Mary Poppins Academy: Part Two
Welcome back! We’re excited you’re here from part one to be sure that you’re taking steps to help differentiate yourself as a professional career nanny.
Step Four:
Establish Clear Communication from the Start
It’s key to have good communication with the agency and the family. Being sure to keep on top of emails and texts shows initiative and can stand out when interviewing among other applicants. Especially during any client interview/contract negotiations. Time can be of the essence and prompt responses can work in your favor by helping show diligence and reliability.
Step Five:
Keep Growing with Continuing Education & Trainings
Keep up with continued education and training! It’s a given that families appreciate experience in the field- but more times than not- your fellow applicants have experience in the nanny field as well. One thing that not all nannies do is invest in their career with trainings. Having an expansive list of certifications and trainings can help set your resume apart from others. Also, by investing in certain courses, you have more grounds to ask for a higher rate during contract negotiations. We’ve also heard some nannies will ask for a yearly stipend from their employers to go towards continuing education. Investing in your education, not only benefits you but also is a tremendous gift to your employers because the fruitfulness of the training can reflect in higher quality of childcare.
There are many courses out there! Here are some of the most reputable:
Newborn Care Specialist
Birth and/or Postpartum Doula
Water Safety Course
Child Passenger Safety Technician
Lactation Consultant
You don’t have to do courses that cost money. You can find free courses typically by searching your local county’s Department of Childcare resources.
Every April, the nanny community celebrates International Nanny Training Day (iNNTD). Usually the nanny community gets together on one Saturday and has a half or full day of training depending on your location. Over the past few years it had to switch to online so now we have in person and online training. Keep an eye out on our Facebook Nanny page and our Instagram accounts for when 904 Nannies will host their iNNTD.
Step Six:
Get Connected with Your Nanny Community!
Being a part of a nanny community not only helps you have friends who feel like coworkers but so much more! It can help lead to finding new jobs, having playdates, and sharing with the trials and tribulations of our career. In this field, we are typically surrounded by humans that are under three feet tall. It can be refreshing to find a sense of support among other adults that can relate to our lives of being a nanny.
While the common misconception of being a nanny is just a “college job,” implementing these steps can further back up that being a Career Nanny is an invaluable role among fellow professionals!
