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Why an interview? An interview with a prospective babysitter or nanny allows you to focus on the person's experience, childcare skills, special training and interests (e.g. music) and any other factors that advance their applications. It allows you compare apples with apples, so to speak, to be able to assess the different applicants for the babysitter job against each other so as to come up with the most appropriate person to look after your child(ren). The interview Start the interview off by setting the landscape for the applicant. Tell them a little bit about your family, how many children you have, their ages and a short description of why you need a nanny (you are returning to work perhaps) or you need a babysitter so you and your partner can get some time together. If you require your nanny to assist with other household duties like cooking for children or keeping childrens areas clean or walking and feeding pets for example make it clear during the interview. Once youve set the scene you can then ask them a few questions about themselves and their philosophy in caring for children. It is best to ask open-ended questions like "What do you like best about babysitting?" rather than "Do you like children?" You want to give the babysitter or nanny the best chance available to tell you about themselves. Below are lists of questions you might consider asking. You may decide not to ask all the questions but just the ones that mean something to you and your situation. Also some of the questions below may only be particularly applicable for nannies while some you might ask both prospective nannies and babysitters. Tell me a little bit about yourself? Describe to me your babysitting and childcare experience? What are the ages of children you have cared for? Do you have any children of your own? If so, how old are they? Do you have any special training or certification? Are you trained in first aid or infant/child CPR? Have you had experience dealing with a distressed child / toddler? If so how did you handle the situation? What is your approach to discipline? What do you like most about babysitting / being a nanny and being with children? What do you like least? Which ages are you most comfortable with? Least comfortable? What is the most challenging babysitting experience you have had and how did you deal with it? How would you handle an emergency situation? What are your key strengths and weaknesses? Have you ever had a situation where a child would not go to bed / sleep when it was their bedtime / naptime? If so can you describe to me how you handle it or might handle it? Are there any questions you want to ask? Nannies Some additional questions you might want to ask nannies include: Describe to me a typical day you would have with children you are a nanny to? How do you feel about occasionally supervising other children as well (during play dates for example)? What are your preferred hours and days of work (if a nanny)? What are your expectations of the tasks you will perform as a nanny? (housework, cooking for children, feeding pets etc) Can you describe what type of activities you enjoy doing with children? What are your personal and career goals? How long do you intend to continue Nanning? What do you enjoy most about your current / last jobs? Why did you leave your last position? What is your anticipated remuneration and what hours are you available? Closing Thoughts Before the completion of the interview be sure to obtain a list of references and site other information about the candidate including identity check, first aid certificate and childcare qualifications (if the applicants said they had a qualification). Background check Information you may need to perform a background check include: - previous names and addresses - identity check - date of birth - driver's license Following your interview with any prospective babysitter, you will probably want to arrange for him or her to meet and interact with your children. This will help you see how he or she relates to them and how the children react to the babysitter. If you prefer have your child(ren) join for the final part of the interview so you can see how the babysitter / nanny interacts with your child. And lastly.... Remember if none of the babysitters you have interviewed fullfill all your criteria or you simply feel that they are not right to care for your child(ren) don't be afraid to start the recruitment process again. But first take some time to consider firstly if you are being unreasonable in your expectations and secondly the features that you feel its vital your ideal babysitter has. For example, are you expecting the nanny to care for your four children and clean the house and cook for the family all for $12 an hour? Perhaps changing your expectations of their tasks (they only need to clean kids area or prepare kids meals) or increasing the rate of compensation might lead to a different outcome. Also reconsider the features that you would really like your ideal nanny or babysitter to have. Features that you feel your ideal babysitter needs to have before you will comfortable with employing them to care for your child(ren). It may be that some compromise can be met. For example you have interviewed your ideal babysitter but s/he doesnt have a first aid certificate and that is important to you. Speak to the babysitter or nanny about your desire to hire them but your need for them to have these qualifications. You might even suggest that you will assist in paying part of the cost in helping them get these qualifications.
Article Source: http://www.therepozitory.com.au
Ann Nolan is co-founder/director of www.babysitterdirectory.com.au. Babysitterdirectory.com.au is an Australian online community allowing parents to connect directly with babysitters, nannies, before and aftershool carers. For Free. Also includes Job Posting and Babysitter Alert facility. Babysitters and Nannies can upload their profile for no charge and sign up for a Family Alert.
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