Why do nanny agencies always tell candidates that they cannot be considered for a ROTA position because they have no prior ROTA experience when so many ROTA nanny positions are filled by candidates who have no ROTA experience or even nanny experience at all?!
Many nannies are annoyed at being told they cannot be considered for ROTA positions because they do not have ROTA experience, and they don’t really understand… because you have to start somewhere! Plus, let’s be honest, plenty of ROTA positions are filled by nannies who haven’t had ROTA positions before and sometimes even by “nannies” (if you can call them that) who have no nanny experience at all, so it doesn’t make sense.
Here’s what we can tell you:
To get a ROTA position, having ROTA experience is better, but it is not a must. High-profile or travel experience can be just as good.
The thing is that agencies also have their own requirements, separate from those of their clients. They can sometimes be even more demanding than their clients and can therefore sometimes bias recruitment. You must meet both the agency’s and the family’s requirements, even if the family is less demanding than the agency…
Many families looking for 24/7 care are quite open to the idea of having candidates who do not have ROTA experience, but if the agency itself has decided that candidates for ROTA positions must have ROTA experience because they fear that it will reflect poorly on the agency otherwise, then the candidate has no chance with that agency when they could have a chance elsewhere with these families…
Families who hire rotating nannies are usually high-profile clients, so to maintain their reputation, agencies can’t afford for the placement to fall through, and they not only want to find someone who will do the job, they also need to impress these clients with the quality of the candidates, as this can lead to referrals to other high-profile clients. So for ROTA positions, very often agencies want candidates who already have ROTA experience because they believe that the placement then has a better chance of being successful.
Agencies have the right to impose their terms to protect their brand, and even if you don’t agree with those terms, there’s nothing you can do but look for another agency with more flexible criteria.
Also, nanny agencies face the following problem: almost all nanny job seekers want ROTA positions, while most available positions are non-rotational. As soon as the word ROTA is in a job description, applications flood in. ROTA Nanny jobs can receive several hundred applications while other non-rotational positions receive barely 5 or 10. Competition is tougher for these positions, and so the selection process must be tougher too!
Having prior ROTA experience is not the most important factor in being selected for these positions. One of the most important selection criteria for these positions is the candidate’s motivations.
Most candidates who apply for rotational positions apply just because of the highly sought-after ROTA schedule. They don’t really care about the age of the children, the type of duties that will be required, the family’s lifestyle, or the parents’ educational philosophies. They also don’t care whether parents have language requirements, whether they offer accommodation, whether they are open to fly-in and fly-out candidates, or whether a visa is required for overseas-based positions. All they care about is working on a rotational basis and that’s a big problem for agencies when it’s obvious that all you care about is the rotational schedule. Agencies prefer candidates who are not solely concerned with whether it is a ROTA position.
Many candidates are so fascinated by ROTA positions and so determined to work only in rotating shifts that they become real “ROTA nanny position stalkers”.
They completely ignore the job requirements and simply apply to anything with the word ROTA in it. They don’t even realize that they are wasting their time because it is not possible to have the right profile for all the positions that are rotating, and that they are also wasting the time of the recruiters to whom they send their mass unsuitable applications, which is unacceptable!
Agencies see these candidates coming from afar, and no agency wants to introduce a stalker or time waster to their clients…
Very often if you are told that you cannot be considered for a ROTA position because you do not have ROTA experience, it is just a polite way of getting rid of you.
Very often the problem is not that you don’t have previous ROTA experience, it’s just that you come across as a ROTA position stalker and/or a time waster.
It is perfectly possible to get a ROTA position without prior ROTA experience, but not if you spam your application everywhere or if you pester agencies.
If you want to be considered for a ROTA Nanny position without prior ROTA experience, you must have motivations and goals other than the rotational schedule, and of course don’t assume the requirements are flexible, you must meet all the requirements otherwise you will waste everyone’s time.
Additionally, very often candidates who are told “Sorry we cannot consider you for a ROTA position because you do not have previous ROTA experience” have applied for so many ROTA positions and sent so many unsuitable applications that they are actually blacklisted and still won’t be considered when they finally have ROTA experience!
To land a ROTA position without previous ROTA experience, sometimes you just have to aim for agencies that are a little more easily accessible, but often it’s just a matter of not screwing it up yourself.
So don’t apply to ROTA positions like crazy, because you risk making mistakes that will permanently prevent you from landing this type of position.
Learn about these positions and the best tips for landing them before you go after them!
For more insights and advice to help you enter the high-profile nanny market, visit our shop and download the 101 guide to ROTA, Six-Figure, 100K, and other very coveted High Paying Nanny positions with High-Profile, VIP, HNW, UHNW & Celebrity families + exclusive tips for landing them!
