As a nanny we don’t know how long our job is going to
last. Our personal lives – and those of
the family we work for – can change very quickly. When I took a nanny position in late 2009, I
thought I would be with the family for many years. They were planning on
expanding their family and told me they wanted to keep me until all the kids
were in school. On my birthday in 2011
my family announced the coming arrival of their 3rd child. My joy at having a new baby to care for
quickly turned to fear, when the Mother told me she may become a stay-at-home
mom. I was crushed, but knew I had till
November to find out what my future held.
By the
end of June the family had decided they were building a new house, and the
Mother was going to become a stay-at-home mom in August. I was scared; I only had a month to find a
job and school was approaching with prospects dwindling. I had already been looking in the job market,
but opportunities had not come easily because I was not available until August.
With
August fast approaching I turned to my local Nanny group(CincyNanny) for help in trying to
find a new position. I had several
interviews with the help of this group, but nothing had panned out. With two weeks until I would be saying
goodbye to the boys I had fallen in love with, I received a job offer. But there was a catch - they needed me to
start immediately. I didn’t feel it was
fair to my current family since I already had agreed on a date to leave. I spoke to the head of my local nanny group
about the best way to approach this, since it was my only offer (and I couldn’t
afford to go long without having a job.)
She helped me figure out how to explain my situation and let them know
if they truly wanted me they would need to figure out two weeks of childcare.
I
received a phone call a week later thanking me, and they informed me that they went with another candidate. They told me that they really respected my
commitment to my current family, and had it not been for the situation they
were in they would have hired me. They
also said they would hold onto my name in case anyone they knew was looking for
a nanny. Within the week I received an
email from them asking if another family could contact me and set up an
interview. Four days later I had the job
where I am still happily employed.
I am
grateful for the power of networking and the advice of my “co-workers”. Had it
not been for their encouragement, advice, and connections, I am not sure if I
would have found a job and been able to continue my career as a nanny. I am
truly blessed.
