How to Hire a Nanny: A Step-by-Step Guide

Hiring a nanny takes most families four to eight weeks from first decision to first day. Rushing it is the most common mistake. The second is starting the search before deciding what you are actually hiring for.

Here is the process, step by step.

1. Decide what you are hiring before you look

Answer these before you write a job post or call anyone:

Schedule. Exact days and hours, not “about 40 hours.”
Live-in or live-out. Live-in changes the pay structure and the household entirely.
Duties beyond childcare. Meals, laundry, tidying, school runs, activities — say so now, not in month two.
Driving. Their car or yours, and who insures it.
Start date, and how much it can move.
A pay range you can sustain for at least a year.

Most placements that fail do so because something on this list was left vague.

2. Work out what it actually costs

The hourly rate is not the cost. Budget for:

The rate itself — see our salary guides by city for current ranges
Employer taxes, roughly 10% on top
Paid time off, typically two weeks plus holidays
Guaranteed hours — you pay for the schedule you committed to, whether or not you use it
Mileage if they drive

Guaranteed hours is the one families push back on and the one that most affects who will take the job. A nanny turning down other work to hold your week needs to know what she is being paid for.

3. Where families look

Agencies recruit and screen for you, and present a short list. You pay a placement fee and skip the sorting, the reference checking and the background screening.

Online marketplaces give you the largest pool of applicants and none of the vetting. Every part of the screening — criminal records, employment verification, references, online presence — becomes your responsibility, along with the contract and the household-employer tax setup.

That screening is the part worth thinking hardest about. It is not a formality, and it is difficult to do thoroughly without the services agencies use. We have written about what a proper nanny screening involves, including why a friendly reference phone call tells you so little and what a structured reference check turns up instead.

4. Interview for judgment, not warmth

Everyone interviews warm. You are looking for judgment.

Questions worth asking:

Walk me through a typical day in your last role.
Tell me about a time something went wrong with a child in your care.
What would you do if my toddler would not stop crying and nothing was working?
When would you call me at work, and when would you handle it yourself?
What did you like least about your last family?

That last one is the most revealing question on the list. Listen for whether they can be critical without being unkind — that is exactly the judgment you are hiring.

5. Do an extended second interview

After the first interview, invite your shortlist back for a longer visit in your home, with your children there.

Let it run a couple of hours. Watch how they are with your children when the conversation is not about them — whether they get down on the floor, whether they notice what your child is drawn to, how they handle a moment that does not go smoothly.

This is an interview, not a work shift. The candidate is not your employee yet and should not be treated as one, so it stays an interview in substance as well as name — you are observing and talking, not handing over care of your children for the afternoon.

You will learn more in those two hours than in any conversation at a kitchen table.

6. Put it in writing

A written work agreement covering schedule and guaranteed hours, pay rate and pay day, duties, paid time off and holidays, driving and mileage, sick-day policy, confidentiality, and review timing.

This is not distrust. It is the document you both refer to in month four when something is unclear, and it prevents far more problems than it ever causes.

7. Set up payroll properly

If you pay a nanny more than the IRS household employee threshold, you are an employer. That means withholding, employer taxes and a W-2.

Paying cash is common and it is a genuine risk — to you at audit, and to the nanny, who gets no employment record, no unemployment protection and no Social Security credit. We refer our families to GTM Payroll Services, who specialise in household employment.

How long it takes

Four to eight weeks is typical. Families who want someone in place for September should start in July.

Hiring a Nanny — Frequently Asked Questions

Four to eight weeks for most families, from deciding what you need to a first day. Specialty roles like newborn care specialists should be booked two to four months ahead.

The hourly rate plus roughly 10% in employer taxes, plus paid time off. Our city salary guides give current ranges by market.

It comes down to screening. An agency handles the recruiting, the structured reference checks, the experience verification and the background screening, and presents a short list. Those are the steps that are hardest to do well on your own, and the ones with the most at stake if they are done poorly.

We would suggest an extended second interview instead — a couple of hours in your home with your children present. A paid trial day makes the candidate your employee before anyone has agreed terms, which creates complications for both sides.

If you pay a household employee above the IRS annual threshold, yes — withholding, employer taxes and a W-2. A payroll service handles this for a modest monthly fee.

Schedule and guaranteed hours, pay rate and pay day, duties, paid time off, driving and mileage, sick policy, confidentiality, and when you will review the arrangement.

Would you rather not do all of this yourself?

We recruit, screen and interview, then bring you a short list of people who genuinely fit your household — across Georgia, the Carolinas, Florida and Texas. Every placement carries our 6-month guarantee.

Start Your Search

Prefer to talk it through? Call 1-844-626-6922.