less common and the pool is smaller--for instance, with the one who had only had six-month jobs, why? Was it because people were using her for infants and then starting daycare (more common in areas where nannies are not the norm) or for other reasons (which would be a concern)?

We are in a market with much more competition but I did call all references within the past five years and I did not move forward with anyone where there was any hesitation on the part of the references. I also give strong references to both of our long-term nannies (one share per kid) and to a nanny who worked for us for six weeks while one nanny was on medical leave. Our experiences weren't picture perfect--nobody is flawless--but the occasional hiccups were not significant in the overall positive experience, and that's what I talk about generally. When people ask about those specific things, I answer honestly (and I've also had the "what's one thing you would change about [Nanny]?" and "What's one challenging situation you and [Nanny] encountered?" questions from other parents considering her, which is an opening to lift up any smaller issues that might be bigger issues for some families.) So when someone goes far enough to give a negative reference or decline to answer questions right off the bat, that gives me real pause.[/quote]

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