Those with Nannies - Questions on Hiring Process

schmoodle

We're starting to contact a few local nannies that are looking for work who we've learned of via word of mouth, and I'm also posting to our local town listserv. At the recommendation of a friend (and former SAIF poster!) in town I'm planning to ask for resumes, chat briefly about our basic requirements to make sure there are no deal breakers on either end, and then set up interviews. I have a couple additional questions though for those who have been through this:

1) What should I expect on a nanny's resume? The one I received so far isn't really a resume per se, it's a list of references/prior employers and ages of the children, how long she worked for them and that's about it. If that's all she has obviously I can ask her about any other relevant info (background/education in child care/development, what her duties were at prior jobs, pay expectations, etc.). Anything else?

2) What are standard questions you ask at an interview? I'm also going to google recommendations and sample questions but curious what others always ask.

3) Do you use a payroll/tax service to deal with nanny taxes, etc. (assuming you don't pay under the table which I understand is far more common but not in my comfort zone), and if so, what service?

4) How many people did you interview before hiring your nanny?

Thanks!

MrsKolasa

schmoodle:

 I was a nanny for 10 years before Luke was born, so I can give you that perspective only. :-)

1) What should I expect on a nanny's resume? The one I received so far isn't really a resume per se, it's a list of references/prior employers and ages of the children, how long she worked for them and that's about it. If that's all she has obviously I can ask her about any other relevant info (background/education in child care/development, what her duties were at prior jobs, pay expectations, etc.). Anything else? I would ask why she left the previous jobs. It's my understanding that the average nanny in our area last about year per family, but I was always there much longer than that. I would also ask what types of activities she did with the kids and explain what you are expecting/comfortable with. I would also have the kids around for at least part of the interview. Does she play with them? Ask to hold the baby? Do the kids like her? Does she seem "right"?

2) What are standard questions you ask at an interview? I'm also going to google recommendations and sample questions but curious what others always ask.

I was always asked about discipline, flexability and what I did with them during the day. FWIW, I would only work for a family that was ok with me taking their kids places. ie: library, story time, play dates, etc. It was important to me that the kids get the interaction with peers that they needed.

3) Do you use a payroll/tax service to deal with nanny taxes, etc. (assuming you don't pay under the table which I understand is far more common but not in my comfort zone), and if so, what service? I was always paid as a household employee and the families used an accountant to make it all work out. Taxes were taken out, and I know they paid quarterly into things like unemployment and such. When we agreed on pay, it was always take home pay, not gross income.

4) How many people did you interview before hiring your nanny? All the families I worked for had interviewed 5ish people. It's a long process. For 2 of the families, I actually sat in on interviews for my replacement and gave my opinion of the person.

Thanks!

Good luck. If you have any specific questions, PM me.

JillRock96

We have been through the process three times.  I think we've gotten pretty good at it. 

1) Most of the nannies we interviewed had resumes similar to what you described -- really a list of families they've worked for.  A few have worked for daycare centers, so theirs were more professional.  The good (or, organized, I guess) ones should list any classes they've taken, CPR certification, etc. 

2) I always ask about their discipline policy, how they would handle any potential policy with us, what other duties they are willing to do (though we do not expect someone to clean), driving record (if applicable), why they left previous jobs, CPR/first aid certification (this is a must, so if they don't have it, they have to be willing to do it -- we'll pay if we hire them).  I also ask how they would handle specific situations (such as a minor injury).  Mostly, though, I look at how they interact with the kids.  We always brought at least Ava to the interviews.  The ones that didn't interact with her were immediately out.  The nanny we have now was just so natural during her interview.  One of the twins spit up, and she automatically picked up a burp cloth and wiped her mouth.  It was so seamless.

3) We do our own taxes, but I would highly suggest either letting your accountant do it or using a service.  It was easy to figure out how much to withhold, but actually doing the taxes (quarterly) has been a MAJOR pain in the butt.  Also, be prepared to spend a good deal more each quarter than just the nanny's pay -- some of the unemployment and FICA comes out of your pocket.  For us, it is about an extra $300 to $400 a quarter.  And the tax deduction is nice, but you can only claim $6000 a year for 2+ kids, so the amount we get back is much less than the amount we have to pay above her salary.

4) The first time, we interviewed many -- maybe 6 to 8.  The second and third times we were much better about ruling out anyone who was not perfect on paper at least.  I think we actually did interviews with three each time.  We did one interview in a public place (local coffee shop), then we had our final candidate over to our house for a few hours, after we had called her references.

You didn't ask this, but I wanted to add that it is really helpful if you go into the interviews with strict criteria for days off, sick time, salary, hours, etc.  You can always ease up later if you feel comfortable, but it is much easier to start off strict.  If you have any other questions, please ask!

dusk42

1) I got two standard resumes and one crazy one (like super detailed with crazy stuff like "typed letters, washed windows" etc.).  That woman was crazy on the phone so good weeding out.  However, if she has just been a nanny, that is all the info you really need.  Obviously a great resume and a well-written cover letter would be a plus in the professional category, but not everyone is that formal.  Even for the standard ones, I had to follow up with questions about other experience in childcare (centers, au pair, etc.), CPR/first aid, whatever.

 

2)  I have a list of questions from google, but I asked again about experience (especially with newborns), CPR/first aid, what was the biggest emergency they had dealt with, driving record, worst behavioral problem to work with, best/worst things about past nanny situations, what they liked to do with the kids, etc.  The question I should have asked was whether they had a network of other nannies/moms to interact with and schedule playdates with.  As an infant, it wasn't a big deal, but once DD started walking and being a toddler, she LOVED other kids and was very bored with just the solitary nanny (who turned out to be a loner without many friends).  

 

3) We did not use a service, but we should have because DH is a big procrastinator and did not get stuff done when he should have.  Also, every state is different for taxes/unemployment, so while the federal stuff was easy, the state stuff sucked.  The math was not hard, but finding the info was.  The one most recommended on the nest is Breedlove.  Things to discuss with the nanny - will you withhold income tax for her?  Who will pay the FICA taxes/medicare/etc?  (If she is going to pay the employee half, you need to either withhold it from her checks or pay it yourself at tax time.)  You will probably also need to make payments quarterly.  If you have an FSA through work, you need to have her sign a form certifying that you paid her (you can't use cancelled checks).  

 

4)  I reviewed about 12 applications, interviewed 3 on the phone, and 1 in person.  My field was narrowed because I wouldn't consider anyone without a clean driving record, non-smoker, CPR/first aid, etc.  I did let our nanny take the CPR/first aid class later, but I'm still not sure if she did the practical because it was awkward to demand proof of it.  So make it clear that you want to see proof of CPR/first aid and a copy of their driving record BEFORE making your final decision (if that is what you want).    

 

Other advice - make up a detailed contract covering pay, hours, vacation, sick time, expectations, reimbursements (for gas/food/admissions/etc.), and how you want the relationship to end - how much notice you will give her and how much you want from her?  What is grounds for termination without notice?  I really regretted not having those difficult details settled when our nanny was out for the fourth week in a year (three sick, one scheduled vacation - but three weeks in a row in April).  One reference I called said that the biggest issue she had with the nanny was that the mom/reference came home one day and the nanny had a (male) friend there with her and the children playing a game, etc.  The mom had never met the guy and the nanny never asked permission, etc.        

Ali212

1)  I think what you've seen is pretty standard.  I would definitely ask for more history (if nannying is not all she has ever done) but most nanny resumes I've seen were more streamlined.  Also, ask about any qualifications/skills about nannying (first aid/cpr, etc).2) I always ask a lot about approach to discipline, schedule/routine, etc.  What I first want to do is understand how in sync we are.  It's important to me that we are relatively aligned and will approach things similarly.   If I were to have an approach completely out of whack with my nanny, as much as she might say she would do what I want, I don't think it would ultimately work out so well.  I ask also a lot about prior experiences, why she left those families (yes, I also call the families but certainly want to know their take on it).  I also ask a few situational questions...kind of WWYD if....one of the first things I do is watch how they are around children.  I had my older daughter in the room when I interviewed and watching their interaction with her is so telling.   3) Yes, we used a service; there is no way I could have taken on the weekly taxes and recordkeeping..  G T M Payroll is who we used.  It worked really well.  I would definitely recommend them.  4) I think 5-6?  We used an agency so they prescreened candidates for us so only sent high quality people our way.  We ended up hiring one of the first we interviewed but I wanted to meet a few to get a sense of what my options were.  The nanny we hired was with us for 3+ years until we let her go b/c we no longer needed a nanny (I stopped working).    My daughter still talks about her.

njdcgirl

schmoodle:

1) What should I expect on a nanny's resume? The one I received so far isn't really a resume per se, it's a list of references/prior employers and ages of the children, how long she worked for them and that's about it. If that's all she has obviously I can ask her about any other relevant info (background/education in child care/development, what her duties were at prior jobs, pay expectations, etc.). Anything else? We found ours through a website, so I looked at their profiles and didn't ask for resumes.  I think only 1 out of the 5 in person interviews we had brought one.  It wasn't a big deal to me, b/c I had all the basic information from their profile (including reference names and numbers.)

2) What are standard questions you ask at an interview? I'm also going to google recommendations and sample questions but curious what others always ask.

I don't really remember - but I do remember that as a new mom I didn't know what the heck to ask since I wasn't even sure yet what my "style" was!  I think there were some standard questions on the Breedlove website that I borrowed and tweaked.  I also asked if they wanted to hold Andrew (he was about 2.5 months adjusted at the time) and I just watched how they interacted with him.  That told me a lot.

3) Do you use a payroll/tax service to deal with nanny taxes, etc. (assuming you don't pay under the table which I understand is far more common but not in my comfort zone), and if so, what service?

We use Breedlove.  So far, so good (since Jan).  We negotiated a gross hourly wage - she gets taxes taken out pre-pay and we pay those for her as well as our taxes.  We also use them for direct deposit so i don't have to deal with writing her paychecks (I think it is $25 / quarter extra to do that...well worth it!)

4) How many people did you interview before hiring your nanny?

We got about 30 applications, talked on the phone with 7-8 (it was much easier to weed out people that I had thought) and interviewed 5.  2 were duds, 2 were meh, and the one we hired we knew as soon as we met her.  It was a process, but we hired her in about 2 weeks from when I put the ad up.

I also second the idea of creating a contract that spells out everything - responsibilities, sick/holiday/vacation if you are paying that, notice, etc.  I'm sure as a lawyer you would have done this anyway!  I found it was a good way to open discussion and communication, which for me has been one of the most important things I love about her.

Good luck!

Thanks!