Informal and Formal Experience
I had seen a childcare provider advertise their services using an online site. After reading the posting, I showed my friend and co-worker Mary (an over 50 educator) the posting and we both got a giggle out of it. The poster was a nineteen year old with seven years of "nanny experience" looking to watch children in her home. After carefully reading her ad, it was clear her experience didn't match her age. The fact that she wanted to watch children in her home made me wonder what kind of residence she had, the conditions and the academic and social offerings. Where did she live? With parents? What did the home look like? Location? What kinds of activities did she offer and resources did she have for children and families?
A nineteen year old. Nineteen. When I was nineteen I don't even remember where I was or what I was doing. I know I was babysitting family members and not working as a nanny.
This, my friends, readers and parents, is the meaning of the conversation I had many years ago with a nanny agency. After searching and being passed over for nanny positions in my early twenties, I contacted nanny agencies in hopes of finding a job. One of them hung up on me and the other was very nice and helpful. We had a nice conversation, and it was during that conversation that I learned the differences between informal, semi-formal and formal experience working with children and families. At the time of my application, I had informal experience working with children, and because of that, the agency couldn't place me. " 'It doesn't matter if it's five, ten, twenty or twenty-five years later. Parents want to see nannies with formal experience, because they are looking for nannies with strong backgrounds in child development, able to communicate and work as a team.' "
The further I got into my career, the more I began to understand what she meant. I have seen people come through the doors of various childcare centers where I have worked, each with their own experience and background. Some of them come in with no experience and become naturals, others have no experience and are terrible fits. I had a co-worker this summer who claimed she was a nanny, yet stood there and did nothing to prevent situations from occurring (children fighting, etc) It was like she was a mime without makeup.
Think of informal as Carrie Bradshaw's dress in the "Sex and the City" movie before she tried on the Vivienne Westwood gown. Consider semi formal as Manolos or Loubitons with a men's white dress shirt used as a dress with a great belt. Formal is blatantly obvious, like Carrie and the Russian dressed in a gown and tuxedo eating at McDonald's during Season 6. (Carrie, we loved the clothes. Yes we did. Especially the gold Loubitons you wore in the beginning of the second movie with the white dress.)
You get the idea. When working with children and families, informal experience is caring for family members and friends of family. Semi-formal is something like caring for children not related to you through relatives: sibling's friend's cousin's friend, etc. The last one, formal, is what I have, my friend Mary has, and anyone who works with children not related to them.
And it's interesting how parents see those candidates, no matter the age, education and experience level. I had a job interview on my birthday several years ago where the parent ended the interview immediately after it started. Nothing was wrong, other than their own poor judgmental attitude, overall tone, and the fact that they looked at my resume for sixty seconds and deemed me overqualified. " 'My concern is that you are taking a step backward from what you are currently doing' ", the father said to me after closing my portfolio. (Hello, being a nanny and a teacher are similar jobs just with different work environments.)
I may be overqualified for a lot of things, in some aspects. Yet I also have years of formal experience, which cannot be faked. The fact that I have my level of experience and education, along with a passion for teaching is clear in my work ethic. The scary thing I believe some families do not realize is that informal experience does not qualify someone for childcare, and those that misrepresent themselves without the family knowing at first will show their lack of experience eventually.
The same thing cannot be said for those with formal experience. I once said not to be scared of an older, polished caregiver out of fear she may want more money. Do not be scared of formal experience either. Know that a caregiver with actual, formal experience means your children are in good hands.
A nineteen year old. Nineteen. When I was nineteen I don't even remember where I was or what I was doing. I know I was babysitting family members and not working as a nanny.
This, my friends, readers and parents, is the meaning of the conversation I had many years ago with a nanny agency. After searching and being passed over for nanny positions in my early twenties, I contacted nanny agencies in hopes of finding a job. One of them hung up on me and the other was very nice and helpful. We had a nice conversation, and it was during that conversation that I learned the differences between informal, semi-formal and formal experience working with children and families. At the time of my application, I had informal experience working with children, and because of that, the agency couldn't place me. " 'It doesn't matter if it's five, ten, twenty or twenty-five years later. Parents want to see nannies with formal experience, because they are looking for nannies with strong backgrounds in child development, able to communicate and work as a team.' "
The further I got into my career, the more I began to understand what she meant. I have seen people come through the doors of various childcare centers where I have worked, each with their own experience and background. Some of them come in with no experience and become naturals, others have no experience and are terrible fits. I had a co-worker this summer who claimed she was a nanny, yet stood there and did nothing to prevent situations from occurring (children fighting, etc) It was like she was a mime without makeup.
Think of informal as Carrie Bradshaw's dress in the "Sex and the City" movie before she tried on the Vivienne Westwood gown. Consider semi formal as Manolos or Loubitons with a men's white dress shirt used as a dress with a great belt. Formal is blatantly obvious, like Carrie and the Russian dressed in a gown and tuxedo eating at McDonald's during Season 6. (Carrie, we loved the clothes. Yes we did. Especially the gold Loubitons you wore in the beginning of the second movie with the white dress.)
You get the idea. When working with children and families, informal experience is caring for family members and friends of family. Semi-formal is something like caring for children not related to you through relatives: sibling's friend's cousin's friend, etc. The last one, formal, is what I have, my friend Mary has, and anyone who works with children not related to them.
And it's interesting how parents see those candidates, no matter the age, education and experience level. I had a job interview on my birthday several years ago where the parent ended the interview immediately after it started. Nothing was wrong, other than their own poor judgmental attitude, overall tone, and the fact that they looked at my resume for sixty seconds and deemed me overqualified. " 'My concern is that you are taking a step backward from what you are currently doing' ", the father said to me after closing my portfolio. (Hello, being a nanny and a teacher are similar jobs just with different work environments.)
I may be overqualified for a lot of things, in some aspects. Yet I also have years of formal experience, which cannot be faked. The fact that I have my level of experience and education, along with a passion for teaching is clear in my work ethic. The scary thing I believe some families do not realize is that informal experience does not qualify someone for childcare, and those that misrepresent themselves without the family knowing at first will show their lack of experience eventually.
The same thing cannot be said for those with formal experience. I once said not to be scared of an older, polished caregiver out of fear she may want more money. Do not be scared of formal experience either. Know that a caregiver with actual, formal experience means your children are in good hands.
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