I am in the New York area, making 1,000 per week. Some college,no degree. I speak two languages and play the piano. I swim, drive, and have a passport. What is a good agency in the area to sign up with to get a great gig?
I'm looking to move from the Bay area to the LA/Hollywood area and would like a live-in nanny position of about 50 hours for no less than $900/week. Can you recommend a better agency to go through?
I used to nanny, but have been working in a school for the past five years. Anyone able to suggest a good nanny agency for placement in Westchester County? Or an agency to avoid?
I'm a 22 year old college senior graduating with a degree in communications in May. I have lots of experience working at summer camps and babysitting and I would really love to move to the NYC area and work as a nanny for 1 or 2 years. Can you suggest an agency to start with?
These are just some of the requests we have gotten recently from professional nannies looking for agencies to seek out and agencies to avoid in major metropolitan areas. Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section.
14 comments:
In SF and Bay area, absolutely reco Town & Country Agency 415.567.0956
ABC nannies is no good.
I am on SItter City but I noticed an increasing bad rep for sitter city.
Pavillion for a big agency that works with high dollar clients is a good bet. If you don't have the skills though, dont bother. Weecare Nannies is bad, very low end.
Westside Nannies, Pavillion Agency, The Help Company, The Lindquist Group
PAVILLION sucks. They are all over you if they have a possible interview for you but if you call to ask if they have any new jobs in they ignore your calls. They are only interested in getting their fee and will place you with a family that is not a good match for you and when it doesn't work out they offer no help or support to the nanny. That's why they get very poor reviews from nanny etc.
My Child's Best Friend, A Choice Nanny, New York Nanny Center, Best Domestic and Absolute Best Care are all agencies for inexperienced nannies. They have low fees for families so they tend to place with families who live in Central NJ or Queens or subpar areas of NY and will complain about buying the nanny wheat bread. Avoid.
Quality Care Nannies in Rye- Occasionally has good jobs and good nannies because of the location. But some of the nannies are really unintelligent, practically illiterate.
Abigail Madison Nanny, NY- Only works with the better candidates who go through a rigorous screening process, known for good matches and good relationships.
Hometown Nannies, CT-doesn't work with clients or families that aren't likable. Solid reputation. They get to know you.
Oak Tree Agency, CT- A newer agency a friend of mine got a really good placement from.
Francess Stewart, pretty good, but I have known two people who felt they got lost in the shuffle and had to keep reminding them of who they were. Good reputation otherwise.
More Than a Nanny, NJ- No.
Sitter City- Are you kidding me?
Care.com - You've lost your mind.
Craigs List- You must be joking. Yes, occasionally someone finds someone on Craigslist, but occasionally they are also killed too.
POSTING FROM CHICAGO, IL
Sittercity is actually amazing. Every single one of my long term jobs has been from that site. About 25 new jobs are posted each day so if you have your resume handy, you can easily apply. It is not an agency necessarily because nannies/families do all of the research themselves. But I have developed the closest relationships with many families and it has given me the greatest foundation to allow me to have moved on to live-in and out of state positions. Only thing, is you need to be on top of it each day or else someone is likely to get the position before you.
Care is horrible. Disorganized, rare postings.
OliveYouNanny is a very reputable agency and they are extremely caring about finding their nannies jobs and making sure not only the families are happy but the nannies are, as well. Haven't done live-in here (since I live in the city already), but have been known there are some good live-in positions.
All and all, Chicago isn't really a city I hear a lot of people living in. HOWEVER, if you can live on your own or with roommates, the city and the North Shore are excellent areas for finding high paying jobs.
What cities do you all find to have the MOST live-in nannies????? I know above poster says Chicago doesn't have too many, so wondering what other cities have primarily live-in nannies vs. live-out.
Live ins
S CAL- Mexican immigrants
Hudson Valley-outside of NYC
-preference for Filipino nannies
Boston- Brookline or suburbs, young, American nannies
In the SF Bay Area I love Aunt Ann's. They have placed me with three long term salaried positions with full benefits and stayed in contact with me long after the jobs began to give support when needed. I would recommend them over Town and Country.
I used to work with Sensible Sitters in NYC and wouldn't recommend unless you're just starting out and/or don't have a lot of flexibility with your time. The families I met through them were almost always great, but the pay isn't worth it ($14/hr?!!?! in NYC?!?!). They're inconsistent and sloppy, and as much as they insist on professionalism, they're obnoxious about promoting jobs with B-list "VIP" clients.
If you're just looking to supplement other income or have random hours available, it might be an easier way to at least find some jobs, but not if you're looking for a FT, long-term position. I've had better experiences with Sittercity in the NYC/Westchester area for that.
How exciting this blog is back!
I just opened my own agency this week here in WI, and I plan on expanding to the Chicago area, due to the lack of decent agencies. I spoke with a few and didn't really care for any of the ones that I encountered, because I thought they were rude and unprofessional.
I liked Olive You Nanny, as they seem friendly and down to earth. I would suggest calling them to see if they can help.
Nannies To Love is really nice as well. They seem to be interested in actual experience, and I feel as though they are understanding and organized.
Chicago Nannies is great too. Very clear and to the point. Haven't spoke to them, but I heard they are great.
Avoid, avoid, avoid, AVOID:
First Class Care. I actually applied with them and was told EVERY employer I have had has to be able to be contacted for a reference. When I asked why, I was told because families want to see this work history. I have been in the field of early childhood education for 17 years, and some of the centers that I have worked at have changed names or been sold to others, or they are out of business. First Class care told me that I could do a Google search and that I could type in the center's or owners name and a bill of sale plus contact information should appear. Do they not understand that doing that is time consuming, and that families don't want to see a huge novel of a work history? I also thought that First Class Care has some of the rudest, snottiest people.
Nanny Connections. They are new to Chicago, and do not let them fool you. They are based here in WI, and when I moved back to town in 2007, I applied for a nanny position. I interviwed with the family's then nanny, who criticized my appearance, makeup, email address and language. " 'If you want to be taken seriously and get hired as a nanny, you will want to do yada, yada, yada, and blah blah blah. I know, because I have been a nanny for a long time and placed through an agency. She mentioned Nanny Connections, and I brushed it off. A family who used to attend the childcare center where I work ended up hiring a nanny-the very same nanny that I interviwed with. I thought about that conversation, and realized if the nanny spoke to me that way with that tone (and it was far from constructive criticism) I can only imagine how fake she sounds to parents during interviews. If that's the best Nanny Connections has to offer, then they shouldn't be in the business. Imagine how she talks to the kids?
Good luck in your search. Oh, and by the way, I am on Care.com, Sitter City and I advertise on CL. I found three babysitting clients on all three sites, and I am babysitting for all of them this week....
Abigail Madison Nanny Staffing Agency in New York. Try them.
Absolute Best Care Nanny Agency in NYC is excellent agency
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