So You Want to Find a Childcare Job
Part 3 - Agencies & Other Resources

The best place to look for work as a nanny is at a reputable agency. To find the agency you want, give serious thought to the criteria listed in our article. Then,

• Make up your own list of questions that you plan to use in talking to agencies. Basic questions are listed below, under Clientele and Duties.
• Plan to be friendly but thorough. While there are lots of agencies, and not all are equally good, expect the best. With diligence, you will surely find it.
• After talking to each agency rep, write down your impressions as well making note of the agency's answers to your questions.
• Don't register with one agency until you have talked to enough to know your options.
• And don't expect to register with every agency because you only complicate their lives and yours. Pick one or two that pass your tests, and be open with them about your needs.

Resources
While the local newspaper used to be the only resource for nanny employment, the following are all useful:

• Word-of-mouth ranks high. Keep your ears and eyes open.
• Any local nanny support group -- local resources are the best place to start because you can interview face-to-face.
• Your local telephone book, which may have a "Nanny" listing (otherwise check Child Care" or call local preschools for their recommendations).
• The International Nanny Association, which sells a National Directory of agencies and nanny schools.
• The National Association of Nannies, a well-established professional organization open to new nannies as well as the established, with wisdom and experience to share.
• The Alliance of Professional Nanny Agencies, like the INA, has a Web site and a directory and publishes standards for its members.
• The Web. While a Google search on "nanny" turns up several agencies among the clutter, consider narrower searches, such as "nanny support groups" or including your city, state or target region in your search terms.

Clientele As you consider each agency, review the following questions:

• What kinds of clients does each agency serve -- working parents, moms-at-home, single parents, career professionals?
• What geographic area does it serve -- local, statewide, regional, national, international?
• What kinds of jobs does it place -- full time, part time, temporary, live-in, live-out?
• What duties are expected of a nanny once she's hired? Cleaning (see Duties, Etc.), travel (a plus for the single applicant, probably not for the married), overnights and weekend work (ditto), and general requirements of availability.

Duties, Etc.
Once an agency begins to discuss specific job openings with you, try to get a handle on the following before accepting interviews -- the agency should have at least some of these details, but some may have to come in your initial, telephone interview with each employer. Issues are listed in order, starting with the most critical.

• Work schedule: How clear is the schedule, and how does it mesh with your lifestyle? Beware of vague work schedules, as variable hours can ruin an otherwise good job.
• Duties: In many cases, housekeeping for the family expands with the willingness of the nanny. In the best planned job, a family will hire a cleaning person, so that basic housekeeping is not the nanny's responsibility.
• Driving is a plus to some nannies (breaks up the day, gets everybody outdoors), a curse to others (too much running around, no time to simply do the job). Look for families who provide a nanny car, or at least will cover auto insurance on the job. (When transporting others is part of your paid job, your personal auto insurance will not cover any injury to them.)

Other issues:

• Medications, divorce, absence or presence of (extra) family members, custody battles, multiple households, other staff.
• Support and communications: will you have support when you need it? Who will provide it and how?

Pay & Benefits
Once they know your qualifications, agencies should be able to tell you what you are worth in terms of compensation. Beware of efforts to pull you in on the basis of offers of exceptionally high pay. Some agencies do, indeed, specialize in high end nanny employers. Some high end jobs are good jobs, but once again, beware.

In talking with families, be careful not to put money first; if the job is not for you, it doesn't matter how much it pays, and no matter how important pay is, employers (and working parents in particular) do not like to think that money is all you care about.

Click here for Find a Childcare Job - Part 1