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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Okay, here's how it works:

1) Any candidate who had a red flag related to safety is an automatic NO.  Yes, there will be pros and cons.  If the cons are, "One reference said she was late a lot," you can maybe work with that.  If the cons are the kind of things you, describe, then there is no way to work around or overlook it.  It is about basic safety.

2) If number 1 rules out all of your candidates, then there is an issue--low pay, strange hours, area with no nannies, you come off as a high-maintenance jerk, whatever it might be, you need to either fix it or decide to lool at daycares.[/quote]

Everyone we know pays their nannies $15-18 per hour. We were offering $20+, guaranteed 40 hours, and we are a nice normal family. Everyone who interviewed wanted the job, so no, there's nothing wrong with the job itself or with us.
The issues we encountered were not necessarily about safety. Wanting to be paid illegally was common, bad driving record came up on one person just by googling, one person came across as dishonest, multiple candidates came to interview and didn't even look at or speak to the kids while they were here. I put a lot of weight into the references, as these people had long term relationships with the candidate and no issues apparently arose. But perhaps that's possible when your children aren't old enough to tell you what nanny actually did all day. [/quote]

Even with that list: bad driver?  Okay, but don't let her drive your kids.  And the fact that everyone who interviewed wanted the job means nothing.  It is entirely possible that in your add or email communication you were phrasing things in a way that sent up red flags for experienced nannies and they moved on before the interview stage.  Do you have strange hours, for example?  Or are you asking for "light housekeeping?"  Those might cause a lot of good nannies to just move on.   You sound a little bit defensive, so please know that I am not trying to criticize you, just trying to help you with your problem. If you are not finding that the candidates you are attracting are the candidates you want to work with, then either you are being too picky (and it does not  sound like that is the case) or there is something about your job that is only attractive to these lower quality candidates.

Finally, while references are important,  you have to know how to interview. Ask the nanny to tell you a little bit about each family, and then when you call the family, intentionally get some of the details wrong (for example if the nanny says that she cared for their toddler son, say " Larla tells me that she started working for your daughter when she was about four.")   It is not foolproof, but it gives you another way to tell if a reference is fake. It does happen sometimes.  You should also be asking in-depth questions. You should be talking to these people for a little bit longer and really grilling them  on the nannies communication style, what kind of personalities she works with best, what ages of children she works with best, what her strengths and weaknesses are, etc. I always insist that they say at least one negative thing about her, going so far as to say "if you have to criticize something about Larla,  what would that be?"  There are lots of good resources if you Google a bit to learn more about how to  interview nanny references.  But all that said, even the best reference is not going to  outweigh what you see with your own eyes. Don't take someone just because you want to be done with the process. There are temp nannies available, and finding a good fit, as you have seen, is really crucial. [/quote]

We have an almost three year old in preschool and another child in elementary, and we live in the suburbs.  Driving is an absolute requirement for the job, and I check all applicants' driving records if I am giving them serious consideration.

I think I am coming to understand why only lower quality candidates are applying to my job -- it's because nearly all candidates on care.com are of low quality.  Two of my friends recently had excellent nannies who were looking for new jobs.  (Unfortunately, they were both looking for part-time hours that wouldn't work with our schedule.)  Both women had new jobs within DAYS.  They had no need to use care.com, because they have solid networks due to their former employers.  Care.com nannies fall predominantly into two categories: very young women who don't have a real passion for kids but need the money, and older women with grown kids who now need some extra money. There are a handful of women on there with ECE degrees and lots of experience, but when I contact them they are always currently employed.  I think I need to look into other resources for finding someone.  Unfortunately since we are new to the area, I don't have many personal connections.

I appreciate your advice about interviewing and determining if a reference is fake.  That is very helpful advice.[/quote]

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