Well, it turns out that most Istanbul nanny agencies simply scour the want-ads for nannies' names and telephone numbers, file them, and then call them when needed. And based on my own experience, it seems the nannies advertising in the papers are the ones who couldn't get work by word-of-mouth.
Apparently until recently, agents would take a month's salary from the nanny and the equivalent from the client; in return, they would help both parties if the nanny-family match broke up within six months. It has been made illegal to take money from the nannies, so now agents want a fee equivalent of two months' nanny salary from the family, and have reduced their 'guarantee' to three months. Which would seem reasonable, if they were actually doing more than facilitating introductions!
I'd been entertaining the idea of starting my own agency, purely out of frustration, when I stumbled across one that seemed to operate the way I thought agencies should. And I was not disappointed -- until I learned that they were way out of my league. This agency finds professional, educated nannies (i.e. educated in early childhood education, child development, speech, etc.) whose salaries exceed my own!
Perhaps I'm in the wrong field?
Imagine an intelligent woman's career ambition being to earn an ECE in private Nannihood, when it's possible some of these educated professionals have never had children of their own!
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if there aren't good, honest and loving Turkish moms who would offer high quality private daycare in their own homes, at affordable rates. I imagine the ECE Nanny as being some arrogant b**** with secondary diploma in trimming toddlers' bangs.