How To Recruit A Nanny - Part 1: Advertising

The internet has changed the way that parents find nannies. In the past parents would use Nanny Agencies who would in-turn advertise in local newspapers.

Now the internet has made if possible for parents to advertise directly to nannies looking for work. In the UK the most popular nanny recruitment website is NannyJob.co.uk which lists thousands of nanny jobs throughout the UK and even some abroad. NannyJob is used by agencies, so if you want an agency to help with the recruiting, do not be surprised if the agency places an advert on NannyJob. NannyJob charges a listing fee, about £20 at the time of writing.

In some parts of the country, Gumtree.com is a popular way of advertising for a nanny. However it seems to me that this concentrates on Cities, so if you don't live in a city it may not be that good. Gumtree charges in certain locations but not others... so you may find that placing an advert does not cost you anything.

When composing an advert you need to know what is you actually want. Do you want a live-in nanny (a nanny who stays at your home day and night) or a live-out nanny (a nanny who comes to your home each morning and leaves again at the end of the working day)?

Online adverts can often be quite long, so I feel you should give as much information as possible. In particular I feel you should be clear about:

• the working days and hours
• how much you will pay
• what housework duties you expect to be done (such as washing children's clothing, ironing etc)
• as clear as you feel able about your location - for example if in London, state the nearest tube station.
• start date
  

There are lots more things you can include in an advert, the more the better I feel but I am aware that some parents want to leave things to discuss at the interview.

Saying how much you will pay seems odd to some people. I feel you should give the salary (or a salary range) so that you don't waste your own or other peoples time. If you can only afford to pay £6 per hour, yet applicants want £10 per hour, then it is not worth them applying for your job.

The purpose of your advertisment is to get suitable candidates interested in your job offer. It is not to get everyone interested in working for you - you want the job advert to act as your first line filter... to weed out the unsuitable applicants leaving you with a handful of applicants to interview.

In England, Ofsted are now registering nannies. Many parents are now wanting to use Childcare Vouchers to part-pay a nanny and thus require a nanny who is already Ofsted Registered, or a nanny who meets the criteria and could apply for registration. If you are recruiting in a hurry and need to use Childcare Vouchers, then state in your advertisment that you require the nanny to already be Ofsted Registered (as the registration process can take a few months).

Other places to advertise include local village shops, such as a newsagents. Local newspapers are also an option - though can be expensive compared with internet advertising.

You may want to leave advertising to a Nanny Agency. I will discuss Nanny Agencies in a later post.