Nanny Guide > Important Nanny Interview Questions

Generally speaking, the first 'interview' of a nanny candidate will occur over the telephone. Parents use this opportunity to pre-screen candidates they want to follow up with in a personal interview. The personal interview is very time consuming, so it is important to make sure you feel there is a reasonable chance that the parents and nanny can agree on:

• Start Date
• General job responsibilities, both childcare related and housekeeping, if required.
• Salary expectations in line with family budget.
• Nanny has experience and/or training sufficient for your requirements.
• Personality, lifestyle and philosophical match - see questions below.

After you have spent the necessary time on the telephone interview, you will want to schedule a personal interview. The sequence of events will be different, depending if you are interviewing someone who is reasonably local or interviewing a candidate who lives a considerable distance from your home. Candidates who need to catch a train, bus or plane to come to your home for an interview will expect you to pay for these expenses. It is very common for families to hire a nanny from a distance, just make sure you follow the recommended sequence of events below.

* Sometimes a family feels so strongly that the match is a good one that instead of paying transportation for a personal interview, they arrange a 'trial' employment period - one or two weeks - with the nanny to be paid and guaranteed return transportation if either of you decide it won't work out. In these cases, all references and background checking should be completed before the nanny travels to your home.

The following are some suggested questions for the telephone interview. 4nannies.com provides this list of sample interview questions to help you organize your telephone interview with prospective nannies. We suggest that you review the questions, personalize or edit for your family's needs, and then keep a record of answers on a candidate basis. Remember, a good personality and philosophical match are imperative to selecting the best nanny for your family.

General

• What appeals to you about taking care of children in their own home (vs. a day care center or your home)?
• Describe your last childcare experience and why it ended.
• What was your worst experience in childcare and how did you resolve it?
• How were you disciplined as a child? What would you do differently with your own children?
• What do you find to be the most challenging (or interesting) part of working with children?
• Have you ever had to handle an emergency? If so, what happened and what action did you take?
• Tell me about your childhood and your current relationship with your family.
• What do you like to do in your free time?
• What television shows do you enjoy watching?
• How do you think your closest friends would describe you and your personality?

For children from birth to 2 years, consider the following questions:

• Tell me about when you had to handle a crying baby? What did you do? How did you feel?
• What do you see as your primary responsibility to a child this age?
• What activities did you routinely engage in when you last cared for a baby or toddler?

For 2 to 3 year olds, consider the following questions:

• How would you handle a temper tantrum in a grocery store? In our home?
• How have you approached toilet training in the past? Were you and the family in agreement with the approach? How did it work out?
• What role should outdoor play and interaction with other toddlers have in a child's day?
• What types of educational activities did you routinely engage in when you last cared for a child this age?
• What indoor activities would you engage a child this age in? Describe how you interact in these activites?

For 3-5 year olds, consider the following questions:

• What methods of limit setting or discipline do you find effective for this age? Tell me about how this has worked for you in the past.
• What television shows do you feel are appropriate for this age child? If my child was watching TV, what would you be doing?
• Are you willing to supervise play time with other children in our home and/or take our child to gymnastics/activity groups which may or may not require your active participation?

For a children ages 5 and up, consider the following questions:

• What are your feelings about outdoor play without direct supervision (i.e., the child is outside and the caregiver is in the house with a younger child)?
• Are you comfortable reviewing and assisting with homework? Tell me about how you have handled this before?
• Are you willing to supervise friends of our child who are invited to our home while you are in charge?

Parents, do you have any feedback on this list of suggested interview questions? Please let us know - support@4nannies.com

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