The Nanny Interview Gone Wrong September 1, 2008

In 2007, a young woman named Katherine Olson was murdered after responding to an ad for a babysitter she found online at Craigslist.   We constantly talk about families worrying about finding a safe nanny but forget that the nannies need to be careful as well. You never know who is on the other end of an online ad or who you may end up working for. It is a scary thought to think you cannot trust someone asking you to come care for his or her kids or think that some may not even have a child.    There are sick people out there and we all need to protect ourselves.

I am not saying there aren’t great people out there seeking great people to work for or hire. I find myself thinking about how incredibly easy it is to find everything online, directions, apartment rentals, recipes, you name it. The internet is a vast resource that I cannot imagine living without but with that comes dangers and downfalls. You just don’t know who is on the other side of the ads, chat rooms, or emails. I can recall years back when chat rooms sprang up, hearing tales of 60-year-old men posing as 16 year olds chatting up young girls. That kind of thing scared me into not ever going into a chat room to this day. But we can’t live our lives in fear, we just need to have our guard up in these uncharted waters.

There are plenty of success stories out there of couples who found each other online and lived happily ever after. I am guessing many of them stem from using online dating services since they screen candidates and use matching programs. 

I myself would probably do the same if I needed it and was seeking that special someone. I would feel a lot safer knowing a company was behind things not just a random person floating in cyber space seeking out the next random woman. The same could be said in the case of looking for employment or employees. You are better off sticking with agencies or word of mouth from families and friends whether you are looking to work in someone’s home or invite them into yours. Look for places that screen not only the employee but also the employer.  Citinannies.net works to ensure that both sides are a safe, reliable match. They allow nannies to find who they want to work for in the same way families search for a nanny. 

Sadly, it is the stories with the bad endings that wake us up.   Even in the middle of the afternoon.    It’s never too late to be too cautious.   Visit citinannies today to view the prescreened nannies – today.

 

 

Dealing With Suspicious Credentials July 14, 2008

When you hire a nanny you need to make sure that she is the best person for the job. You do not, after all, just want to leave your kids with just anyone. The person should be responsible, likes kids, be able to have fun, and still know when it is time to be serious.

A Few Pieces of Advice

One of the most important things you do before you hire a nanny is make sure you get at least three references. Make sure you contact all of these references and ask them specific questions about her performance. Ask them if they would hire her again, if they liked how she handled the children, why she left, and any other little bits of information that you can think of. If you can not get a hold of the three references ask for some more references until you talk to three people.

Have the nanny fill out an application just like she would have to at any other place of employment. Make sure you get all of the vital information like her birth date, social security number, and other names she may have gone by in the past. Get her college school name and any other schooling she may have had in the past. Ask her to list her last five employers. Make sure that these employers are not from the three references. Also get in contact with these people to see how well she performed at her job there. Get the phone number, address, and name of the previous employer.

If you decide to do a background check on her you need to let her know and have her sign a piece of paper authorizing you to do a background check on her. Make sure that you see if she is hesitant to sign the paper. If she is then she might be hiding something from her past. Can you really trust a person who may be hiding something from a person she will be working for? If you do not feel comfortable trusting her around your kids then do not hire her.

Check the information that she gave you to her previous places of employment. Make sure that the information matches up correctly. Call the relative and make sure that she is really related to them. If she is not related to them then she is obviously lying to you, and if she feels comfortable lying to you now she will keep on doing and just get more comfortable lying to you in the future.

If you find that all of the information checks out with the person but you are still a little leery of hiring her then do not hire her. You need to hire a person that you can trust which your children. Also before you hire the nanny make sure the children are comfortable around her. There is nothing worse than hiring a nanny who if perfect but the children do not like her. If the children do not like her than they are not going to listen to her very well. So make sure that the children like her that way you will get respect from both the nanny and your children.