How to vet a nanny before hiring: documents, references, red flags

Letting a stranger into your home is the hardest part of hiring domestic staff. Here is what is worth checking before you decide.

Documents

The minimum a candidate should have:

• Passport and legal status in the country where they will work
• Work permit, if local rules require one
• Criminal record certificate — in most countries this takes a few days to obtain
• Health certificate, especially for work with small children and the elderly
• Education documents, if this is a governess or a caregiver

Ask for originals, not photographs sent over a messenger. A photograph is easy to edit.

References: how to check them properly

A list of phone numbers means nothing on its own — what matters is calling and asking the right way. A routine “how was it working with her?” gets a routine answer.

Specific questions work:

• What did the person actually do day to day, rather than what the contract said?
• How long did it last, and why did it end?
• Were there times you were unhappy? How were they resolved?
• Would you hire this person again?

The last question is the most honest one. A pause before the answer says more than the words.

Red flags at the interview

• A vague work history. Gaps of several months with no explanation, or confusion about dates.
• No contacts for any previous employer. “They moved away”, “we don’t keep in touch” — sometimes true, but if it applies to everyone, it is a pattern.
• No questions about the child. Someone about to spend eight hours a day with your child usually wants to know about them in advance.
• Agrees to absolutely everything. “Yes, of course” to every condition usually means they do not intend to keep them.
• Rushes the decision. Pressure and urgency are a bad sign in any hire.

A trial period

Even after a perfect interview, plan a few days with someone from the family at home. Watch the real thing, not the CV: how the person talks to the child when they think no one is listening, whether they cope with the household, whether they ask when unsure.

What we do

We check documents, references and experience before showing a candidate to the family, and we interview every one of them in person. Families receive people who have already been filtered, not a list from a database.

And for the case where the person still does not fit, there is a free replacement guarantee for a year — no explanation needed.

More on how the process works on our FAQ page.