Where you look shapes who you find. Each source produces a different candidate pool, and most families do best combining more than one.
Referrals from families you trust are often the strongest source — a nanny whose current family is moving or whose charges are starting school. Ask widely and early.
Agencies pre-screen candidates and charge a placement fee, typically a percentage of annual salary. You're paying for access and time saved; still do your own references and trial.
Online platforms offer the largest pool and the least screening. Expect to do more filtering yourself.
Community networks — parent groups, schools, places of worship — are underused and often produce candidates with local references you can actually verify.
Tammy Gold, LCSW, spent years matching families with nannies before writing Secrets of the Nanny Whisperer (Penguin). Today she works beside families, and their agencies, as a neutral expert: defining the job, interviewing candidates, checking references and setting up the first 30 days.
Once candidates arrive, move quickly to a short phone screen — good candidates are usually hired within days.
Tammy doesn't place nannies, but she helps you evaluate the ones you find.
Screening call, reference questions, clinical interview, trial-day checklist.
Download free ↓Tammy joins your interviews, reference calls, trial debriefs, and onboarding. $189 / 60 min.
Book Tammy →Or text (818) 308-1358 · info@caremapmethod.com
Tammy provides expert guidance; she is not a placement agency and does not run background checks. Hiring decisions remain your family’s.