Nannies, have you ever had another mom try and steal you away from your current family? How did you handle that?
11 comments:
SarahNY
said...
I was part of nanny poaching at one point...I just politely declined and tried pointing her in the direction of a Nanny I knew was great but looking for a new family. It worked perfectly :)
I've had several people try to get me to leave my current position but I just smile and tell them I'm flattered but that I enjoy my job too much to walk away
I'm with TC, I've been approached several times over the years by various moms wondering if I'd come work for them and I've always politely declined saying I love my job and am so happy. I've suggested agencies that I've worked with to a few and I've had one totally crazy mom as well...she asked me while I was pushing one of my charges in the baby swing and I politely declined. She then began to follow me around the park that we were at begging me to come work for them, telling me she'd triple what I make, give me anything, do they give you _____ or _______? WE WILL!! She was flat out desperate and wouldn't listen to my suggestions of finding a good nanny. I politely told her again that I was extremely happy with my family and that I had no plans for leaving them. It got so bad that we avoided that park if the crazy lady was there!
At my last job another mom tried to poach me at preschool pick up. She offered twice what I was getting paid, but only 8 hours a week vs my 25 hours. It was actually quite easy to turn her down and now my roommate watches her kids.
LOL I had my familys neighbor try to poach me. I polietly declined. I was poached by someone better, My sister! But my job with her didnt start till the week after my last job ended and I still watch that little boy along with my nephew all the time.
Over my 10 year career as a nanny I've been approached by a few moms trying to get me to come work for them. When I was 19 and in my second nanny job I actually fell for it and left my job (that I didn't like) to work for a family I met at the park. The family turned out to be awful and didn't fulfill the promises they lured me away with. Plus, it was super awkward everytime I ran into the old family who lived a few blocks away. I have since learned from my mistake and never believe anyone until it's written on a contact.
I will publish your comment to the Blog so that the Readers can help you out. We don't usually leave questions from other people in this section because it would be hijacking the OP's thread. ;-)
I used to take my former charge to a mommy and me style baby yoga class. When the moms in the class found out that I was a nanny and not a mommy several of them tried to poach me after classes as their maternity leave was coming to an end. I politely declined as that my job had the best commute ever (they were my neighbors) and I was very happy with my charge and his parents (who I am still close friends with even though we have ended our working relationship). The other moms seemed very understanding when I said no to them.
I was starting a new nanny share position with two families that had poached me from a child care center. I was supposed to start watching the children of one family right away and then about six weeks in would begin watching the other family's children as well. Well... I didn't quite make it to six weeks. About two weeks in another mother from the child care center sent me a text asking if I'd like to work for her- she's great, as are her kids so I accepted and let the other parents know I couldn't work for them any longer because I had to tend to family issues. God, I'm awful. Months into working for the new family the MB was telling me about her weekend and said she went to see this great movie... with my former employer! I had no idea they were friends and know it's so awkward when I see my FE because she obviously knows my excuse was complete bullshit!
It is interesting to here your comments and experiences. I myself was approached by a mum a few days ago asking me if I was looking for work. I am truly considering taking her up on the offer, once a contract is drawn up of course. The family I am working for at the moment have no set boundaries and push the confines of the contract and my working hours to the extreme. I think I am going to take her offer.
Thought i would throw in the perspective of a nanny who has been poached. First off let me say i worked for my FE for 2 1/2yrs and was not unhappy or looking for another position. Like everyone else i often get approached by minor acquaintances to leave and go work for them and turned it down. I did however babysit for another family for about a year on the side. So when that mom got pregnant and was looking for a nanny she eventually approached me (to be fair she did hire a horrible girl first that she had to fire after 1 day). She was able, because of her situation, to offer me a much better job. At that point i sat down with my husband and we talked about what was best for our family and decide this new job would mesh much better with our life. My FE were understandably upset but not surprised, i have always been very upfront with them. And they luckily found a replacement for me within a week, which actually meant i got a week off to go see my sister before my new job started. Anyway this is an example of poaching which went very smoothly with no bad feelings. I still use my FE as references and babysit on the side for them now.
11 comments:
I was part of nanny poaching at one point...I just politely declined and tried pointing her in the direction of a Nanny I knew was great but looking for a new family. It worked perfectly :)
I've had several people try to get me to leave my current position but I just smile and tell them I'm flattered but that I enjoy my job too much to walk away
I'm with TC, I've been approached several times over the years by various moms wondering if I'd come work for them and I've always politely declined saying I love my job and am so happy. I've suggested agencies that I've worked with to a few and I've had one totally crazy mom as well...she asked me while I was pushing one of my charges in the baby swing and I politely declined. She then began to follow me around the park that we were at begging me to come work for them, telling me she'd triple what I make, give me anything, do they give you _____ or _______? WE WILL!! She was flat out desperate and wouldn't listen to my suggestions of finding a good nanny. I politely told her again that I was extremely happy with my family and that I had no plans for leaving them. It got so bad that we avoided that park if the crazy lady was there!
At my last job another mom tried to poach me at preschool pick up. She offered twice what I was getting paid, but only 8 hours a week vs my 25 hours. It was actually quite easy to turn her down and now my roommate watches her kids.
LOL I had my familys neighbor try to poach me. I polietly declined. I was poached by someone better, My sister! But my job with her didnt start till the week after my last job ended and I still watch that little boy along with my nephew all the time.
Over my 10 year career as a nanny I've been approached by a few moms trying to get me to come work for them. When I was 19 and in my second nanny job I actually fell for it and left my job (that I didn't like) to work for a family I met at the park. The family turned out to be awful and didn't fulfill the promises they lured me away with. Plus, it was super awkward everytime I ran into the old family who lived a few blocks away. I have since learned from my mistake and never believe anyone until it's written on a contact.
NannyAB,
I will publish your comment to the Blog so that the Readers can help you out. We don't usually leave questions from other people in this section because it would be hijacking the OP's thread. ;-)
I used to take my former charge to a mommy and me style baby yoga class. When the moms in the class found out that I was a nanny and not a mommy several of them tried to poach me after classes as their maternity leave was coming to an end. I politely declined as that my job had the best commute ever (they were my neighbors) and I was very happy with my charge and his parents (who I am still close friends with even though we have ended our working relationship). The other moms seemed very understanding when I said no to them.
I was starting a new nanny share position with two families that had poached me from a child care center. I was supposed to start watching the children of one family right away and then about six weeks in would begin watching the other family's children as well. Well... I didn't quite make it to six weeks. About two weeks in another mother from the child care center sent me a text asking if I'd like to work for her- she's great, as are her kids so I accepted and let the other parents know I couldn't work for them any longer because I had to tend to family issues. God, I'm awful. Months into working for the new family the MB was telling me about her weekend and said she went to see this great movie... with my former employer! I had no idea they were friends and know it's so awkward when I see my FE because she obviously knows my excuse was complete bullshit!
It is interesting to here your comments and experiences. I myself was approached by a mum a few days ago asking me if I was looking for work. I am truly considering taking her up on the offer, once a contract is drawn up of course. The family I am working for at the moment have no set boundaries and push the confines of the contract and my working hours to the extreme. I think I am going to take her offer.
Thought i would throw in the perspective of a nanny who has been poached. First off let me say i worked for my FE for 2 1/2yrs and was not unhappy or looking for another position. Like everyone else i often get approached by minor acquaintances to leave and go work for them and turned it down. I did however babysit for another family for about a year on the side. So when that mom got pregnant and was looking for a nanny she eventually approached me (to be fair she did hire a horrible girl first that she had to fire after 1 day). She was able, because of her situation, to offer me a much better job. At that point i sat down with my husband and we talked about what was best for our family and decide this new job would mesh much better with our life. My FE were understandably upset but not surprised, i have always been very upfront with them. And they luckily found a replacement for me within a week, which actually meant i got a week off to go see my sister before my new job started. Anyway this is an example of poaching which went very smoothly with no bad feelings. I still use my FE as references and babysit on the side for them now.
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