Content
6 min
Oct 8, 2026
A successful nanny search should leave you with people you're excited to consider hiring.
The role you put into the market affects who you attract. Where and how you search affects who applies. And screening, interviewing and verifying candidates determines how many are actually qualified and aligned with your family.
Doing all of that while managing work, children and the need to get childcare in place can make the process difficult.
You don't want the limits of your search to become the limits of who you hire.
I learned this firsthand when I ran my first independent nanny search in Canada after working for a nationwide nanny placement agency in the US.
I posted everywhere and had plenty of interest. But once I started speaking with people, the candidate pool got smaller quickly. Availability, compensation, work authorization, commute, experience and interest in the role ruled people out before I could even start assessing who might actually be right for the family.
That's the difference between finding nanny applicants and finding your nanny.
Here’s what a good search needs to accomplish:
Start with a job the right nanny will want
“What do I include in my nanny job posting?”
Before you think about where to find your nanny, think about what you're asking someone to say yes to.
At minimum, a nanny job posting should include your children's ages, schedule, guaranteed hours, location, responsibilities, compensation, driving requirements and start date.
Those details will determine who will be interested in the job. A difficult schedule can shrink your candidate pool. So can compensation that doesn't match the experience you're looking for, vague responsibilities or expectations that don't realistically fit into the nanny's day.
The nanny you're hoping to hire and the job you're offering have to make sense together.
This is one of the first things I work through with families. If something about the role is going to make it harder to attract the nanny they're hoping for, I identify that before we start searching.
Know where to look
“Where do I find a nanny?”
Families find nannies through nanny websites, job boards, Facebook and community groups, referrals, personal networks and agencies. All of them can work.
But an online candidate pool isn't an available candidate pool. Profiles stay active after someone accepts a job, messages go unanswered, and applicants aren’t always viable candidates.
A lot of applicants doesn't mean you have a lot of options.
Your real candidate pool is the people who are available, within your compensation range, able to get to your home, qualified for the role, and interested in your particular job.
And don't assume the right nanny will find your posting. A wider search gives you a better chance of finding people you wouldn't have reached by waiting for applications alone.
Screen before you interview
“How do I know who is actually worth meeting?”
Before committing to a full interview, screen for the things that can rule someone out: work authorization, availability, compensation, commute, and relevant childcare experience.
Then look more closely at the experience itself. Someone can have years of childcare experience without having the experience your particular role requires. Caring for an infant is different from caring for school-aged children. Managing three children is different from caring for one. A nanny/family assistant role requires something different too.
And relevant experience doesn't always come exclusively from nannying.
Before you decide whether someone is right for your family, make sure they're qualified for the job.
Interview for mutual fit
“What is a typical nanny interview like?”
Once someone clears the initial screening, you’re trying to understand what it would be like to work together.
Ask how they approach childcare, setting boundaries, difficult moments, routines, and communication with parents. Use real situations from your household and ask how they would handle them.
You're not looking for universally correct answers. You're listening for whether their approach makes sense for your family, and they're deciding whether your family makes sense for them.
The best nanny on paper may not be the right nanny for your family.
Use references and trials to make the decision
“What happens after a good nanny interview?”
References and a trial help you verify what you've learned.
Professional references let you compare what you've heard in the interview with what previous employers actually experienced. Ask about reliability, communication, responsibilities, strengths and what it was like having that person working in their home.
Whenever possible, arrange a paid trial or another meeting with your children.
An interview tells you how someone talks about caring for children. A trial lets you see what it feels like to have them care for yours.
Set the relationship up well
“How do I make the hire official?”
Once you've found someone you want to hire, confirm the important terms in writing and move into the employment agreement, payroll and onboarding.
Make sure the things discussed throughout the search, including schedule, guaranteed hours, compensation, responsibilities, time off and other expectations, are actually reflected in the agreement.
And always complete your final background and identity checks before employment begins.
What does a nanny agency offer that I can't do myself?
You can find a nanny yourself. You can post in a Facebook group, ask for referrals, search nanny websites and interview the people who respond.
But finding people to interview is only one part of a nanny search.
The harder part is knowing whether you've found the right person to hire.
When you're searching on your own, your options are limited to who happens to see your post, who responds, and how much time you have to keep looking. After weeks of messages and interviews, there's an understandable pressure to choose someone so you can solve the childcare problem.
I don't want a family choosing someone because they're the best of the five people who happened to apply.
How nannyhaus searches
At nannyhaus, we start before the search itself. We work through the role, what you're looking for, what will attract the right nanny and what could unnecessarily narrow your options.
Then we go looking.
My first independent search in Canada started with a job posting and a blank candidate pool. No nannyhaus search starts from zero anymore.
We have a growing network of nannies and childcare professionals, but we don't limit a search to who's already in it. We actively source beyond our network and recruit specifically for each family's role.
And we keep searching while you're interviewing. One promising candidate doesn't mean we stop looking for someone wonderful.
Before someone reaches you, we've already screened for the things that can make or break a match: relevant experience, availability, compensation, commute, expectations, communication and genuine interest in your job. We've spoken with them ourselves and made a judgment about whether they're someone we think you should spend your time meeting.
An introduction should mean something.
From there, you aren't making the decision alone. We hear from both sides after interviews, help you work through questions and concerns, coordinate trials, references and final vetting, and stay involved through the offer, employment agreement, payroll and onboarding.
Hiring a nanny is more than filling a childcare gap.
Your nanny may spend tens of hours each week with your child, for years. They'll be in your home, part of your routines and, when the relationship is right, an important part of your family's support system.
You don't want to hire someone because they're suitable. You want to feel excited about the person you're bringing into that role.
That's what you're paying us to help you get right.
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