Nanny Jobs

Here are some questions you should ask yourself before posting your nanny available ad:

• Are you qualified?
  Most parents are looking for a nanny with significant, successful experience in childcare. If you have worked as a nanny before, you should make a list of what you liked best about those jobs, what you learned, where you fell short, and what tactics you would change at your next job. Experience is only really valuable to your employer if you have managed to learn something from it, so take the time to review your past experiences and to figure out how you have changed.

• Why do you want to be a nanny?
  Even if you do not have actual nanny experience, parents may be eager to hire you if they find out that you have significant childcare experience, either in your own family, or at a prior job where you worked as a teacher, daycare employee, or nurse. Education is also important to parents, so having a degree, especially if it is in early childhood education, one of the healthcare sciences, or child psychology, will put you ahead of other job-seeking nannies.

• Do you love working with children?
  It may sound simple, but you would be surprised how many childcare workers there are out there who find no joy in the work they do. Parents want to find a nanny who can interact with their children and who their children feel comfortable with. It is a simple fact that some people have a way with children while others do not. Think carefully about how much time you have spent with children in the past and how comfortable you have been able to make them feel, as well as how comfortable you were with them. Being a nanny is a hands-on experience, so you need to be prepared to deal with tears, hugs, dirty diapers, and bad moods.

• How much time can you commit to being a nanny?
  Parents do not only look for full-time nannies, and no matter how odd your schedule may be there might be a family looking for someone for exactly the days and times you want to work. Many nannies work only certain times of the day (i.e. mornings, afternoons, evenings or weekends only) and others are hired temporarily as summer nannies or for certain holidays or vacations.
  
  Of course, many families want a nanny who can work full-time and live in their home, and for those types of nanny jobs you may need to be willing to relocate and to spend most of your time close to your work. When you are listing your availability, be completely honest about what times and how often you want to work.

• Are you able to work long hours without the company of your peers?
  One of the most basic reasons why working as a nanny is so trying is that caring for children can be exhausting without the company of other adults. A nanny should be mentally and physically prepared for this challenge and should keep this in mind during the nanny job search.

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