Four jobs in 6 months and your previous "long term" position was only 2.5 years. OP, 2.5 years isn't a long term nanny position. You don't come off as a great nanny in your communication and your work history certainly doesn't make you look like a good candidate.

The subject of your post is 'Please help' not 'Tell me what I want to hear' because I'm arrogant and plan to keep screwing myself a few more times.

You should ALWAYS ask what any potential employer does for a living, just as you did. I can't imagine walking out of a first meeting without that basic information. Actually, they should volunteer that when they are describing their family. It'd be odd to me if they didn't, like they were hiding something.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or, as I said, my long term job ended (2.5 years, any other job I've had for over a year since I started working at 14, though obviously not full time then). 2 weeks before that ended so the kids could start elementary school (right, that one is totally my fault), I got another job to start at the end of the long term job. 3 days before that began I met future DB to sign the contract, where he said after looking into doing taxes (first time parent) he thought it was too much work/money. I said I needed to make money legally, he said sorry. Yep, there ya go, all my fault again! I interviewed with another family who needed help ASAP (now I know why) and accepted the job on the spot. As I said, money is tight, and she was only asking for 6 months. After starting, other nannies in the play group warned me MB was a loose cannon and she goes through nannies like tissues. One example of her explosive temper would be accusing me of moving and losing her shoes, which I obviously did not do, and immediately jumped to, "IF THIS IS ALREADY HAPPENING, HOW DO I KNOW YOU'RE NOT STEALING?" So yeah, okay, sure, blame that one on me, too. I found a new job in November and put in my 2 weeks notice. The next job was for a single mother living off of alimony and child support from her ex, which she did not tell me until after she didn't pay me at the end of my first week. At the end of my second week she did not pay me again, blaming him for non-payment. So once again. All. My. Fault. That brings us to the job my post was about, so there you have it. Not bad luck, it's DEFINITELY me being a crappy nanny. Right. Whatever.

I'm not one of the above PPs blaming you, but while none of these things are your fault, I think at this point you need to be a lot more dillagent during the interview process. Don't look at it as just the family interviewing you, but you are also interviewing the family. Make sure to ask questions about what happened to their last nanny (if they aren't FTP) and if their answer throws up a red flag, make sure to ask around the play group to get a sense of what's going on BEFORE accepting the job. Perhaps ask for a 1-2 week trial, to get a sense of how the job fits before formally accepting the position. And make sure to clearly lay out all your financial expectations in the contract. Fees for late payments and bounced checks, how much notice (and pay) is required to quit/fire, and all of your overtime rates AND how many days notice you require for them to make changes to the schedule. This may seem like a lot, but I generally find that if I explain to parents how I've been burned in the past, a good family with no intent to pay late, have unexpected overtime, etc. will have no problem agreeing to it.

I agree with everything you're saying, but here's the thing. I have a contract that covers all of these things. I am clear about my financial needs and expectations up front. One family decided at the last minute that they would rather find someone willing to work under the table. He knew ahead of time, he had time to decide, he didn't tell me until 3 days before my start date. I really don't know how I could have prevented that.

The screaming MB could have been prevented. I saw some red flags, but was blinded by my concern over money due to recent funeral costs, an unexpected vet bill, and (unfortunately) a new catalytic converter in my husband's car, and it just generally being a slow time of year for his business. A lot of things are hitting us at once right now, and we haven't struggled financially like this since college. I knew a former nanny for this family who didn't care for them, but never went into detail, and I happen to know this particular nanny is a "TV nanny." I bought MB's excuse that the last nanny had moved, and it wasn't until I was at play group that I found out that wasn't the case. She was a lunatic, and I became another name on a long list of nannies for them. Lesson learned.

The MB that never paid was flat out dishonest about her income situation at the interview. Not that I ask "how will you afford me?" but I do always think it's important to ask in a casual manner what they do for a living. She told me she was in real estate, which was true, but she lied about the fact that she had quit when she and her wealthy ex-husband had decided to have a family. She would go out and run errands or see friends, or whatever else she wanted to do while I was there, and say she was going to work. That's fine, it's not my business or place to judge, but I worked there for 2 weeks and she never paid me. I was supposed to be paid every Friday, or the last day of the week I would be working, so that was 2 missed paychecks and the late/non-payment fees. She has until Friday before I take her to court. It's possible there was a red flag somewhere in the interview, but I certainly didn't see it. She was very convincing.

Anonymous wrote:

Not bad luck, it's DEFINITELY me being a crappy nanny. Right. Whatever.

OP you sound incredibly immature. Four jobs in six months is more than bad luck yet you have no intention of taking any personal responsibility for getting yourself into these situations. This may be one reason why you can't find better jobs. The good jobs just don't go to uneducated teenagers. No one owes you a good job. You need to do everything you can to make yourself as marketable as possible. You should go back to school or at least do some on-line courses. You need to drop the attitude and the use of "whatever" in your language. You need to speak from a position of professionalism not from a position with a chip on your shoulder. Trust me it shows in interviews who is good versus someone with an ego who just thinks they are good. (You really are sounding like #2).

You can either take some responsibility for your own future and realize that you doing something that needs to change or you can keep finding bad jobs, get fired again or quit again.

I don't *need* to do any of those things on an online forum. I am not interviewing with you, and do not treat every casual moment of my life as an interview. If you take an anonymous forum so seriously, I feel very, very sorry for you. Life must not be any fun.

Uneducated teenager? Reading comprehension is important. You should work on it. I never said anyone owed me a good job. I am owed a legal payment in full and on time for services I've provided. I deserve a working environment that is not filled with hostility. I deserve to be able to leave at the agreed upon time, or close to it. If you think it is acceptable to treat an employee like I've been treated by these employers the past few months, I feel sorry for the people you'll come in contact with in life.

Not bad luck, it's DEFINITELY me being a crappy nanny. Right. Whatever.

OP you sound incredibly immature. Four jobs in six months is more than bad luck yet you have no intention of taking any personal responsibility for getting yourself into these situations. This may be one reason why you can't find better jobs. The good jobs just don't go to uneducated teenagers. No one owes you a good job. You need to do everything you can to make yourself as marketable as possible. You should go back to school or at least do some on-line courses. You need to drop the attitude and the use of "whatever" in your language. You need to speak from a position of professionalism not from a position with a chip on your shoulder. Trust me it shows in interviews who is good versus someone with an ego who just thinks they are good. (You really are sounding like #2).

You can either take some responsibility for your own future and realize that you doing something that needs to change or you can keep finding bad jobs, get fired again or quit again.

Anonymous wrote:Or, as I said, my long term job ended (2.5 years, any other job I've had for over a year since I started working at 14, though obviously not full time then). 2 weeks before that ended so the kids could start elementary school (right, that one is totally my fault), I got another job to start at the end of the long term job. 3 days before that began I met future DB to sign the contract, where he said after looking into doing taxes (first time parent) he thought it was too much work/money. I said I needed to make money legally, he said sorry. Yep, there ya go, all my fault again! I interviewed with another family who needed help ASAP (now I know why) and accepted the job on the spot. As I said, money is tight, and she was only asking for 6 months. After starting, other nannies in the play group warned me MB was a loose cannon and she goes through nannies like tissues. One example of her explosive temper would be accusing me of moving and losing her shoes, which I obviously did not do, and immediately jumped to, "IF THIS IS ALREADY HAPPENING, HOW DO I KNOW YOU'RE NOT STEALING?" So yeah, okay, sure, blame that one on me, too. I found a new job in November and put in my 2 weeks notice. The next job was for a single mother living off of alimony and child support from her ex, which she did not tell me until after she didn't pay me at the end of my first week. At the end of my second week she did not pay me again, blaming him for non-payment. So once again. All. My. Fault. That brings us to the job my post was about, so there you have it. Not bad luck, it's DEFINITELY me being a crappy nanny. Right. Whatever.

I'm not one of the above PPs blaming you, but while none of these things are your fault, I think at this point you need to be a lot more dillagent during the interview process. Don't look at it as just the family interviewing you, but you are also interviewing the family. Make sure to ask questions about what happened to their last nanny (if they aren't FTP) and if their answer throws up a red flag, make sure to ask around the play group to get a sense of what's going on BEFORE accepting the job. Perhaps ask for a 1-2 week trial, to get a sense of how the job fits before formally accepting the position. And make sure to clearly lay out all your financial expectations in the contract. Fees for late payments and bounced checks, how much notice (and pay) is required to quit/fire, and all of your overtime rates AND how many days notice you require for them to make changes to the schedule. This may seem like a lot, but I generally find that if I explain to parents how I've been burned in the past, a good family with no intent to pay late, have unexpected overtime, etc. will have no problem agreeing to it.

So, OP what happened? Did you quit? Go in today?

Or, as I said, my long term job ended (2.5 years, any other job I've had for over a year since I started working at 14, though obviously not full time then). 2 weeks before that ended so the kids could start elementary school (right, that one is totally my fault), I got another job to start at the end of the long term job. 3 days before that began I met future DB to sign the contract, where he said after looking into doing taxes (first time parent) he thought it was too much work/money. I said I needed to make money legally, he said sorry. Yep, there ya go, all my fault again! I interviewed with another family who needed help ASAP (now I know why) and accepted the job on the spot. As I said, money is tight, and she was only asking for 6 months. After starting, other nannies in the play group warned me MB was a loose cannon and she goes through nannies like tissues. One example of her explosive temper would be accusing me of moving and losing her shoes, which I obviously did not do, and immediately jumped to, "IF THIS IS ALREADY HAPPENING, HOW DO I KNOW YOU'RE NOT STEALING?" So yeah, okay, sure, blame that one on me, too. I found a new job in November and put in my 2 weeks notice. The next job was for a single mother living off of alimony and child support from her ex, which she did not tell me until after she didn't pay me at the end of my first week. At the end of my second week she did not pay me again, blaming him for non-payment. So once again. All. My. Fault. That brings us to the job my post was about, so there you have it. Not bad luck, it's DEFINITELY me being a crappy nanny. Right. Whatever.

PP I was thinking the same thing. In one post she said she has a great reputation and will find a job easily, then later said mentions all these jobs in a short span of time and how she was desperate and had to take a job. Something seems off...I'm not going to say it's absolutely the OP, because we don't know where she lives and what the nanny market is like in her area but something is definitely off top have had that many jobs in such a short time. either she's interviewing well enough to get offers and then doesn't perform well or has a personality that doesn't mesh well with others, the market is slim and despite her great rep there just aren't jobs to be had...something.

I've had a string of bad luck lately...my long term job ended in September when the kids began school full time. I had accepted a new job, but then at the last minute had to decline, as I found out DB was not willing to obey the law and pay taxes. That caused some desperation, as money is a bit tight right now, and the jobs I've accepted since then have been so bad. One MB had an outrageous and explosive temper that caused me to quit, and the other family did not pay me two weeks in a row, which meant I had to quit that job, too. It's starting to reflect badly on me.

Wait..this is your fourth job since September? This type of pattern is more than bad luck. Something is VERY wrong with either your marketability, your ability to interview, or your perception of what is happening at the jobs. We can't tell which from your post but you need to take a long look in the mirror to figure out what is going wrong rather than chalk this up to bad luck. You may also want to consider trying to get a job in a daycare center for a year to build up some steady recent experience. Its one thing to have a 3 month employment gap but 6+ months with a string of jobs and no references will make it even harder to find a good job.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nanny likes to make the overtime, so we offer babysitting gigs to her first. If she can, she does. And yes, we pay her overtime rate. We have other babysitters to call if she declines.

This is us, too. But I don't pay overtime. Yes, I know it's illegal -- flame away. Sometimes she wants to do it, sometimes not.

If you know it illegal why do you do it to her? Would you be okay if your boss just followed those employment laws that suit them? Or the people who will care for and teach your children throughout their lives, should the laws governing their job be taken merely as suggestions? What you're doing is wrong. If you know it's illegal, stop it.

Oh well. I sit for my employers beyond my regular schedule for the same rate as well. I absolutely don't care and don't feel cheated at all. And no, it's been years now, so there will never ever be a chance of them getting in legal trouble or anything. If a nanny isn't okay with that, she doesn't have to accept. Simple.

LOL, never say never PP. You do know that the IRS can audit someone several years later, right? Just because they don't catch you within the first 2-3 years, doesn't mean it will never happen. You might not be feeling cheated, but in OT you are supposed to earn more and then since taxes are paid as a percentage of your pay, you would pay more taxes as well. So you are cheating someone out of money by doing it. And one has to wonder if you are cheating by getting paid in cash for babysitting, or even regular hours. If you aren't and are working above board for all these hours, then it is clear to everyone that the family is paying you x number of hours OVER 40 on some weeks and is not doing overtime. That could bite people in the ass one day. If you are not doing OT hours, then at least set things up with your family to be working on an average hourly rate so that you ARE compensated for OT in a way and it doesn't have to be figured out each week.

No need to go overboard. I've been paid on the books from the beginning and all is good. I'm not worried at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nanny likes to make the overtime, so we offer babysitting gigs to her first. If she can, she does. And yes, we pay her overtime rate. We have other babysitters to call if she declines.

This is us, too. But I don't pay overtime. Yes, I know it's illegal -- flame away. Sometimes she wants to do it, sometimes not.

Cheap fasist pig.

If you are going to use a term, learn how to spell it. It's fascist.

Thank you, cheap fascist pig.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nanny likes to make the overtime, so we offer babysitting gigs to her first. If she can, she does. And yes, we pay her overtime rate. We have other babysitters to call if she declines.

This is us, too. But I don't pay overtime. Yes, I know it's illegal -- flame away. Sometimes she wants to do it, sometimes not.

If you know it illegal why do you do it to her? Would you be okay if your boss just followed those employment laws that suit them? Or the people who will care for and teach your children throughout their lives, should the laws governing their job be taken merely as suggestions? What you're doing is wrong. If you know it's illegal, stop it.

Oh well. I sit for my employers beyond my regular schedule for the same rate as well. I absolutely don't care and don't feel cheated at all. And no, it's been years now, so there will never ever be a chance of them getting in legal trouble or anything. If a nanny isn't okay with that, she doesn't have to accept. Simple.

LOL, never say never PP. You do know that the IRS can audit someone several years later, right? Just because they don't catch you within the first 2-3 years, doesn't mean it will never happen. You might not be feeling cheated, but in OT you are supposed to earn more and then since taxes are paid as a percentage of your pay, you would pay more taxes as well. So you are cheating someone out of money by doing it. And one has to wonder if you are cheating by getting paid in cash for babysitting, or even regular hours. If you aren't and are working above board for all these hours, then it is clear to everyone that the family is paying you x number of hours OVER 40 on some weeks and is not doing overtime. That could bite people in the ass one day. If you are not doing OT hours, then at least set things up with your family to be working on an average hourly rate so that you ARE compensated for OT in a way and it doesn't have to be figured out each week.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nanny likes to make the overtime, so we offer babysitting gigs to her first. If she can, she does. And yes, we pay her overtime rate. We have other babysitters to call if she declines.

This is us, too. But I don't pay overtime. Yes, I know it's illegal -- flame away. Sometimes she wants to do it, sometimes not.

If you know it illegal why do you do it to her? Would you be okay if your boss just followed those employment laws that suit them? Or the people who will care for and teach your children throughout their lives, should the laws governing their job be taken merely as suggestions? What you're doing is wrong. If you know it's illegal, stop it.

Oh well. I sit for my employers beyond my regular schedule for the same rate as well. I absolutely don't care and don't feel cheated at all. And no, it's been years now, so there will never ever be a chance of them getting in legal trouble or anything. If a nanny isn't okay with that, she doesn't have to accept. Simple.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nanny likes to make the overtime, so we offer babysitting gigs to her first. If she can, she does. And yes, we pay her overtime rate. We have other babysitters to call if she declines.

This is us, too. But I don't pay overtime. Yes, I know it's illegal -- flame away. Sometimes she wants to do it, sometimes not.

If you know it illegal why do you do it to her? Would you be okay if your boss just followed those employment laws that suit them? Or the people who will care for and teach your children throughout their lives, should the laws governing their job be taken merely as suggestions? What you're doing is wrong. If you know it's illegal, stop it.

Don't even bother. Lol. Many parents will slip around the law when it comes to their children. Feel bad for the kids, not nanny because nanny is agreeing to work despite not receiving overtime.