The
nanny interview is your opportunity to really get to know a nanny
you’re considering hiring. It’s the time to ask about her education, her
childcare experience, her philosophy on raising children and what’s
she’s looking for in a position. It’s also the perfect opportunity to
learn more about her personality and her value system. But how do you
get to that information?
Encourage a conversation. Your nanny candidate will
have questions about your family and job. She’ll want to get to know you
as a person and as an employer. This mutual interest makes it easy to
turn the formal interview into a more informal conversation. By engaging
the nanny in a real conversation rather than simply asking her a series
of standard questions, you’ll get more honest and in-depth information.
Ask open ended questions. If the nanny is able to
simply answer with a yes or no, you won’t get a lot of information
during the interview. However, if you ask open ended questions that
require a longer, more narrative answer, you’ll discover much more.
Giving the nanny the opportunity to interpret the questions in her own
way gives you a glimpse into how she thinks and feels about the topic.
Often the nanny will mention something in her answer that will prompt
additional questions about a topic you didn’t originally think of
covering. These additional questions often lead to information that
plays a key role in your hiring decision.
Dig deeper and ask follow up questions about her childcare approach.
During the interview, you’ll ask the nanny about how she disciplines,
how she helps children through age and stage transitions, her feelings
about and reactions to challenging behaviors and much more. Most nannies
are able to give the correct textbook answer to these types of
childcare questions. They know what they’re supposed to do in different
situations. However, there’s a big difference between knowing what you
should do and being able to actually do it when you’re faced with the
situation, especially if you’re feeling angry, impatient, overwhelmed or
just tired of the struggle. To get a more accurate picture of how the
nanny will do in the real world, ask her follow-up questions that push
her to come up with a solution beyond the textbook answer, like how she
handled specific situations in previous positions.
Don’t be afraid to get personal. Let’s face it, your
nanny’s personal beliefs matter. She will be working in your home and
caring for your children. What she believes about a variety of topics
will influence what your child is exposed to. In many cases, her
personal life will intersect with your family’s life. Of course, like
other employees, nannies are entitled to personal privacy. Balancing
your right to know about her personal beliefs with her right to privacy
is a tough but necessary line to walk. During the interview, don’t be
afraid to ask her personal questions that you wouldn’t ask an IT
professional or accountant. If you have a seven year old son who loves
playing with dolls, it’s probably important for you to know how she
feels about boys that embrace what society defines as female traits. If
you’re a devout Christian family, it’s probably important for you to
know how she feels about daily prayers and discipline lessons based on
the teachings of the church. Make sure you always ask in a respectful
way, but also make sure to ask about things that are important to you.
Cover in-depth what she wants and what she doesn’t want in a job.
Most nannies agree that the childcare part of a job is easy. It’s the
nanny/family match part that is the most difficult. Make sure you ask
direct questions about what the nanny is looking for in a job. Some
nannies have put many of their needs on the back burner because they
need to find a job sooner rather than later. They’re willing to
compromise to land a position. Unfortunately those unaddressed needs
often come back to cause dissatisfaction and frustration 4 or 6 months
into the job. Talk to the prospective nanny about the schedule including
late nights and extra babysitting; the nanny’s responsibilities and how
much flexibility you need within the task list; the kind of day you
envision for your child, including how much control over planning the
day your nanny will have and how comfortable you are with the nanny
taking your child to outside activities; and your employer style,
including how much input and involvement you plan on having into how she
carries out her job.
The nanny interview is your best opportunity to get to know your
potential nanny. With the right approach, it can give you the
information you need to make the right hiring decision for your family.
This post was proposed for publication by Savannah Lee. If you want to know about this subject please go to the link below:
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