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[quote=Anonymous]Let me tell you a little about my experience job searching last Fall:

I interviewed with a family that I liked, with one infant, who required a lot of additional chores as well during nap time. They kept talking a great deal about their previous nanny, who had worked for them for $12/hr for six months, and who was "so amazing!" but who had "suddenly left due to a medical emergency." (They were utterly convinced this was true but I'm quite sure she just found a better paying job.) The job was for 38 hours per week (no overtime).

I told them that for the position I'd require $16/hr. They paused, and said they had expected they might need to pay more than $12/hr, but "needed to discuss it," and were interviewing other candidates, but would let me know. Two days later they called me to say they really wanted me to work with them, but they looked at their finances, and could only offer me $15/hr at the most to start, and practically begged me to work with them (saying that in the next six months they would reevaluate and potentially offer a raise, etc).

I turned them down, as I already had multiple offers on the table from other families, all of whom were offering $15/hr for positions with no housework and slightly more hours. (Honestly I think a lot of families have some weird mental block about this exact number; they just don't want to pay more than $15/hr for some reason. I encountered that A LOT.)

Well, I found out a couple months later that a friend of a friend of mine had actually interviewed with and ended up working for that family. She has less experience and qualifications than I do, but she accepted their offer of $13/hr. I was shocked she would take the job for so little, but it is an important lesson: there is ALWAYS someone willing to do the job for cheaper.

It took me longer than I had hoped (8 weeks and over a dozen interviews), but I finally found a family willing to pay $16/hr. And OP, I should mention that, at least on paper, I have an edge on you: 
100% American but speak near-fluent Spanish
Bachelors degree in ECE (minor in Spanish)
12 years full time nanny experience
Not only drive but have my own safe reliable vehicle 
Plus many other certifications, etc

I have all those qualifications and amazing references, and it still took me 8 weeks and 12+ interviews to find a decent family willing to pay $16/hr. That's just the way it is. [/quote]

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