Making The First Contact
It is highly recommended that you do not give out any personal information including email address, home address or phone number until the following steps have taken place through the ournanny.com.au site email function.
- Give a brief overview about yourself, previous roles, experience, qualifications/certificates, hourly rate, availability etc (the more information the better chance you have of being shortlisted) when contacting families
- Discuss other nannies/babysitters the family has had and relationship they had with children
- Confirm ages of children and their needs
- Discuss what type of role the family expects you to play (children based only, housekeeping, etc)
- If you suspect that a member of the ournanny.com.au site may have negative intentions please report to info@ournanny.com.au so the matter can be dealt with properly and with significant urgency
Meeting The Family
Only once you’ve been invited to attend an interview should you give out your private email address or phone number.
- Ensure that you speak to the mother/father/guardian on the phone to confirm date, time etc at least once prior to your interview (this gives you a good feel for what the family is like)
- Discuss how long the interview will approximately take, who will be present at their home during the interview (including children’s name if you don’t already know) and what they would like you to bring (CV, blue card etc)
- Leave the families names, phone number, address, time of interview and approximate time of how long the interview will take with a family member or close friend. Text or call them before you enter the home and text or call them once you have left the home. If the interview is going to go longer than expected just politely ask if it’s ok that you call your family member/friend to let them know you will be a little longer, to ensure your safety. Parents will understand this!
- Allow extra time to travel to their home, especially if you’re not familiar with the area.
Ongoing Safety
Now that you’ve been chosen as ‘ournanny’ or your families nanny/babysitter it is essential the following steps take place to ensure an easy transition for the children and your new family.
- Discuss with the parents any expectations (appropriate/inappropriate) that they have for you (eg, boyfriend/girlfriend assisting, tasks while children sleep, food consumption within the house, suddenly children or yourself ill, outings beyond the home etc).
- Have regular discussions regarding how everything is going, bring up any concerns, things you’re happy with, questions etc (this will build your relationship and ensure you feel more comfortable in their home etc).
Ournanny.com.au hopes that these simple, yet effective steps help you find your perfect nanny/babysitter or family.
Unfortunately there are some people in this world who misuse the internet and take advantage of situations, however ournanny.com.au believes that by following these guidelines that the possibility of this happening can be dramatically decreased.
Remember always follow your gut instinct.
There are many families out there looking for the perfect nanny/babysitter and likewise many nannies/babysitters to choose from. We hope that you’re able to find the perfect match with little stress and worry.
