If you are posting on care.com and want 3x as many replies make sure you put a photo.

Oh, definitely mention if you have pets! No use interviewing someone to find out they're too allergic to be in your house.

The woodley park one? bc I might be interested

OP here. Thanks. Ad is up and running on care.com.

I don't know if ours was "good" but it got us several good candidates to choose from:

Us:
Family of four - two working parents, two babies - ages 1.5 and almost 3 (one toilet trained, one not)
No-shoe household
Minimalistic, very clean, very healthy, very athletic
Former NYers (we talk fast and always lock the doors) who are very "work hard/play hard."

You:
High energy
Multi-lingual (preferably English as a first language, French or Spanish as a second)
Likes to read (Sandra Boynton and Todd Parr are faves)
Likes dogs (we have one small one that doesn't shed and is well-trained)
Has passport, likes to travel
Likes the opportunity for overtime
Comfortable taking kids on mass transit

Hours:
M-Th - 8 - 6
F - 8:30 - 1
We will be happy to give you rights of first refusal for evening babysitting.

Describe your children, their ages, their personalities and the things they like. Make them sounds like children a nanny would enjoy working with. Describe any past experienced you and your family have with nannies, and how you treat them. Describe what you expect, in detail, from the nanny. Describe the hours and the pay. Describe the time frame you have planned out for interviewing and how quickly you plan to move through the process. Tell when you want to have someone start ideally. Tell how to contact you.

I think this is a pretty good list except for the bolded. That sounds too close to gossiping about past nannies, which can get awkward and inappropriate if you had a bad nanny. Besides, who is going to say in an ad they didn't treat a nanny well?

I agree about giving some idea of the salary you are willing to pay, and any of your non-negotiables versus desired qualifications.

For instance, you might absolutely require:
- legal to work in the US
- able to drive and willing to use/provide your own vehicle
- prior experience with ADHD or Multiples or....
- willingness to practice sleep training methods such as Ferber
and so on.

The perfect candidate might also:
- be fluent in English and one other language they are willing to teach child(ren)
- love music and share an interest in supporting muscial development
- enjoy cooking (not just preparing) meals for the children and potentially expanding their palette.

etc...

If you have any odd requirements or non-negotiables, you may want to state them in the add. For example, if you need someone who can stay overnight on occasion but isn't a live-in, or if you have an unconventional schedule (very early, very late, work weekends/holidays), must be willing to drive (or will provide in-home care only).

You don't want to scare off applicants, but you also want to make sure you're describing the job as it really is.

I always post a salary range in the body of my ad.

pp had good suggestions, I would add a bit about your parenting style/philosophy. If you get to the interview stage and have vastly different ideas on discipline etc, it's a waste of everyone's time.

Describe your children, their ages, their personalities and the things they like. Make them sounds like children a nanny would enjoy working with. Describe any past experienced you and your family have with nannies, and how you treat them. Describe what you expect, in detail, from the nanny. Describe the hours and the pay. Describe the time frame you have planned out for interviewing and how quickly you plan to move through the process. Tell when you want to have someone start ideally. Tell how to contact you.

I need to start looking for a nanny and want to put together a detailed ad. Can anyone share one? The postings under current jobs are pretty vague and I can't see anyone of them attracting the right candidates.