Tips to find a nanny job

1. Freelance nannies

Finding a nanny job on your own, rather than through a nanny agency, will surely keep you free from expenses such as application form fee, application fee, training fee, commission and various insurance fees which are different in details. On the contrary, without the service of an agency, your nanny skills may not be sufficient to perform as a nanny given the lack of babysitting experience. Although such an experience from raising one’s own children or relative’s, such experience is neither sufficient nor appropriate to be applied to actual performance. It is said that a babysitter should have a certain level of knowledge and skills. An authorised agency provides training and coaching to ensure knowledge and skills for such nanny job, and always safeguards the benefits of its members in terms of good salaries, social security benefits, reassignment in case of mismatch between employer’s family and babysitter, or claim for compensation for meals and overtime from employers in case of unfair treatment, etc. It is therefore common to incur certain costs as charged by the agency so that you can enjoy these benefits. Please refer to the relevant table for more information on such expenses charged by the nanny agencies.

2. Self-assessment for an appropriate age of children

Prior to accepting a job from any family, you should assess which age range should be suitable for your characters such as
Newborns: Need a careful, gentle, clean and calm babysitter;

Toddlers: Need a playful and communicative babysitter to always initiate recreational activities for toddlers who at this age want to play and develop various child skills. A nanny for toddlers should therefore be versatile as toddlers are fast and easy to cause an accident.

If you are neither fast enough nor playful, you should consider nanny infants. This does not absolutely mean that infants will not play at all, but it is less likely than toddlers. Playing and talking to children, even in infancy, are important to nannies.

3. Ask for family backgrounds to assess an appropriate job

Before accepting any jobs, there is certainly an interview between the employer’s family and the nanny to get to know each other. Such an interview will give you an opportunity to obtain more information to support your decision-making on a job offer, e.g., the number of family members, siblings of the child and nanny job description. For instance, you may be asked to assist the eldest child after school or to put the younger child to bed at night. Please note that you are entitled to obtain such job description to ensure that you are capable of providing such services. Do not accept an offer only to find out later that you are not capable to work, for instance, if you never have to wake up at night and are a sound sleeper, please do tell the employer’s family that you never wake up at night and are unsure whether you would be able to take care of their children at night. This is to allow the employer’s family to consider your capability beforehand, rather than having problems later on.
Traveling is also essential as some families may travel a lot to visit relatives or for holidays. If you are suffering from car sickness or sea sickness, you are probably not qualified to service such a family as you are supposed to be of help rather than burden to the family.

4. Consider terms of employment and appropriate salaries

Keep in mind that your salary should be sufficient to make ends meet, otherwise, you could never survive each month. On the contrary, demanding an unrealistically high pay would likely discredit yourself. Therefore, such pay should be appropriately requested taking into account the following factors:

4.1 Job description: A nanny for two children is likely to receive higher payment rate than for one child.
4.2 Your experience: More work experience in babysitting is likely to be an advantage to request a higher payment than those without or having less experience.
4.3 Your extra skills: When you work for a foreign family and are able to communicate in their native languages, you are likely to gain higher pay, etc.

Please refer to our guidelines for salary rates to request an appropriate pay.

Other terms of employment, such as, overtime, meals (or family’s meal sharing), days off, bonus, salary promotion, should be clarified and documented by the employer whereby an employment contract should be made for further reference.

5. Flexibility

You should be flexible to the needs of the employer’s family, such as, your service hours. Some families may need you to work a little late at night due to the parent’s business or may need you to be of other assistance, i.e., certain housework, like cleaning the dishes, after housekeeper’s work hours or shopping, paying telephone bills, which are beyond your job description. If it is something you could do to help, you are encouraged to assist them willingly as a gesture of your courtesy, which should be definitely appreciated in return by the employer.

6. Passion for babysitting and child care

The most important component of a babysitter is to have passion for the job and care for children with sincerity. If you feel annoyed by a baby’s crying, or do not find children cute and innocent but feel irritated getting close to them, or feel offended by their questions, you do not sincerely care for children. In this case, you may not be suitable for a nanny job. Only such thinking that nanny is a job with good earnings and savings may not enough. Please ask yourself whether you really love to take care of children, wishing them to receive good things in life and growing up with quality. If your answer is no, finding another job that suits you is a good idea. Without such passion for this job or care for children, there is absolutely no way to succeed in this career.

Suggestions after getting a nanny Job

1. To be honest and keep good manners

Be honest to this job and with the employer by refraining from using, without permission, any properties of the employer, notwithstanding the value thereof, whether they are books or other household properties. Please always keep in mind that such properties are not yours and prior permission is required under all circumstances. This is a form of good manners that will result in respect and credit. Such honesty also extends to refraining from lying, in spite of any trivial issues. The employer may find you unreliable if he or she has found out that you are lying to them. The issue may be trivial, but you will lose the trust from the employer. Trust is invaluable and takes time and effort to build up. You should be honest with the employer and open-minded in talking without any hidden agenda so as to allow for a carefree work environment between you and your employer. You should also conduct yourself properly towards the employer.

2. To be consistent and independent

Some babysitters at the early stage of their career are very attentive their jobs and are well appreciated by their employers as they know how to conduct properly. Later, they may become less attentive, less punctual and less interested in their jobs, unlike in the early stage, representing their inconsistent conduct. These babysitters know very well how to do their jobs properly and have done so only to impress their employers, and thereafter have become tired of pretending and eventually show their real behavior.

It is best to develop ourselves as truly decent babysitters with discipline, rather than pretending. Once we truly conduct ourselves properly, we will not feel tired of maintaining the good level of our career or ensuring our consistent conduct. Persons with such attributes are highly respected in this and all other careers.

3. To have good attitudes towards your employers

Some nannies might dislike their employers in some aspects. It is suggested that no one is perfect including ourselves. Therefore, if you are unsatisfied your employer or the family you work with, in some issues, you would rather replace that bad attitudes by thinking of their good points in the past. Neither gossiping about your employers nor the family’s members should be made. It will result bad image of yourself among other people as well as lose of nanny’s ethic. Your should respect to privacy of the family who do not want their stories to be revealed. Similarly, if you were them, you also do not want others to hear your personal issues.

In conclusion, wherever you are working, you would better look at good points of that family in order to be happy to work for. On the other hand, if you really feel bad with the family, you would rather quit that job and change to another family that you feel happy and willing to work for. Avoid working and keeping complaints at the same time.

4. To be disciplined, pay attention to work, and be patient. Avoid changing jobs too often.

Similar to other jobs, working as a nanny requires much attention, disciplines and patience. Especially, a nanny has to take responsibility of a child which is a human being. If you are lack of attention, the kid will be in danger such as having an accident, illness or undeveloped skills. Therefore, you should realize how important your responsibility is for the child and his/her family. A successful nanny requires diligence, patience, and disciplines. If lack of these qualifications, you might quit and change your jobs very often. As the result, it becomes a bad record in your working history to be impatient employee, and will affect to next employers. They might not be confident to employ you. A good nanny should be the one has been working for a certain period in order to create stability in child’s emotion and prove of your responsibility to the job and the taken care child.

5. To be generous to accept comments from employers and others

A generous person who can accept comments from others will definitely improve job skills and development. On the contrary, if you are self confident, do not listen to others and welcome only praises, you might lose the opportunity to develop job skills. No one can be the best and most skilful person without self-development. The comments by others become opportunities and values to yourself. Do not take comments to discourage your babysitting. Instead comment is like a mirror to reflect some angles of yourself which may not be sighted or may come across. It will lead to development of your work capability.

6. Do not come across small details

Dress politely and not too fashionable or wear flirtatious dresses.
A nanny should wear polite and clean clothes without putting on high-heeled shoes. They may cause an accident while carrying a baby.

Avoid having conversations or stay alone with the child’s father. The mother may feel unsatisfied and make troubles in your job later.

Do not mention too much about previous family where you just finished babysitting. Some nannies always keep talking about comparing the present kid with the former one they took care. Others might praise the kindness of the former family which often buys things and offer extra payments to them. The kid’s mother may feel reluctant with this information.