The Underdressed Nannies
I went for an interview to find a nanny at a high-rise downtown building. The executive assistant of the divorced father of two children of school age whose current nanny gave notice interviewed me. The job involved four overnights per week (when dad had custody) and I was not interested because that would mean being away from my cat for half a week, and disrupting my normal life.
My recruiter wanted to send them a few candidates, and I was not completely against the idea. So I thought, “What the heck?” The executive assistant that interviewed me was an elegant lady in her 60s. She had a motherly relationship, too, with her boss. As time passed, the situation became increasingly bizarre.
In the interview, I was asked how I would feel if I were told to pack for Florida but had to switch at the last moment to Aspen. The family owned a private plane. A charming story I heard also related to this “poor executive”.
He was once left alone to take care of HIS CHILDREN when they were sick with stomach flu. The next morning, he called his executive assistant to tell her that it was hard but he made it through– some how. This story was told to me by the woman who interviewed me with the smile of a proud mom.
She also stressed how important it was for him to have support at all time, which is why she required so many over-nights. As she walked me to the lift at the end of the meeting, the situation became more uncomfortable. She made a snide remark about me wearing jeans to the interview.
She decided to ignore it due to the weather. We had a big snowstorm the previous night, and the sidewalks and streets were still slippery. I wore dark, skinny jeans and a cashmere top, along with boots, make-up, jewelry, and makeup to keep me from sliding. But I always wear clothes that I can also play in nanny interview.
You never know if they will bring a child to you as an audition. It is not an office position, but a nanny one. You will be expected to clean, cook and play. So, you shouldn’t dress up in a suit. What the hell. They interviewed many candidates across multiple agencies in the city.
The only girl that got called back to the interview was the one who met The Man. He liked her, so he asked her to come back for another interview and then lunch. She was manipulated for weeks, and turned down other jobs in hopes of getting the one she wanted. After all this, their current nanny finally decided to do another year and that’s it.
I’m glad I didn’t get to the next round.
