I'm a nanny who has found all my long term full time nanny positions on craigslist. I post ads, never response to any. My positions have all been agency quality. I'm actually signed with an agency but found better jobs then what they sent me for on my own.
My experience with care.com and sittercity has been mediocre, I have a great detailed profile with five 5star reviews but still get the cheap rude families harassing me. I will never accept a full time position from that site. My personal website, business cards and flyers work better then those sites.

So my suggestion is to take the time and really review every candidate no matter where you found them. Some agencies suck and online sites are not prefect. Just look for someone who took the time to present themselves professionally, create a portfolio, website and detailed resume. Pay for a Cori and driving check plus ask open ended questions during your reference checks. It's a lot of work but doing it is going to get you the best results. FYI those background checks on care/sittercity are bullshit

we hired our nanny from Craiglist, and she was wonderful. I also posted on care.com and sittercity. It's the same quality of person, and there was a lot of chaff to sort through on all of the websites.

Families I've met on Craigslist are cheap and very unprofessional.. I typically meet my best families on Sittercity. If you do post on craigslist, don't have high expectations. Don't think you'll find anything more than a sitter who's just in the home to make sure your child is safe (if that)

I found my last nanny job through Craigslist. It was a wonderful job with a great family. I was with them just over 4 years. That being said, I think our experience was the exception, not the norm.

OP, if you are willing to invest the time and energy I would suggest trying every available avenue. We hired a nanny from Care.com, who came with excellent references, who was a disaster--good with the kids, but highly unreliable and really left us in the lurch.

After that experience, I looked high and low--we needed someone and I was willing to use an agency--but was really not impressed by what the agencies around here had to offer for what they charge. We checked our neighborhood listserv, Craigslist, called universities nearby, and ultimately, I found our current, amazing nanny right here on DCUM.

All of that to say, I would not reject Craigslist out of hand. It does require more effort for nannies to post on Care.com; but some amazing nannies out there may not be especially tech-savvy and/or may go with what's easier, or where they have had luck finding employment in the past.

Anonymous wrote:I think Craigslist, Care.com and Sittercity.com are all in the same category. You are completely right OP. ANYONE, YES ANYONE out there can post an ad saying they are a nanny for free. And that is a scary thing these days.

Your best bet would be to stay away from these free websites and go to an agency for a suitable nanny.

Sure, you will have to pay a fee, but honestly, why pay for a childcare website where the candidates all sign on for free? That logic makes no sense to me.

It would be the best investment for your child too.

I mostly agree, except how would you know if you can trust an agency worker? They don't let you see their success/failure rate, do they? Most of them don't even care about that.

I think Craigslist, Care.com and Sittercity.com are all in the same category. You are completely right OP. ANYONE, YES ANYONE out there can post an ad saying they are a nanny for free. And that is a scary thing these days.

Your best bet would be to stay away from these free websites and go to an agency for a suitable nanny.

Sure, you will have to pay a fee, but honestly, why pay for a childcare website where the candidates all sign on for free? That logic makes no sense to me.

It would be the best investment for your child too.

I've had good success on craigslist...as much success as care.com and sittercity. I like it because it's easier to post an ad looking fir something specific, like a new share family. I also like it for finding one day a week jobs to fill a specific hole in my schedule. I also like that I don't get annoyed when families don't acknowledge my application. I just put the ad up with the exact details I am looking for, what I charge and then the families who are looking for that specific thing contact me. Simple. And you do have to jump through some hoops to post...you have to create a login associated with a phone number, and you can only have one acct with that number and you have to verify it before you can post anything, so it's not as simple as selling a lawn mower or something like that.

My suggestion is to try it. A smart nanny will cast her net far and wide and not dismiss something that has excellent potential for helping to find the right job.

If you're searching online, you will have to sort through a lot of inappropriate candidates. As long as you're prepared for that, there's nothing wrong with Craigslist.

Craigslist is lower class type of care. Although you can find good nannies there, you're most likely going to find the majority of them unprofessional. Care.com actually takes some type of work (for nannies to submit background checks, photos, etc) so you'll find more serious potentional employees there.

As a mother, I would never trust Craigslist.

Personally as a nanny i avoid craigslist and have never applied for a job there. The parents there tend to be cheap and don't pay a fair amount. Yes care.com and sitter city has had some issues with their background checks but for the majority of nannies on there they are accurate. There have been too many cases of kidnappings and killings of nannies through craigslist

I used Craigslist for babysitters with great luck.

I am in the process of looking for a full-time nanny for my children and am wondering about Craigslist. I noticed they have a childcare section and that some families advertise they are looking for a nanny.

However, it is a free website and that scares me.

Has anyone had any success using CL?

I also know about Care.com and Sittercity.com as well. These are also free for nannies to use and I have heard that the background checks on these are not good. So I am thinking what is the difference between CL and a childcare website where I have to pay out of pocket if on both of these sites people...just anyone actually can post a profile for free.

Thanks.