Nanny Interview Questions

E.,
If you go to www.midwestnanny.com you will see a list of questions to ask and you also can buy their booklet, which is FULL of questions to ask prospective nannies. Also, you can find someone through them.
Amy

1. What do you think children like best about you?
2. What kinds of activities would you do with a (insert ages of your children) year old?
3. Can you give me some examples of problems you have had with kids and how you handled them?
4. What would you say is your discipline style? Can you give me some examples of when you would need to use discipline with a (insert age) year old child?
5. What do you consider to be your most important responsibility in this job?
6. At what point would you call a pediatrician or 911? Have you ever had to handle an emergency? How did you handle it?
7. Have you ever had to manage a morning routine during the school year so that all the children got off to school on time? If no, do you think you could?
8. Do you have any health-related problems that would prevent you from doing this job?
9. Can you cook?
10. How do you feel about performing light housekeeping?
11. Will you be able to adjust your schedule if we need to go out of town or stay late at work from time to time? [Note: Make sure she knows that this would be overtime and she would be compensated with additional pay].
12. What is your relationship with your family like? Do they like the idea of your being a Nanny?
13. What do you like to do in your spare time? Hobbies, activities?
14. What do you like most about yourself? What would you like to improve about yourself?
15. What was your last childcare experience? Why did it end? What were the ages of the children you cared for?
16. What do you think a typical day is like with a (insert the age of your child i.e., infant, toddler, 5 year old, 10 year old.)?
17. How do you feel about furthering your training by attending child development classes or seminars?
18) Can you drive? Do you have any driving convictions?
Describe the best child you ever babysat for. Describe the worst child you ever babysat for.
What is your opinion of drugs and alcohol?
Have you ever been in an emergency situation while babysitting? Have you ever been in any emergency situation?
Do you have children of your own? Do you have younger siblings?
Why do you do this work?
What is your philosophy about discipline? How do you handle tantrums?
Describe how you handle a crying baby.
How do you react under stress?
How long have you been working as a nanny?

Last nanny work – Describe your experience. Why did it end?

Can you provide one or two families’ references?

What duties did you do for previous families?

What is the biggest challenge of being a nanny?

Why did you choose to work as a nanny?

How would your friends describe you?

Can you tell me about your relationship with your family?

How would you describe your lifestyle?

Hi E.,

I watch children myself. Some questions I would suggest:

1.What salary do you expect?
2. What is her policy regarding calling off work?
3. Does she expect to have paid holidays, sick days?
4. What would she do in the event of a medical emergency? (If she doesn't say call 911 first - I would think twice before hiring)
5. Is she CPR and first-aid certified and background check, or is she willing to become so?
6. What method of child rearing does she adhere to? (timeouts, learning, discipline?)
7. What is her infant experience?
Make up some scenerios such as, what if the baby was crying for over 30 minutes and nothing seems to comfort her, what would she do?

You really want to know if she is experienced at dealing with a fussy infant, you don't want someone that will just become frustrated easily...

The best thing you can do is make sure she handles the infant during the interview while you are there so you can see that she is comfortable with your baby..even better if this is a time when the baby is fussy or hungry so you see that she can take control

I would suggest asking her for her philosophy in regards to infant care. This open-ended question should give you a lot of information about the type of person she is and how she will care for your child. It might also give you an idea if she really wants to work as a team with you and your husband or if she will want to take charge and do things only as she sees fit.

More specifically, you might ask:

What would a typical day look like if you were caring for our daughter?

What kinds of activities would you use to stimulate her development? (look for things such as caring for her basic needs to ensure that she develops trust in the world and her caregivers; singing and reading to her to help with language development; taking her outside for at least 10 mintues for fresh air and sunlight--good for vitamin K absorbption--; changing her positioning so that she can see her environment from different perspectives--tummy time too).

I realize some of these things are really specific, but having been a nanny, having a degree in early childhood and having a son of my own as well as being a preschool teacher now, makes me very passionate for the care every child should receive.

Hopefully this is helpful. Good luck!

K.

Another thing to discuss is whether she would be leaving the house with your baby, like to run errands, play dates, or field trips as your daughter gets older....to make sure you all are on the same page with that.

Name:
Phone number:
Interview Time:
Referred by:

1. Why do you want this job?
2. Tell us about your last/current job. Why did you leave?
3. What do you think a baby Alex’s age needs most?
4. How do you see spending the day with him?
a. Now?
b. At 6-9 months?
c. At 9-12 months?
d. At 12-18 months?
5. How do you see your role in Alex’s life?
6. As he gets older, how will you teach and discipline him?
7. How long do you plan to have this job? Are there things in your life we need to be aware of that could impact your availability or ability to perform this job?
8. Do you have children of your own? Will their needs interfere with your ability to be available at the required times?
9. What daily activities are you willing to perform in addition to caring for Alex? (cooking, laundry, shopping, picking up?)
10. Are you in good health? Are you willing to provide us with a statement from your physician to this effect?
11. Do you smoke?
12. Have you taken a child/infant CPR course? When? Would you be willing to take such a course?
13. In your experience, what is the best way to communicate with each other on a day-to-day basis to ensure consistency in Alex’s care?
14. Tell me about a time that your experience and your employer’s wishes were at odds. How did you handle it?
15. Are there any limitations in your weekly schedule?
16. Do you have any activities on your calendar in the upcoming months where we would need to secure back up care?
17. What kinds of activities do you think are appropriate entertainment for the first year? (how much TV? How much outdoor time? How much alone time?)
18. Have you encountered situations where your values/beliefs are different than your employers? How did you / would you handle it? Please give an example.
19. How do you plan to arrive each day? Get home?
20. Are you willing to provide us with the information necessary to perform a background check?
21. Can you provide references from your last 3 employers?

OTHER NOTES:

1. Was the candidate on time?
2. Appearance. Is the person neat and clean?
3. Does the person appear intelligent?
4. Is he/she interested in Alex?
5. Is there a good rapport?
6. Does he/she seem honest?
7. Background check
8. References