SitterCity Review

Several months ago, I found myself in the midst of a new nanny search. I have worked with several agencies in the past, but the multi-thousand dollar price tag to use a placement agency is sooo steep-- especially in this economy.

So, for this go round, I decided to turn to more economical routes-- online sites and word of mouth. One of the sites I stumbled upon, and ultimately used was a site called SITTERCITY.

I have to admit, I was a little worried at first to use an online site. Would they source physco people? Could I find someone that is above board? Legit? I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of candidates and security I found on SitterCity.

Let me back up.... 

So, what is SitterCity? It is a site dedicated to helping people find their in-home care providers. This includes everything from babysitters to house sitters and senior care providers. Although, I think their bread and butter is babysitting.

Do you need to join SitterCity and what does it cost? You can browse the site for free, but if you want to contact a member, you have to pay. You can also get a free trial for 7 days. It is free for the care providers but like $100 for families for the year if you want to contact care providers through the site.

Did I interview people in my home? No! I made it a rule that if someone looked normal to me, I would email them and then schedule a phone call. If they sounded okay on the phone, I would then "meet" with them in a public space but likely not my home until after an initial meeting.  

So, what were the quality of the candidates from SitterCity? In general, I was happy to see that they had a lot of twenty-something care providers that are looking to pick up work (or have been laid off and are looking for some alternative work!). I also saw a bunch of former aupairs that have managed to stay in the States through school visa programs and they want to pick up work on the side.

Honestly, I was impressed with the general population of people. ALSO, in some cases, SitterCity does some verification of people's background and provides references as well. In addition, I found it really helpful that parents that have used the care giver in the past can comment on them and the babysitter can post a profile with photos and more.

Did I ultimately find my nanny through SitterCity? No! But, I did source a bunch of candidates and had several good interviews. It is definitely worth using the site. My only word of advice is that I feel like SitterCity is more geared toward parents that are looking for part-time positions aka babysitting than people that are looking for full time nannies.  I was in need of a full time care giver....

Overall, I would definitely give SitterCity a try! They are a great site to check out if you have part-time babysitting needs. There were tons of candidates in my city-- you should check out yours!