getting nanny job – Nannyjob blog

20 questions to ask at interview

20 questions you need to ask at interview

What are you children’s favourite activities?

Are you happy for me to arrange activities, playdates and meet up with other nannies?

Will you leave a kitty for work-related expenses?

Do your children have any allergies or health conditions?

What discipline methods do you use?

What nursery/household related duties do you expect me to do?

Why did you choose to interview me?

What are the hours?

How often do you anticipate needing overtime?

What is the rate of pay?

Are you happy to agree a gross wage in the contract and deduct my tax and National Insurance?

Live-out: Will I be able to eat meals with the children while on duty? / Live-in: What accomodation and meals do you provide?

Do you need me to be OFSTED registered?

Are you happy to pay the initial registration/renewal fee?

Do you provide a car or do you expect me to use my own?

Will you insure me on your car?/Will you pay mileage for work related journeys using my car?

How long do you see this job lasting?

What childcare have you used before?

Can I speak to your last nanny?

When do you plan to make your decision?

Tips and Advice for First Time Live-In Nannies

The prospect of starting a new job is sometimes nerve-wracking. For those of you about to start your first job as a live-in nanny, it can be downright terrifying, as you must learn to work and live with the family hiring you.

That’s why we’ve put together our top tips to help you feel more comfortable and at ease when moving in with a new family:

Continue reading “Tips and Advice for First Time Live-In Nannies”

Nanny Jobs – Beating the Competition

Families will quite rightly be picky when choosing a nanny for their children – after all, the nanny will be spending a great deal of time with their children and may even be living in their home. So how can you give yourself the edge over other applicants?

Nanny jobs are desirable to many. They are the most well-paying of childcare professions (although this is no surprise, considering that they are usually the most physically and emotionally taxing, too), and offer a lot of perks.

We often talk about the importance of a family finding the right nanny, but it is equally important for the nanny to find the right family.

Formal Qualifications

Although formal qualifications are not legally required to work as a nanny, most families will be interested in any qualifications you do have. You need to be able to prove your skills and your ability to not only keep their children safe, but to facilitate their learning and stimulate them. If you don’t have very many formal qualifications, you should think about changing that and ‘skilling up.’ There is a vast array of courses available in childcare, early years education and paediatric first aid, which are the kind of qualification the family will be looking for. (Check out our website for some great offers on courses)

Good References

As previously mentioned, it is not legally required for nannies to possess any formal qualifications. In fact, some of the most well-paid and sought-after nannies are older women who have very few qualifications, but experience and great references from other families. If you are just starting out as a nanny, you’ll need to have previous experience of childcare to demonstrate that you can carry out the tasks required. You might consider doing some voluntary work in a child-orientated setting before starting to apply for nanny jobs.

A Driving License

Being able to drive the family car (or your own car) to ferry children around to school and various extra-curricular activities will most definitely give you an advantage over other applicants. Of course, depending on where the family lives, using public transport may be easier in certain situations but the freedom of being able to drive a private vehicle will not just make your life easier – it will make you more attractive as an employee.

Professional Attitude

Professional nannies are well-prepared for their interviews and well-prepared to be hired. Be sure to have any paperwork ready for the family to see should they wish to (proof of qualifications and DBS documents are important ones) and have a contract of employment prepared.

Love Your Work

Primarily, the family are going to want to see that you genuinely love children and have a passion for your work. As the saying goes, “if you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Allow the family to see just how much your work means to you.

What gets you a nanny job?

We’ve talked before about the importance of a good profile in winning you work as a nanny, but a CV – and your experience and qualifications – will only get you as far as the interview.

Imagine opening a mystery box of chocolates. You have preferences – for example you prefer milk chocolate and don’t like nuts – and you can make decisions about what you see on the outside. That’s what your CV is for, to help the family pick out the milk chocolates and discard the nuts. Other things you can only tell by biting into the chocolate and discovering the hidden nuts inside. Sometimes a really tasty-looking chocolate can be disappointing, and sometimes a chocolate that seems plain on the outside can have a surprising centre.

Once you actually meet the parents, what is it that will land you the job?

Remember that the interview is first and foremost a chance for you and the family to interact, so don’t sit there passively! Taking an active part in the discussion and asking well- timed questions will show that you’re interested in hearing about them and their expectations as well as being prepared to answer questions about your experience and approach to childcare. Respond to the family’s cues and where they ask you what you would do in certain situations you should answer the question and then reflect it back to them to find out what their preferences are.

Let your enthusiasm for your job, and children, shine through. A happy, animated nanny who is able to describe what they do on a day to day basis is much more likeable than a coldly, professional nanny who gives textbook answers. Also show enthusiasm for the children if they are there. Try to get to know your future charges by smiling, waving and asking them questions, getting down on their level and responding to any overtures they make such as bringing you a favourite toy.

You probably have a list of questions in your head (or on paper!) that you want answered and chances are some of these will be covered before they ask whether you have any questions at the end of the interview. Pay attention to what the family say all the way through so unless you’ve genuinely forgotten the answer (in which case you should apologise and just ask them for clarification) you don’t ask for information you’ve already been given.

Also make sure your questions don’t focus solely on hours, pay and holidays, although that is obviously very important ground to cover. Ask about the children’s favourite activities, how the parents like to communicate during the day and what their priorities are as a family. Taking an interest in them as people will also help you decide whether you feel able to work with them.

The main objective of an interview is to establish a good relationship between you and the family, so you both leave with the impression that you could work well together.

Continuing professional development for nannies

In a competitive market a nanny who regularly refreshes and expands their skills will stand out from the crowd. Luckily a number of training providers have stepped in to fill the gap but it can still be hard to find a course that is on a date that suits you in a location that you find convenient. To help you along Nannyjob have secured discounted courses for you. Check out the courses on offer here Training for Nannies – Nannyjob

In celebration of this we’ve pulled together 3 top tips to make sure you get bang for your buck!

1. Ask About Course content

Don’t be afraid to ask questions about what is covered in the course. A good training company will be able to give you a fairly detailed breakdown of the topics you’ll encounter, which will help you decide whether the course is worth your time.

2. Check Accreditation

A course which has been accredited will have undergone a certain amount of scrutiny from the awarding body, which means you can have a measure of confidence in the delivery and assessment procedures. Some awarding bodies, such as CACHE, will also check the content of the course to ensure that it’s factual and based on best practice.

3. Get opinions

It’s rare to find a course or training provider that everyone raves about, although they do exist, and one nanny’s meat is another nanny’s poison and all that BUT if you get overwhelmingly negative reviews or the same bad points keep coming out then do take that into account.

Make your nanny profile shine

At Nannyjob we know the essential information parents need to make a decision – location, experience, availability and what kind of job you want – so make sure these details on your nanny profile are accurate. If they aren’t, then you won’t show up when parents search! Here are some other top tips for making your profile stand out from the crowd.

The first question to ask yourself: what do parents want to know about you?

Be specific because when you’re too vague about location or availability then parents won’t bother to contact you if they don’t see what they’re looking for, or something similar, on your profile – you can select multiple regions but you probably don’t want to select all of them, particularly if you’re looking for a live out job!

Make sure the details on your profile make sense – your total years of experience should be equal to the number of years as a nanny, as a nursery nurse and in other childcare (which includes teacher or nursing). If you say you have more than 5 years experience but none as a nanny or as a nursery nurse or in childcare then how can you have more than 5 years relevant experience?

Select your job types carefully. You may be genuinely happy to work as anything but remember people will contact you based on what you say you want to do.

Add a photo! It makes it easier for parents to connect what you write to a real person if they have an idea of what you look like.

Use appropriate paragraphs and punctuation to make your description easy to read.

If you have any restrictions (for example you’re looking for a Monday and Tuesday job because you already have a job the other days state this early on.

If you’re looking to work in an area where you don’t currently live, say when you would be available to move and start work.

Give details of your qualifications and experience, as well as talking about the personal qualities which make you a great candidate. Remember that this section is all about what you can do for the family, how you interact with children, what you like to do in your job and how you use the knowledge and skills that you’ve gained. Make sure you really tailor it for a nanny job. Your interests, hobbies and family background are less important than skills which are relevant to childcare and show real passion and enthusiasm for your work.

Above all, be yourself!

Online Safety Tips for Nannies

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a significant rise in internet fraud, phishing scams and other ‘traps’ that aim to trick victims into handing over money, providing sensitive information or even putting themselves in physical danger.

To help you stay safe when applying for your next nanny job, we’ve put together our top online safety tips for nannies:

Continue reading “Online Safety Tips for Nannies”

Top 10 essential items every Nanny carries

Like every child is different, every Nanny and Manny are different, but the one thing they all have in common is that they are always prepared! Here are our top 10 essential items that every Nanny carries with them. What is your most essential item? Or What have we missed off our list?

Mobile Phone with emergency contacts in – Mum, Dad, Grandparents, Neighbour, Doctor, Dentist, whoever is on your list make sure you have a plan of action if there is an emergency!
Medical Information for each child. In the UK we have the Red Book which should contain all the vital info you need such as food allergies, medication, etc. But if you don’t have this then keep a note handy with all the details. If the child, you care for becomes ill the first questions you will be asked are ‘Is the child taking any medication’ ‘Does the child have any allergies’ Having this information to hand may save valuable time.
First Aid Kit – You can buy a ready made one or simply carry the necessary items around with you such as Plasters, antiseptic wipes, safety pins, tweezers, gauze dressings, sterile eye dressings, crepe roll bandage, triangular bandage, disposable gloves.
Tissues, wet wipes and hand sanitizer.
Sunscreen and lip balm, even the most overcast days can require some protection from the sun, always better to be safe.
Nappies (Or underwear if potty trained), Changing mat, wipes, cream disposable potty, – you never know when you might be caught out!
Change of clothing, what child hasn’t rolled in the mud or been sick and needs to be changed.
Healthy snacks – children are constantly hungry, ready prepared fruit, rice cakes, raisins, prepped veg and hummus. All great energy boosters if you have a flagging child.
Bottled Water – Great for cleaning up a messy child or for a drink break through the day.
Small toys and books, if you must queue, go on public transport of just keep a child occupied while you wait for something, having a toy or book handy will help deal with any boredom the child might feel.

DBS Check

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is a government body which processes criminal record checks that prevent unsuitable people from working with children and other vulnerable groups.

There are three types of checks –

Standard check shows spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings.

Enhanced check shows the same as standard and any information held by local police that’s considered relevant to the role.

Enhanced check with barred lists shows the same as enhanced check plus whether applicant is on the list of people on the list barred from doing the role.

These usually take around 8 weeks.

Cost of a DBS check –

Standard £26.00

Enhanced £44.00

Enhanced with Barred lists £44.00

Ofsted Courses

Paediatric First Aid

As a nanny you will be looking after and caring for young children. This course is aimed specifically for first aid in relation to children and will include –

Bleeding Cuts and Grazes, Broken Bones

Shock, Anaphylactic, Electrical

Choking, Resuscitation

Allergic reaction, Head Injuries

Common Core Skills for a Nanny

This course is aimed at helping nannies develop and enhance their work experience and knowledge of working with children and their families and will include –

Communicating with children, young people, their parents and carers

Child and young person development

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child

Supporting transitions

Multi-agency working

Sharing information