Interviewing A Potential Nanny

No matter how you find your nanny, you’ll have to interview them. Interviewing a nanny is one of the most important jobs that you have. Simply, this is the best way to get your first opinion of the person in front of you.

At this point you should have already done the hard work of finding people that fit your needs and qualifications. You should have been able to establish the needs that you have and the qualifications of the person that you are looking for.

Before you get started interviewing though, you’ll want to take in yet another consideration. The personality of the nanny that you plan to hire is one of the most essential things that you’ll need to consider and one of the hardest to gauge.

During the interview process, you’ll be able to talk to the potential nanny and ask them questions. Remember, they are applying for a job and therefore are very interested in pleasing you at this point. Unfortunately, you’ll find a few bad seeds out there but more often this is rare.

What is the personality of the individual you are looking for? This is probably pretty hard to tell, until the interview.

You’ll answer that question with things like someone that is honest, reliable and responsible. Yet, these things are near impossible to tell just from talking with someone. Instead, you’ll need to do your homework on that person as we’ve discussed. If you decide not to work with an agency to find the right nanny, then do all of what they do to insure the person that you are interviewing is the person that is right for your job.

Interviewing: How to Learn More

Remember that the relationship that you will eventually establish with the nanny that you hire is started during the interview process. Not only are you learning about them, but they are learning about you, too. Treat them as you would if they were already working for you. And, remember to keep the conversation positive and upbeat.

What to ask is really dependant on what qualifications you are looking for the nanny to possess. If you want them to have specific skills, they should have demonstrated that on paper already. In other words, at this point you should have a few nannies to consider that meet your current stipulations for such things as education and experience.

Here are some questions to ask a nanny during the interview process:

1. Verify any and all information provided on an application or in their resume. “I see here that you worked for the Nelson’s for the last five years. How did that go?”

2. Ask them about past situations. “When you were working for the Nelson’s, what was the worst situation that happened to you while watching their children?” “Why are you leaving the Nelsons?”

3. Ask them questions in the “what if” format. “What would you do if our son called you a name?” “What would you do if there was a fire in the home?” “How do you handle injuries?”

4. Ask them questions about what you are potentially offering. “We are looking for someone that can provide extra reading help to our son. How can you help us with that?” “We are looking for someone to work part time during the evenings after our son is home from school. Are you flexible during those hours?”

As you can see from these questions, they are open ended questions. Asking yes or no questions is not going to give you the end result you need. Remember, you aren’t just looking at what they are saying, but how they are saying it.

• Do you like the tone of voice that they are using?
• Are they too loud or forceful?
• Are they too quiet and laid back?
• Do they have energy?
• Are they smiling and seem happy?
• Are they answering questions honestly and fully?
• Do they seem genuinely interested in your questions?

During your interview, you’ll need to mention virtually every aspect of the job you are offering. You’ll need to talk about salary, hours, benefits, responsibilities, duties, time off, and much more. You’ll want to talk about any issues or concerns they have in this regard.

Now, you’ve gotten it all out of the way, right? Not yet! You still need to talk to them about the finer points of being a nanny in your home. They need to learn about your personality, your child’s personality as well as the rules of the house. Don’t have rules? Yes, you do.

• How do you want your child handled during discipline?
• What do you want the nanny to do as far as handling day to day tasks?
• Do you want the nanny to contact you in any situation or make decisions for themselves?
• Will you allow them to provide education to your child or just monitor their behavior?
• How will you both resolve conflicts?

All of these things are essential to talk about. You want to get thing started on the same page, without having any surprises down the road.

Child Interaction

One of the most important things for you to monitor while doing the interviewing process is the nanny’s interaction to your child. If you don’t want to do this in a first interview, it makes sense to do it in a second interview.

No matter when you do it, you’ll want to notice certain things. How does the nanny react when the child says, “no” to them? How does the nanny react when the child has a question? Does the nanny talk authoritatively or are they soft spoken letting the child tell them what to do?

Take specific time to watch the nanny interact with kids. Try to give them the opportunity alone while you observe from another room, if possible. Let the child show the nanny his or her room. Since the foundation of the employee’s job is to care for this child, it is imperative that the two of them get to meet and interact before you sign anyone on for the job.

The Second Interview

Why do you need a second interview? You’ve found someone that seems to be pretty good on paper and in person. Why bother doing this?

The second interview is yet another opportunity for you to observe the nanny working with your child. This is the perfect way for you to determine if they are getting alone well as well as how well the nanny fits within your family’s personality. Do they mesh with your family?

A great thing to do for a nanny’s second interview is to go on an outing. Remember, though, that they aren’t working for you just yet so allow them only to interact with the child when they initiate it. Don’t pressure your child into their arms, either. The nanny should be able to interact with the child enough to convince them that she’s not a bad guy at all.

During this trip, notice how well the nanny pays attention to your child. Are they more concerned about impressing you rather than hanging out with your child? Are they listening to the child and encouraging good behavior or are they more interested in what’s happening with their makeup and hair?

Taking notice of all of these things will help you to make the final decision about who the right nanny really is.

Make the Decision

Now it’s time to really come to a conclusion on who is the right nanny for the job.

• Did you double check all personal and employment references? Do this even for the nanny placement agency nannies.
• Did you have a background check run and a driver’s record check run?
• Did you take the time to talk about and work through any problems with salary, hours, duties and such?
• Did you come to an agreement on how discipline will be handled?
• Have you not agreed on anything that you haven’t taken care of at this point?
• Have you done that second interview?

Once you’ve done this and you know who the best nanny is, trust your intuition and hire the person that you feel fits best for your child and for your family. Personality, education, and experience all mesh to the right person, then.