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Family
A. I work for an agency that screens nannies daily. The most important thing in the interview is to develop your list of questions before-hand, with the candidate’s resume and letters of recommendation (and ideally, their references) handy.
Be sure to ask them all the same core questions so you have a consistent basis of comparison, but also explore anything interesting, confusing, or suspicious on the resume, letters, and references…such as time gaps, overlaps, missing info, etc.
Here are some decent core questions (no rocket science):- Why do you want to be a nanny?
- What makes you and exceptional nanny?
- What types of children do you like best? (age, etc.)
- What types of parents do you work with best?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?
- What would you do if you didn’t need the money?
- Tell me about a time you went above and beyond what was expected of you? Had anyone done that before?
- Do you prefer a lot of instruction or to work more independently?
- What honors or awards have you received?
- How have you made a difference in someone’s life?
- Are you reliable? On a scale of 1-10, how reliable are you? Will you references agree? ...then check!
- How do you handle stressful situations? Example.
- Have you ever performed CPR, the Heimlich, or other life-saving maneuvers?
- Are you child or infant-CPR certified? Ask for their card.
- Do you have first aid skills?
- Can you swim? Have you ever been a life guard?
- How active are you? Are you ok with going up and down stairs 10 times/day? (or more)
BE SURE TO GET VERY SPECIFIC ANSWERS. If something doesn’t add up, dig further. If you work with an agency, they can do a lot of this for you…just be sure they are doing it – ask them.
Other means:
References – don’t accept “good” references. If someone’s overall assessment was that the nanny was good, ask what she would have had to do to get a rating of Excellent. “Good” is usually not good.Also, be sure to run a background check, including criminal history and driving record. You may also want to run a credit check…just be sure to have them sign a waiver authorizing you to check.
Good luck!
-Travistdommert — Posted 07/31/08 -
Family
A. I work for an agency that screens nannies daily. The most important thing in the interview is to develop your list of questions before-hand, with the candidate’s resume and letters of recommendation (and ideally, their references) handy.
Be sure to ask them all the same core questions so you have a consistent basis of comparison, but also explore anything interesting, confusing, or suspicious on the resume, letters, and references…such as time gaps, overlaps, missing info, etc.
Here are some decent core questions (no rocket science):- Why do you want to be a nanny?
- What makes you and exceptional nanny?
- What types of children do you like best? (age, etc.)
- What types of parents do you work with best?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?
- What would you do if you didn’t need the money?
- Tell me about a time you went above and beyond what was expected of you? Had anyone done that before?
- Do you prefer a lot of instruction or to work more independently?
- What honors or awards have you received?
- How have you made a difference in someone’s life?
- Are you reliable? On a scale of 1-10, how reliable are you? Will you references agree? ...then check!
- How do you handle stressful situations? Example.
- Have you ever performed CPR, the Heimlich, or other life-saving maneuvers?
- Are you child or infant-CPR certified? Ask for their card.
- Do you have first aid skills?
- Can you swim? Have you ever been a life guard?
- How active are you? Are you ok with going up and down stairs 10 times/day? (or more)
BE SURE TO GET VERY SPECIFIC ANSWERS. If something doesn’t add up, dig further. If you work with an agency, they can do a lot of this for you…just be sure they are doing it – ask them.
Other means:
References – don’t accept “good” references. If someone’s overall assessment was that the nanny was good, ask what she would have had to do to get a rating of Excellent. “Good” is usually not good.Also, be sure to run a background check, including criminal history and driving record. You may also want to run a credit check…just be sure to have them sign a waiver authorizing you to check.
Good luck!
-Travistdommert — Posted 07/31/08
Q. When searching for a nanny, what are some good questions to ask during an interview? What are some other ways to gauge how reputable they are?
devons — Posted 07/07/08
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