I found it difficult to find a job as a nanny even though I joined three of the big-name agencies in the West End of London. During the interviews I told them all about my background, my experience and the sort of nanny job I hoped for - caring for one or two children in a sole-charge position. All the agency women who interviewed me seemed very interested and felt confident they could place me with a family given my experience, qualification and the two good references I showed them, though they warned me that not many couples were interested in having a male nanny.
I then received maybe three or four phone calls a week from the agencies to tell me they had found a family 'willing to meet me', but these never came to anything. No work came from the seven or so interviews I attended, even though all the parents seemed to like me, but their feedback to the agencies generally went something like, 'He was really nice, but we decided to take on someone else'. I think my sex went against me and most of the parents just weren't willing to take the chance on a male, with the huge amount of media publicity about male child molesters.
Even though I am a trained childcarer with 16 years of experience, good references from professionals in the field and a police check, I still had trouble finding work. In hindsight I don't think there was any more I could have done to impress the parents. I was well presented, showed an interest in their children and did good interviews.
In the end I got my current job of looking after four children aged from 19 months to six years through a local nanny agency in Barking, Essex.
Recently the family told me that they had immediately liked me and I believe the fact that both parents are teachers meant they were much more open-minded about employing a male nanny.
Although I enjoy the job, if there was anything I could change it would be to change the title 'nanny' to Professional Childcare Provider.
Maybe once a family thought I sounded really good and was excited to meet me, but then their current nanny decided to stay so that was the end of that.
