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[quote=Anonymous]30-60 minutes a day for around 2 weeks.

Stage 1: post an ad on assorted websites and listserves.  Be detailed and don’t try to sugar-coat anything but keep it mostly upbeat.  Avoid: “light housekeeping,” “adorable/sweet/delightful children,” “competitive rate.”

Stage 2: start searching through the site you are using for candidates that match your needs.  Link them to your job posting and ask several specific questions (e.g., does a commute to X work for you?).  If they reply AND answered all of your specific questions on the first try AND their answers are in line with what you need, then they move on to a phone interview.  For those who contact you about your ad it is the same thing.  You reply with the same list of specific follow-up questions.  If their profile or initial email look good AND they answered the questions on the first try AND their answers work: phone interview.

Stage 3: I usually do 10-20 phone interviews.  During the phone interview, first ask some basic questions that rule out any dealbreakers (Are you able to be paid legally and on the books?  Are you CPR/First Aid trained?  Have you had your TDAP vaccination?). If that all checks out, describe the job in detail (hours, duties, your vibe as a family) and ask 1) what they would charge for the job as described and 2) Whether they think they’d be a good fit.  Follow up by asking a few open-ended questions about their experience with kids and some questions about how they would handle a few hypothetical scenarios.

Stage 4: If they seem like a good fit logistically and emotionally, they move on to an in-person interview (I typically do 3-8 in-persons interviews). which can include meeting the kids but should definitely include some time to talk with just adults as well.  This is where you get into the weeds on how she handles discipline, communication, etc.  At the end of the interview, if she is a real contender, you ask for references and a background check.

Stage 5: Go through references as quickly as possible (take your time talking to them but don’t sit on references for 3 days before calling or emailing, or your nanny may not be available by the time you decide you want to hire her).  Ask lots of questions, include some “wrong” details (“nanny said she cared for your two boys” when she actually said girls) to weed out fake references.

Stage 6: If references check out, make a job offer and set a meeting to come up with a written contract.  There may be some back and forth pn the details of this but once you can agree you have a nanny![/quote]

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