Source : http://kelly-nannyblog.jimdo.com/2013/08/13/tips-on-how-to-hire-a-nanny/

Make a list of what you need from your nanny. Along with it, do not forget to create a work schedule for your nanny and ask her to strongly follow the schedule and complete the items as required. Do some research about current pay for a nanny in your area, for an example, on going nanny pay in Toronto. Those simple steps will help you to get an idea about what type of a nanny you should look for. So now you can start to find a nanny for your child.

There are plenty of places where you can find a good nanny. You may ask your friends. Maybe they had got service from a good nanny already. Anyhow you should check if she matches your requirements. Also you can put your nanny wanted advertisements on newspapers or on public notice boards like library notice board. You may get many responses by that way, but most of them will be strangers. So be careful on analyzing the responses, filtering candidates, calling them for interview and so on. The other popular ways to find nannies are get help from a nanny agency or getting help from an online nanny referral service.

From an agency you may find good nannies but you will have to pay money to the agency. On the other hand there are online nanny referral services which reputed as good service providers. Reputed and professional nanny agencies usually do background check on their nannies. Which is very important. Doing background checks and other verifications require lot of cost, that is the main reason why the nanny agencies used to charge comparatively higher charges than online nanny services. Usually all the online nanny directories do not do any kind of these checking on each and every nanny profile that are registered with them, due to that reason, those online nanny services charge less amount than nanny agencies. Also, there are nanny agencies who simply do all kind of interviews and pick the best nanny who fit with your requirements, as it is the case you do not have to do anything. But when it comes to nanny directories, it is different. You have to involve with nanny selection process. On the other hand, by getting involved in nanny selection process you may get a better nanny than a nanny whom will have been picked by a representative of nanny agency.  Either using nanny agency or nanny online directory, If your first pick not convinced you can go for another because you will have plenty of nannies to choose from.

When you find a nanny who matches your requirement, it is not a good idea to directly hire her. Arranging an interview is a must. You will have a better idea about whom you are hiring. Ask pre-made questions, such as why she does like of being a nanny? Where did she employ before? Why did she quit previous employment there and etc. It will be good to give a trial run for your nanny before offering her the job. So you can notice how good is she by yourself. If the trial run proved that she is not capable, do not hesitate to go for another one.